{"id":96453,"date":"2024-10-22T21:51:14","date_gmt":"2024-10-22T21:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=96453"},"modified":"2024-10-23T02:55:01","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T02:55:01","slug":"how-dior-les-esprits-de-parfum-pay-homage-to-haute-couture","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/how-dior-les-esprits-de-parfum-pay-homage-to-haute-couture\/","title":{"rendered":"How Dior Les Esprits de Parfum Pay Homage to Haute Couture"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dior\"
‘Lucky’; one of Christian Dior’s models, during the French couturier’s 1955 fashion show (Photo by Thurston Hopkins\/Picture Post\/Hulton Archive\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How do you make something special even more so? In the case of Dior\u2019s recently released Les Esprits de Parfum<\/a>, the brand\u2019s Perfume Creation Director, Francis Kurkdjian<\/a>, chose to uniquely amplify five key fragrances from the La Collection Priv\u00e9e line to literally \u201ccapture their spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

He redefined these scents\u2019 olfactory \u201cnarrative line\u201d to better tell their origin stories, \u201clike a toile before the final design,\u201d he says. The result: Luxurious concentrations that recall the significance of the moments that inspired each scent in vivid detail \u2014 and piece together elements of the house\u2019s couture heritage. These heightened expressions further pay homage to Christian Dior, the man himself, and his own creativity in designing iconic perfumes.<\/p>\n

Dior Icons Revisited<\/b><\/h2>\n

The first of these fountainhead fragrances is Gris Dior<\/a>, a subtly sexy chypre scent, a woody floral. Gris Dior pays tribute to the the unique color of the building that houses the Christian Dior flagship at 30 avenue Montaigne in Paris. Christian Dior also considered gray to be the color that makes other colors come alive. In the Esprit, Kurkdjian simply \u201cpumped up the volume,\u201d amplifying the impact of the expression of stark black and white, noting that to him, gray represents a stormy sky, \u201cthe intensity before the storm,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Gris Dior Esprit de Parfum, $470, SHOP NOW<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lucky represents Christian Dior\u2019s devotion to the mystical and superstitious. It\u2019s lily-of-the-valley composition is a nod to the lilies that Dior would secretly sew into the hem of his haute couture dresses for good luck. It\u2019s also an homage to the designer\u2019s favorite model, Lucie Daouphars, whose nickname was Lucky. \u201cShe had that way of making a dress come alive,\u201d Kurkdjian says of the model, who he first learned about from his Aunt Francois, a fan. After resigning from modeling, Lucky built the first union for models. \u201cI saw her as a very strong woman and a cool girl,\u201d he exclaims. In the original scent, lily-of-the-valley is blended with many white flowers, but for the Esprit, Kurkdjian stripped back the formula to create a predominantly lily aroma.<\/p>\n

\"parfum\"
Lucky Esprit de Parfum, $470, SHOP NOW<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another scent in the collection that harkens back to the brand\u2019s couture roots is Rouge Trafalgar. This was the name of the red dress that Christian Dior sent down the runway in the middle of the couture show \u201cto wake up the audience,\u201d explains Kurkdjian. Where does the name come from? No matter the season, the dress was always red. And Trafalgar stems from French history, as it\u2019s the name of the battle the French lost against the British during the Napoleonic Wars, \u201cfor this reason, the word refers to something unexpected.\u201d So he added something unexpected to the Esprit, inspired by the British dessert, the pavlova. The red fruit notes of cassis and strawberry are quite in your face, but they\u2019re softened by a waft of rose meant to evoke the Chantilly cream on top of the pavlova.<\/p>\n

\"parfum\"
Rouge Trafalgar Esprit de Parfum, $470, SHOP NOW<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Couture Link to the East<\/b><\/h2>\n

The two additional scents in the collection are Ambre Nuit and Oud Ispahan.<\/p>\n

\"parfum\"
Ambre Nuit Esprit de Parfum, $470. SHOP NOW<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Both are interpretations of oriental florals that recall the exotic glamour of the Middle East and a nod to the couture pieces Christian Dior would design for royalty from Iran.<\/p>\n

\"parfum\"
Oud Ispahan Esprit de Parfum, $470. SHOP NOW<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the Joy of a Compliment<\/b><\/h2>\n

