From Le Mâle to Baccarat Rouge 540: Master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian’s scent-sational journey

From Le Mâle to Baccarat Rouge 540: Master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian’s scent-sational journey

[Music] Hello and welcome to Arts 24. Today my guest is a man who’s changed the way the world smells. At just 24, he created Jean Paul Goautier’s Lal, a global phenomenon. He later gave us Bakarat Rouge 540, the best-selling fragrance that conquered the internet as well as many, many more of our favorite scents. Now ahead of his own perfume house and perfume creation director at Christian Dior, the master perfumer marks 30 years of creation with the new Paris exhibition at the Pala Tokyo, perfume sculpture of the invisible. Francis Kaj, welcome. It’s a pleasure to have you. Thank you. Thank you. Bonjour. Just in front of you, you have samples of just some of the perfumes you have created over the years. May I ask you, what perfume are you wearing today? I’m not wearing perfume. It’s a day off and I’m not wearing any perfume because I don’t like wearing perfume myself. You don’t ever wear it? I work I wear them when I work on a perfume. Otherwise, if it’s a day off, totally a day off vacation. I don’t wear anything. Okay. Interesting. Um, you’ve been creating scent for more than three decades. How did it all start? Oh, I was very first of all, it’s a vocation. So, it started uh I was 14 years old. I saw a movie Lovage on French television and I read an article about perfume making and then I went to perfume school at age 20. I stayed there for two years and then by luck, chance, whatever I u I met the general manager of Jean Gutier and she helped me train me as a perfumer as a young very young perfumer and this is how I created Jeal Gutier Lal. Well, that is one of the focuses of the exhibition. You were only 24 at the time and that perfume really did change your life. Yes, totally. Um, Lal is one of the bestselling men’s fragrances in history. What do you remember about that time then in 1995? What was the brief that you got? I was in a urge to create because I didn’t want to wait 10 more years because usually you need 10 years for training and the smell was very specific because it was about smelling lavender and something very sensual as a background with a like a nice sweat. Okay. after like after a bani okay a midnight bath so it was I still remember it yeah and 30 years on that perfume is a new phenomenon again today yes I know and I don’t know really why because there is a yes it’s taking is going back back on track I think it’s quite interesting to see what what’s happening now like a new classy but I always thought that it was important always to infuse classicism in perfume always always okay well let’s talk a bit more about the exhibition. It’s called Perfume Sculpture of the Invisible and invites visitors to experience fragrance as an art. And let’s take a listen to some of the visitors. I knew Francis Kirk John, but I didn’t know all the works he had created with other artists he admired. And I found it very interesting to see the dialogue between artists and perfumer and to see all that he had created. We tend to associate perfume with luxury goods, but it also represents something accessible for all. And I think it’s interesting to show that it can also be something cultural and artistic, not necessarily in the sense of a work of art, but a creative proposition that goes beyond simply being a consumer good that we can all own. I find this exhibition very accurate in that it reflects a personality, a great professional and as a person, someone quite incredible, someone quite incredible. and Cav um you heard their visitors link um perfume to art. But how do you put on an exhibition of something that’s invisible, something you cannot see? Oh, you you you did you can see it. U first of all, we we disclose formulas so people can have a look at what a formula looks like. There is a room dedicated to music when we put on one side the score of the music that you listen to and another side the formula and then you smell and then you have to just let it go. I think what perfume is what perfume tells about who we are as human is is very deep. It’s not something you you can’t in intellectualize too much because it must stay instinctive. is very very important because perfume don’t lie and you can’t lie while smelling perfume. You can wear shoes that are too small. You can pretend they don’t hurt but you can’t wear a perfume that doesn’t smell good on you because it’s something that goes it’s more than what you can handle in a way. I remember that time when um Lal came out we could all recognize each other’s perfumes. They were all very distinctive. Since you started though, how has our relationship with perfume changed over the years? First of all, we see for the we have seen for the past four or five years that uh the younger generation, the famous Gen Z is very much into perfume. It’s it’s phenomenal on Tik Tok for example. Well, there’s actually something called perfume talk that I learned about recently. Perfume talk. There are perfume experts. There are so many new things. I was scared 10 years ago about when when the world started to be digital. I was scared because it’s very hard to communicate with perfume when when the world is digital and all of a sudden the that young generation was able to empower basically the phenomenon as really really important because because it drives the creativity and I’m I’m really keen on that really. Okay. Well, that brings us to um one of your most famous of recent years perfumes Bakarat Rouge 540. It has exploded to pop culture fame. It’s a Tik Tok phenomenon. Um, I think it’s had millions of views and countless imitations as well. It’s worn by NBA and NFL players. Olivia Rodrigo, Casey Musgrave. It’s referenced in a rap song, um, Smell the Venom like Bakarat, um, says Meek Mill. And it’s even featured on Emily in Paris. But we didn’t pay for it. It was featured without us doing anything. Yeah. Yeah. It’s It’s totally crazy. What is the secret of this perfume’s power? I think the secret is about being genuine. I think the secret is about providing quality perfume. It’s about the