In the beauty industry, it’s widely known that Francis Kurkdjian is a perfume prodigy. An icon in his own right, Kurkdjian has been making noise for our noses since the ‘90s (Remember Le Male by Jean Paul Gaultier? Everyone say “Thank you, Francis!”) But when the news broke back in October of 2021 that Christian Dior Parfums appointed the Armenian fragrance phenom as its new perfume creation director, the partnership was met with great fanfare and anticipation. Reporting for duty straight away, Kurkdjian has been part of reinterpreting some of the maison’s most beloved fragrances such as J’Adore and Miss Dior while also putting his take on some of the Collection Privée scents (and even trying his hand at scents for babies with the Baby Dior Bonne Étoile fragrance).

But when the time came for Kurkdjian to reimagine Sauvage, the classic men’s scent that your father, brother, or (more likely) a naughty ex-boyfriend has in their cabinet, the perfumer wasted no time in propelling the scent into the future via an alcohol-free, water-based update called Sauvage Eau Forte. In a formula that’s exclusive to Dior—and the first high-concentration men’s composition that sits some- where between an eau de toilette and an eau de parfum—the newly remixed Sauvage formula accentuates the fragrance’s signature spicy and woody notes, while packing a punch of freshness. Ahead of the fragrance’s launch, I met up with Francis on a hot summer day in upper Manhattan to discuss how he was able to tackle the savage that is Sauvage.

FRANCIS KURKDJIAN: For me at work, I am rather constant. You have to be in a state of mind where you make sure that everything rolls out smoothly. Other- wise, it takes a lot of energy to fix things. I try to be very organized and on time, and [somehow], I was a bit late with this fragrance.

VMAN: Oh, is that right?

FK: Yeah. But to me, creation is about repetition and working in a constant way. People think that being creative means you can be disheveled, and do things in a very disorganized way simply because it’s creative, you know? I think it’s totally the opposite. You have to create things in a very secure way. It’s like you’re on a highway, and it’s super safe because everything is aligned, and within the highway, you can do whatever you want because the borders help create a super smooth environment. It means that I can afford to step out of the lanes a bit. I’ll be happy when the fragrance is out and is a success.

VMAN: It will be a success. Sauvage has a legacy and a loyal following, that will make it a success.

FK: [Next spring] will be important. One will buy it in September, use it, and refill it by March. Or you buy it for Christmas and then in June, Father’s day. By then, I’m already anxious about the next fragrance [laughs].

VMAN: Do you ever get nervous when you see someone’s first reaction to the scent? I’m quite curious about the water-based element of the scent.

FK: You should [spray] it.

VMAN: Okay! Don’t get nervous on me.

FK: I won’t.

VMAN: (Sniffs) You know, it’s actually better than I anticipated because I remember the many times I’ve smelled Sauvage on the men in my life, and I always found it to be as intense as they were. This version feels like a lighter and sweeter version of that type of Sauvage man.

FK: (Laughs) I should hire you for my PR. The water element that you are noticing is what I think is the best part. I had to think about how I can smell Sauvage without alcohol, because now it is water-based, meaning alcohol-free. We wanted to translate the idea of water, wetness, and freshness: the wildlife concept. When you cut plants, you take life from them, and the idea of [introducing] water to Sauvage was a way to bring life back into it.

VMAN: Almost like a revival. You can smell the difference instantly. If anything, I feel like I can probably smell the notes a little bit more, whereas the alcohol brings the intensity.

FK: You can feel what water brings versus what alcohol takes away and makes sharper, spiky. When you use a water-based perfume, the notes evaporate, but in a very delicate way. They’re not in a rush, they don’t hurry in the way that alcohol pushes things. The idea was to have that kind of blurring effect and do something softer, almost like a mist.

VMAN: Mission accomplished. And now a year after putting your own spin on the classic scent, what has been the most rewarding part of the creation process and how have you seen it evolve into the beast it is today?

FK: Honestly, there is none for now, as the reward comes from the public. The audience is never wrong when it comes to beauty. Art, it is a bit different, since it’s meant to push boundaries and be provocative. Beauty products are not about being provocative, you know? Even if you create a trend, it’s like surfing. If the wave is too far away and you miss the wave, you miss the trend. If you’re right on the edge of the wave, it takes you up to the shore.

“But to me, creation is about repetition and working in a constant way. People think that being creative means you can be disheveled and do things in a very disorganized way simply because it’s creative, you know? I think it’s totally the opposite.”

