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When Francis Kurkdjian was named the in-house perfumer for Parfums Christian Dior in 2021, the veteran perfumer was intimidated by the prospect of leading such a storied brand.
“The first question I asked myself was, ‘How am I going to handle the pressure and the weight of such a powerhouse?’” Kurkdjian said. “The only reason I can manage the job in a happy way and not feel the pressure is because, if everything goes wrong, they can always fire me and I will still have my [own] house.”
Naming Kurkdjian to the post wasn’t a big risk on the part of Dior’s parent company, LVMH, however. Maison Francis Kurkdjian, the niche perfume brand Kurkdjian founded in 2009, was acquired by LVMH in 2017 and has emerged as one of the most influential fragrance houses of the past decade. Its hits including Baccarat Rouge 540 and Amyris Femme have captured TikTok viewers and inspired countless dupes.
And amid an overall slump in the luxury sector, perfume has proven a resilient category. For the first nine months of 2024, LVMH reported a 5% revenue increase in its perfume and cosmetics division, to €6.1 billion ($6.6 billion). In challenging times, perfume’s ability to provide an instant pick-me-up has only become more valuable, according to Kurkdjian. “Creating perfume is basically bringing joy to people,” he said.
But Kurkdjian was shaping the fragrance industry long before launching his own line or catching LVMH’s eye. Kurkdjian’s first perfume to hit the market was 1995’s Le Male for Jean Paul Gaultier. The warm fougere scent became an instant classic and, 30 years later, is a must-have for a new generation of teenage boys discovering high-end fragrance.
But even with more launches trying to capture the growing demand for perfume, Kurkdjian said fragrance moves on a far slower trend cycle than fashion.
“Perfume trends are more like 5-10 years,” he said. Still, he added, perfume is a reflection of the culture at large. Today’s popular gourmand perfumes, for example, reflect a desire for indulgence. “When you look at how the world is going, the world [today] is about sugar and fat.”
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Brands are often keen to reinvent the classics. This year, Kurkdjian was tasked with updating Dior Sauvage — the best-selling scent in the world — in an alcohol-free format. Overall, when it comes to crafting a new hit fragrance, Kurkdjian advised brands to follow a simple rule he learned from an early mentor: “Remove what is not necessary.”
