Newsfeed
Christian Dior began his autobiography, Dior by Dior (1956), by eulogising his affinity with superstitions. You’ve probably already the tale. It has become part of the history of the house of Dior: Christian was just 14 when he stumbled upon a palm reader in Northern France who told him he would amass great success by surrounding himself with, and working for, women. “It was in 1919, at a bazaar near my home, organised to raise funds for the soldiers,” the couturier wrote. “I dressed myself up as a gypsy, suspended a basket round my neck by ribbons, and sold lucky charms. In the evening, when the crowds were thinning out, I found myself next to the fortune-teller’s booth. She offered to read my palm. ‘You will suffer poverty,’ she said. ‘But women are lucky for you, and through them you will achieve success. You will make a great deal of money out of them, and you will have to travel widely.’”
This led Christian on an eventual path to fashion and fragrance, subsequently instilling in the creative a lifelong obsession with astrology and mysticism. That interest culminated in almost daily visits from clairvoyants, including the elusive fortune-teller Madame Delahaye, whom he cites in his autobiography as one of his greatest influences.
Christian was a couturier who believed in the rituals of enchantment; the supernatural and the occult have continued to carry through the brand until today. On his person at all times? A handful of talismans – the lucky totems of the Dior Maison -, which includeds a pair of hearts, lily of the valley, a gold star, a four-leaf clover, and a piece of wood – all of which have been reinterpreted by the house’s many creative directors across fashion and beauty until today.
Francis Kurkdjian, Creative Director of Christian Dior Parfums, is equally mindful of fate, and carries his own lucky charm: a protective sugar cube tucked into his jacket’s lapel or pocket. It was this, coupled with Dior’s enduring faith in fortune telling and the supernatural, which laid the foundation for Bois Talisman, the brand-new woody-gourmand fragrance joining the exclusive La Collection Privée.
“When I have important meetings I always carry a sugar cube in my pocket,” Francis Kurkdjian tells GRAZIA. “I always keep it on the left side of my jacket. So, to me, incorporating this into Bois Talisman was an obvious decision. I blended wood – inspired by the small wooden talisman in the linings of Monseiur Dior suits -, sugar, cedar and vanilla.”
Bois Talisman is a mysterious dance between fate and free will. Drawing inspiration from the art of divination, the sweet vanilla intertwines with the grounding richness of cedar wood, creating an olfactive talisman that envelops the wearer. It’s sweet, woody, smoky and powdery all at the same time.
“To me, the Middle East is the most demanding market in the world when it comes to fragrance because they really know about perfume,” Francis continues to GRAZIA. “They have amazing perfumers there [in the Middle East]. They know how to craft. They know everything – even before us. It’s a very demanding market, but I think people in the Middle East will love Bois Talisman for its long-lastingness because it’s potent and can withstand the heat, its aesthetic, and the technicity, which is important. The fragrance has qualities the region will love: depth, boldness, and richness.”
A strange sense of otherworldliness can be felt when immersing yourself in this scent. It reflects the convergence of two traditions; it is a fragrance steeped in Dior’s profound commitment to beauty and magic. “This is a story-driven project,” Francis says. ”We have so many precious memories of Christian Dior in museums and galleries, but we also have also some dematerialized content, like radio interviews. Then there was this TV interview I found in the archives: Edouard Moreau interviewied Dior in New York back in 1955, which aired on CBS.” Francis presses play on a grainy one-minute clip, depicting the eponymous designer presenting two hears, lilies of the valley, a gold coin, a star, and a piece of wood to the interviewer from his pocket. “After that, creating this fragrance was a very quick process,” says Francis. “It was fast because the story was clear. I see that in that video he has a piece of wood in his pocket, and I have a piece of sugar in my pocket, so I say, okay, let’s do wood and sugar together. When it came to deciding which wood to use, I chose cedar wood because I was thinking about Dior drawing and sketching dresses.”
Christian Dior’s superstitions and Francis Kurkdjian’s own rituals express their significance through the olfactory narrative that is Bois Talisman. The fragrance stands as a reminder of the philosophy of symbols and the brand’s connection to cartomancy – arguably one of the strongest tales of the Maison.
“The technique of creating a fragrance comes easy to me – the hard part is finding the story to go with it. But when the story is self-explanatory, everything clicks,” says Francis.
“And what do you do if there’s no story? “ I ask.
“I have no choice. You have to keep working until you get one. If your idea isn’t good enough or it’s not working, you have to stop and start again. Sometimes if it’s not going well, I take out Saint Rita and wear her around my neck. Rita of Cascia is the Patron Saint of Impossible, Difficult, and Hopeless Causes. “
A talisman of a biblical patron worn on Francis’ person for good luck? No doubt Christian Dior would view this as no coincidence…