Francis Kurkdjian for VMAN 53

(cont..) Launching a perfume is exactly the same, you need the trendsetters to push you enough to jump on the other level. For the past 10 years, I think Sauvage was nurtured in many ways to keep up the success. We launched with Johnny Depp, and I think we needed that, but you also need a good perfume to carry it, with disruptiveness and innovation. When we created Sauvage Elixir, which was even more con- centrated than the Parfum and Eau de Parfum, and the Sauvage beauty line—

VMAN: Then it becomes something like a brand within the brand.

FK: We also had Jean-Baptiste Mondino on our side to maintain the legacy and the legendary movies. You have to be on the edge of popularity. It’s like with music when all of a sudden the world sings the same song. It’s like when everyone heard “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, you know? It went everywhere.

VMAN: Totally! But there’s also reasoning because “Happy” by Pharrell was just a damn good song, you know? Same with Sauvage.

FK: And I believe that people recognized that. It doesn’t mean that something more niche won’t make it at that level of fame, with the size of the audience that you have to reach. It becomes so big that there is a kind of magic behind that.

VMAN: You know, you are now at two and a half years with your title at Dior Beauty.

FK: I’ve got gray hair now that I didn’t have before, some wrinkles now. I’ll speak to Peter [Philips] to do something about it.

VMAN: With all those years, and now with the gray hair and wrinkles that you wear so well, were you ever scared to take on this beast that is Sauvage? I found it impressive that you would want to take a stab at that.

FK: No, no. If you go there, you can’t be scared. If you are scared, it’s like diluting your energy into something that is not productive. I’m all about efficiency. You have to be efficient within yourself because with the amount of work that you have to do, and the number of things that you have to provide, you can’t be scared. It doesn’t make sense to me.

VMAN: To you.

FK: To me, because maybe some other perfumers could tell you this is a big challenge and it’s a lot of weight on one’s shoulder, so okay then—don’t do it.

VMAN: (Laughs) Exactly, go be somewhere else.

FK: I did give it a lot of thinking. I didn’t say yes, I said ‘I want to do it,’ which is very different. They had to say yes [to bringing me on]. It was kind of a proposal, and I did the proposal. It’s like an engagement. When I went and said, ‘I feel like I can do it, I believe I can do it,’ I put examples on the table of what I would do and how I would do things…if it was pretentious for me and if I could handle it and how I would handle it…in terms of being able to live with the pressure of what it might supposedly provoke. And so far, so good, I think.

VMAN: Taking on your interpretation of a classic…does this excite you more than creating something entirely new?

FK: The excitement is different because when it’s entirely new, the excitement comes from a totally blank page, and the territory is virgin. But what is exciting overall, and it works in both cases, is when you do an iteration. What is interesting is how you are going to be able to twist the thing with your own vision. I think that’s exciting in a way. When you start from scratch, it’s like creating your own movie, you know? You decide on the cast, the director, the set designer, the costumer, and so on. When there’s an already existing portfolio, like a heritage fragrance, the storyboard is more or less there.

Within the tiny room of what’s left, what’s going to be added is my added value. Creating the perfume is just as important but I think it’s interesting as a perfumer to have access to everything. When I was telling you about happiness, I am more blessed that I have my own brand that I work with the most, and then I work for the most powerful brand in the world. Within that, I can play and create with iconic perfumes, and I have my own brand to play with, so there is no room to be unhappy.

VMAN: You’re like, ‘I’m good. I can live like that.’

FK: Exactly. As a perfumer, there is nothing else I can expect, which is cool. It gives no room for stress because I’m a happy perfumer. I’m going to use that as a hashtag with my friends, #HappyPerfumer.

VMAN: Some might say they’re fulfilled with that, happiness.

FK: I wasn’t even expecting this. It’s more than I was able to imagine when I started 30, 35 years ago at the perfume school, (ISIPCA). My dream was to work for high couture brands. I wasn’t thinking about having my own company. Working as the perfume creation director for Dior Beauty was beyond what I could imagine. I have reached even higher than what I could have dreamt about, which is kind of a surreal situation.

VMAN: That’s something that I think a lot of people can relate to. Everyone has their own dreams of what they imagine their life to be, but no one ever discusses what happens when those dreams actually come true. Then you have to go on in life finding new dreams to create and then accomplish.

FK: But with the dreams that you mentioned, my motto in life is, ‘Dreams are meant to come true in order to leave room for new ones.’

This story appears in the pages of VMAN 53: now available for purchase!

(Francis Kurkdjian)

Photography Michael Avedon

Location Fasano Fifth Avenue

(Dior Sauvage Eau Forte Still Life)

Photography Charles Billot

Photo assistant Thom Sanchez

Location Porter Studio