“The idea is the opposite of a facelift,” Francis Kurkdjian says, of his labor of love to restore Dior’s archival fragrances. The perfume creation director for Dior Beauty is sitting in the office of Edmond Roudnitska, arguably one of the godfathers of modern perfumery, in the deceased master’s home in Cabris, high in the hills above Grasse in the South of France. “The question was not to make them feel modern, and even though we are using modern ingredients, it’s to make them feel old,” says Kurkdjian.
Think vintage. Think art. Think: a house with exceptional bones that has been tweaked and tweaked by various owners each decade and has subsequently lost its soul. Similarly, Dior’s iconic scents had been altered through the years, and no longer felt recognizable. Perhaps a raw material had a different aroma due to changes in the terroir, or it was no longer available because of a change in manufacturer or legislation. Or maybe the original perfumer had passed away, and the institutional knowledge of the original formula was lost. Sometimes marketing decisions were at play. Regardless, the shift away from the original aromas was one of the first things Kurkdjian noticed when he joined the Maison in November of 2021. That following February, he embarked on a project to restore 13 fragrances now known as the Dioriginals.
Over four years, Kurkdjian, along with the Dior perfume Creative Studio, worked tirelessly. “We decided to come back with the original restored versions in the same way you’d restore a piece of art, digging into the archives for insights, being as precise as possible about the story behind each perfume, who made it, what type of ingredients and how to fix things,” he explains. The project was “not so much about creativity, because the frame is already set up.”
Kurkdjian first focused on the creations of Roudnitska, including Eau Fraîche (1955), Diorissimo (1956) and Diorella (1972), and that of Paul Vacher (the “father” of Miss Dior) who created Diorling in 1963. Nine additional scents from later in the history of the house, including Higher, Forever and Ever and Dolce Vita, round out the group. An intense appreciation of the original formula ,as well as its place in the history of modern olfactory were Kurkdjian’s guiding lights. For example, with Eau Fraîche, which was the first light, streamlined formula in perfume history, he erased certain additions that had appeared over time, and elevated the quality of the bergamot, lemon and mandarin while re-blending the signature, delightfully herbaceous basil-tarragon note “to return this chypre cologne to all it’s original beauty,” he says. Christian Dior, who himself wore the fragrance, would no doubt be proud.
Diorissimo, lush with lily of the valley — the favorite flower of Christian Dior, so much so that the legendary designer would sew into the hem of couture creations for good luck — was restored via “a new quality of jasmine” and a remade “white lily of the valley” floral accord, says Kurkdjian, that brought the scent back to “its original aura” and deleted the “overripe watermelon” note that gave the fragrance a naggingly sweet aroma.
For Diorella, which Roudnitska originally wanted to be exceptionally heady, Kurkdjian enhanced the quality of the bergamot, restored the basil note and recreated a violet facet, “all of which had been sidelined for about 10 years due to toxicology and legal regulations,” he says. The fragrance is at once quite complex and extremely nostalgic. One whiff conjured my maternal grandmother, who must’ve worn Diorella, unbeknownst to me at the time.
While Kurkdjian has no family memories specifically tied to any of the fragrances, he delighted in a very personal affirmation. And that involves his beloved aunt, who worked at Dior from the end of 1954 until 1958. “When I finished Diorissimo last year, I sent her a bottle and she was very moved, she said that it was exactly the smell she used to get when Christian was spraying, and he used to put it everywhere because it was his lucky perfume.”
The Dioriginals just hit shelves, and range in cost from $142-$155. Scroll through to see the inspiration board for each fragrance, then scoop them up here.
Diorissimo
Dune
Dolce Vita
Diorling
Diorama
eau fraîche
Diorella
Forever and Ever
Dioressence
Jules
Dune Pour Homme
Higher
Higher Energy