quality. It’s about being who you are. I think this is today what I would believe is a new being cool in a way. It’s about um yeah staying true to the craft. I think this is very important and this is what I wanted to show in the exhibit is the idea that I’m just here. 100 years ago there were another perfume. There were other perfumemers in a 100 time ahead there will be other perfumemers. I’m just in between and I’m just trying to do my best to serve my art. I think this is what drives me in the morning. And you have explored every side of perfumery and from oak couture to everyday classics. Um you worked in New York in the mid ‘9s. You created most people will know it Elizabeth Ardan’s green tea. Um and even a lynx body spray. Yes. Yes. um fragrances that have reached millions, billions probably by now around the world. Um you’ve said that perfume should tell a story. When you begin creating, what’s the starting point then? Is it an image, a place, a feeling? It’s whatever can be translated into a scent. Um we’re here in Limino. I took the could be the starting point of a fragrance journey. You just have to find the right images, the right words that help you to translate the wording and the images into a scent. And you founded um your own perfume house in 2009. Since 2021 though, you’ve been at Dior, a house that has incredible heritage, of course, Miss Dior, Ovage, Jador, just some of the perfumes you’ve worked on. Um what does it mean to carry on that legacy while still keeping your own creative voice? I am very first of all I’m very proud. Um second it’s an honor to work for such a an amazing house with such an heritage and also to carry on the values of Christian himself because he was a man after World War II who basically decided to bring beauty to women to to bring beauty to people and I think nowadays this is what we need overall. We need beauty. We need beautiful things. We need to dream as well. And the perfume is often very bold just like Christine Juel was. And bold is very important to me because a bold perfume is a signal of quality because perfume needs to be recognized. You know, it’s like music. Music is invisible like perfume. But what you remember in the music, the melody you remember is because it basically stroke your your brain. A perfume works the same. Perfume is invisible. But what you remember is a perfume that has a signature. So you need both things. Tell us then about some of your scent memories. Something from childhood maybe. Uh childhood memories. Mimosa flower with my grandmother in January, February. Uh the smell of the sand, warm sand by the beach on the Atlantic. Um and also banana and cinnamon. Banana, cinnamon, and sugar. Um we must also talk about the fact that fragrance it’s big business. It is big business. It’s one of the most important money makers for fashion brands. Most people can afford a bottle of perfume. They can’t necessarily afford um a uh handbag, a dual handbag for example. It’s much more accessible. I think it’s something worth something like the global perfume market 12 billion euros. Okay. Something more than that. Um it’s I’m I have a duo mara my business partner. I’m not the one. You’re not the money man. I’m not I I have a vision about the money, but I’m not the money man. But you are creating these bestsellers, Dior’s next bestseller. So, how do you balance this artistry with this demand for success from these perfumes? Again, you have to think about the people. Christian used to say that uh his models were all the women of the world, you know. So, when I create a perfume, I don’t just think about one celebrity. I just think I don’t think about one single person. I I try to think universal. I try to please people. My job is like cooking. You know, when you cook, you cook for other people most of the time. So, you do it with love. And I think what is important is to create with the idea of pleasing people, making them happy, feeling them happy. And what’s a perfume that you’re working on at the moment? I’m working on 20 20 I’m working on 2027. Sorry. I have about seven, eight different perfumes on my desk right now on both Miz. Okay. and when they’ll be coming out in 2027. 2027. No. Yes. Okay. We’re just nearly out of time. I wanted to ask you, I know Paris is very central to your work, to your life, to your creation. Um, if you could create a perfume for Paris itself. What? Usually I say no. I usually I say no to create perfumes linked to cities because it’s too it’s more than just scent that captures the spirit of the city. It’s just more that. But what is very distinctive about Paris? Maybe the bakeries. Bakeries are very distinctive to Paris. In the morning around 5, 6:00 a.m. I’m an early bird. And I can tell you that in the morning, the smell of the bakery in Paris. This is very Paris. Okay, Francis, it’s been a pleasure to have you on the show. Thank you so much. Perfume sculpture of the invisible is on now at the Pal Tokyo in Paris, running until the 23rd of November. Thank you so much for watching. See you next time. We’re going to leave you with images from the show. [Music] This week on Paris Desair, the many delight bites of Athens. Explore the capital’s cuisine with Dina Nicolo, the ambassador of Helenic Gastronomy. on a true culinary journey with Michelin starred chef ano pastry chef Stelios Palaros tells us about his revolutionary approach to Greek desserts. Valerie Fael takes you to Greece in Paris Desar on France 24. [Music]

He created Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Le Mâle at just 24 and gave the world Baccarat Rouge 540, the fragrance that conquered the internet. Now, master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian – head of his own perfume house and Perfume Creation Director at Christian Dior – unveils a new Paris exhibition, “Perfume: Sculpture of the Invisible”, at the Palais de Tokyo, celebrating 30 years of his groundbreaking creations. He sat down with FRANCE 24’s Culture Editor Eve Jackson to talk about the art of capturing emotion in scent, the viral success of Baccarat Rouge 540 and how he’s redefining fragrance as a true form of art.
#FrancisKurkdjian #PerfumeSculptureoftheInvisible #Dior

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