New York’s spirit in Francis Kurkdjian’s latest Dior fragrance

When we talk about New Look Dior, the first thing that comes to mind are the full skirts and nipped-in Bar jackets dreamed up by Christian Dior back in the winter of 1947 – those that ushered in a new era of extravagantly feminine wardrobes for women accustomed to the frugal and utilitarian, writes Harper’s Bazaar Arabia.

It may come as no surprise then that when Francis Kurkdjian, the now perfume creation director of Dior Parfums and a man who has worked with some of the world’s most revered labels, first arrived at Dior, he pondered its meaning. “Better than a legacy and more than just a silhouette, the New Look is a state of mind,” he says. “It provides a lens for observing and reinterpreting the world. This spirit and the power it holds have crossed time, and they allow me to create new fragrances for Dior.”

It was this New Look that inspired Francis’ latest fragrance of the same name, which, as his first project with Dior’s La Collection Privée, bridges the worlds of both fashion and fragrance, a movement inspired by the late Christian Dior, who called himself “as much a parfumier as a couturier”, in one suitably slick bottle.

“Translating perfume into fashion was the founding act of 1947 and I want to make that connection once again today,” Kurkdjian tells Harper’s Bazaar Arabia.

“That’s my vision for the House of Dior. I always try to focus my work on that of the fashion designers, and to me the New Look is a way of going back to the roots of the House while showing the direction that the collection is going to take.

Fragrance is different to fashion. It can take between six to eight months to create just one perfume. There are no floral notes in this perfume. Flowers usually represent love and joy, but I felt we didn’t need them this time around to create the feelings I wanted to achieve.

There are so many versions of amber. Yes, it is linked to sensuality, but it’s linked to so many other things too. I think of it like the colour blue – we have sky blue, dark blue, blue eyes. If you put blue with black, it looks different than if you put it with white. The ingredient itself is almost nothing in a way – it depends on what you pair it with – and that’s why I say the New Look scent doesn’t always behave as expected,” Harper’s Bazaar Arabia quotes Kurkdjian as saying.