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“Respect tradition and dare to be bold,” Christian Dior once said, and with Dior’s latest creation, L’Or de J’adore, that’s exactly what famed perfumer Francis Kurkdjian did.
As many would remember, its predecessor, J’adore, created by Calice Becker, was an icon of its time—and remains one of the best-selling perfumes. Its instantly recognisable bottle, designed by Hervé Van der Straeten, conjures images of Charlize Theron emerging from a pool of liquid gold with layers of stacked gold rings on her neck.
Now, almost a quarter of a century after its advent, the same notes that swept up a generation of women are reinterpreted with a bold flair.
Calling on his exceptional talent to create timeless fragrances of powerful refinement, the perfumer returned to the complex formula. With a world of heritage to explore, Kurkdjian taps into the past to inform a future heirloom.
From the archives, he pruned the legendary bouquets, tracing a new silhouette that leans towards radical minimalism, organic sensuality and an unprecedented concentration level. Like gold melted down to retain only its purest essence, he isolated flowers, exaggerating them with precision to form a new signature.
“The formula now seems tighter,” Kurkdjian said of his work. “I have, in a way, exaggerated the floral contours to make their nuances more prominent and thereby define a new texture, similar to that of fluid and enveloping gold. A new sensuality, immediately appealing… A J’adore that is rounded and attractive, like a bared shoulder.
We still feel the presence of Jasmine, Rose, Violet and Lily of the Valley, but the proportions are shaken to shine a new light on its beauty. Within this composition, flowers still converse, and no single bloom takes precedence. The result is majestic, and in this, L’Or de J’adore becomes an ode brimming with meaning and depth.
With a new chapter, the fragrance bottle transforms shape. A warm gold layer of liquid metal smooths over the once-stacked neck of the delicate lid. This fluid design reflects the warmth of the scent and the rounded harmony of the bouquet. Its weightless finish now sees a glass bead set on the light and transparent lid, which is designed to be kept for life. In fact, refills of the glass body of the L’Or de J’adore amphora will be available from March 2024.
L’Or de J’adore offers up this fresh concentration and its dynamic purity to leave behind a generous and sophisticated stamp. And just like the iconic scent it hails from, this is one with a striking allure to captivate all in its presence.
When formulating this scent, Kurkdjian met with renowned digital artist Refik Anadol to transform the fragrance through algorithms into a digital visual sculpture. Inspired by the beauty that can be born of data, Anadol transforms the world into data paintings via artificial intelligence.
Taking on the J’adore universe, he was inspired by Kurkdjian to map a new language to take up the challenge of embodying a fragrance and of making “the invisible visible.” Ultimately, he set out to shape the floral magic of J’adore into an image as sensorial, attractive and addictive as its olfactory signature.
From September 26th—October 8th, Dior will host Exhibition L’Or de J’adore, an unprecedented and digital immersion that invites visitors to discover the new fragrance interpretation by Francis Kurkdjian.
Dior L’Or de J’Adore will be available from September 2, 2023 (RRP $295 for 50ML) at Dior.com.au