Reimagining these fragrances was a labor of love for Kurkdjian. Of his process, the master admits that to create something, one must tread carefully. \u201cI believe you have to feel in danger in a way. It\u2019s about insecurity\u2026 and when you know it\u2019s finished, it\u2019s because you understand you\u2019re not in danger anymore. You\u2019re all of a sudden in a kind of comfort zone because you understand that everything clicks,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\"Dior\"
Francis Kurkdjian by Brigitte Lacombe for Christian Dior Parfums<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once a scent is ready for testing, he relies on tried-and-true friends for their honest opinion. \u201cI always have two or three people around me that I know will tell me the truth if they like it or not.” And beyond them, it\u2019s all about the random compliment. \u201cThe best thing is when you go to the grocery store and all of a sudden a lady asks you \u2018what do you wear\u2019,\u201d Kurkdjian admits. \u201cOr you take a cab and the guy says \u2018oh, you smell good,\u2019 because cab drivers are very good testers. They smell a lot of smells. So when I get the compliment from the cab driver, it makes my day, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42730,"featured_media":96454,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[30,17,16],"yoast_head":"\nHow Les Esprits de Parfum Pay Homage to Dior Haute Couture<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A model, a moment, a beyond-bold dress: Master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian tapped into the Dior heritage to tie fragrances to fashion\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/how-dior-les-esprits-de-parfum-pay-homage-to-haute-couture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Dior Les Esprits de Parfum Pay Homage to Haute Couture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A model, a moment, a beyond-bold dress: Master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian tapped into the Dior heritage to tie fragrances to fashion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/how-dior-les-esprits-de-parfum-pay-homage-to-haute-couture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Grazia USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-23T02:55:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-3096750-scaled-e1729632253582.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"714\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/how-dior-les-esprits-de-parfum-pay-homage-to-haute-couture\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/how-dior-les-esprits-de-parfum-pay-homage-to-haute-couture\/\",\"name\":\"How Les Esprits de Parfum Pay Homage to Dior Haute Couture\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-22T21:51:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-23T02:55:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"A model, a moment, a beyond-bold dress: Master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian tapped into the Dior heritage to tie fragrances to fashion\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/how-dior-les-esprits-de-parfum-pay-homage-to-haute-couture\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/how-dior-les-esprits-de-parfum-pay-homage-to-haute-couture\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/how-dior-les-esprits-de-parfum-pay-homage-to-haute-couture\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Dior Les Esprits de Parfum Pay Homage to Haute Couture\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/\",\"name\":\"Grazia USA\",\"description\":\"Driving tastemakers in Fashion, Beauty and Culture\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Les Esprits de Parfum Pay Homage to Dior Haute Couture","description":"A model, a moment, a beyond-bold dress: Master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian tapped into the Dior heritage to tie fragrances to fashion","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/how-dior-les-esprits-de-parfum-pay-homage-to-haute-couture\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Dior Les Esprits de Parfum Pay Homage to Haute Couture","og_description":"A model, a moment, a beyond-bold dress: Master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian tapped into the Dior heritage to tie fragrances to fashion","og_url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/how-dior-les-esprits-de-parfum-pay-homage-to-haute-couture\/","og_site_name":"Grazia USA","article_modified_time":"2024-10-23T02:55:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":714,"url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-3096750-scaled-e1729632253582.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/how-dior-les-esprits-de-parfum-pay-homage-to-haute-couture\/","url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/how-dior-les-esprits-de-parfum-pay-homage-to-haute-couture\/","name":"How Les Esprits de Parfum Pay Homage to Dior Haute Couture","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-10-22T21:51:14+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-23T02:55:01+00:00","description":"A model, a moment, a beyond-bold dress: Master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian tapped into the Dior heritage to tie fragrances to fashion","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/how-dior-les-esprits-de-parfum-pay-homage-to-haute-couture\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/how-dior-les-esprits-de-parfum-pay-homage-to-haute-couture\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/how-dior-les-esprits-de-parfum-pay-homage-to-haute-couture\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Dior Les Esprits de Parfum Pay Homage to Haute Couture"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website","url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/","name":"Grazia USA","description":"Driving tastemakers in Fashion, Beauty and Culture","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Grazia USA","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/96453"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42730"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}