Francis kurkdjian biography

Forced to enlist in the Ottoman army to sew uniforms, he nevertheless managed to escape and return to Bandirma, where he found nothing but ruins. From there he took a boat to Genoa, then to Marseilles, then traveled to Vincennes where he finally settled, having joined a friend who found him work in a tailor shop. When he heard that his second cousin Satenig, 18 years younger, had survived, he brought her to France.

They were married in Paris in He remembers his immense respect for the charismatic figure of Chavarche Missakian, founder and chief editor of the legendary daily Haratch. I remember him reading the obituaries. The Soghomonians recreated their world in Vincennes, an eastern suburb of Paris where a small Armenian community from Bandirma had settled.

The door to their modest home was always open, the smell of coffee drifting through the air until late in the evening. Kurkdjian has also created gigantic olfactory installations in emblematic spaces, making people dream with his ephemeral and spectacular perfumed performances and was honoured the " Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres " by French Government in He was the first to open his bespoke fragrances atelier in , going against the trend of perfume democratization.

In , the crystal company Baccarat commissioned Kurkdjian to make a perfume for its two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary. Initially the perfume was a limited edition run of Baccarat crystal bottles, priced at three thousand Euros each. Released in fall , Rouge named for the temperature at which Baccarat crystal is produced quickly sold out but Kurkdjian gave a bottle as a gift to the vice-president of beauty at the department store Neiman Marcus , Kelly St.

John, who received so many compliments on it that she suggested Kurkdjian produce it for sale at their stores. In October , Christian Dior appointed Kurkdjian as its new creative director of perfume. Among Kurkdjian's awards include: [ 6 ]. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version.

This perfume helped Francis gain recognition and draw special attention to himself. Since then, the Franco-Armenian perfumer has created over 40 fragrances for renowned designers and fashion houses. Engaging in the development and sale of perfume for high-ranking figures in the fashion industry from the beginning of his career, Kurkdjian discovered new ways to express his talent.

This new vision allowed the perfumer to stand alongside well-known contemporary creators who excelled in their craft. Francis recreated Marie Antoinette's favorite perfumes for the Palace of Versailles, taking a unique journey to the early 17th century, to the very origins of the perfume industry. We take it very, very seriously.

Francis kurkdjian biography

And it's not just greenwashing. When I joined Dior, for example, I did training dedicated to reducing my footprint not only at work, but in my private life. This morning, I had a three-hour session with the CEO and the dedicated sustainability team about how we have to halve our footprint by And the team will be communicating soon what Dior is doing, and we are massively involved.

I like the challenge very much — because it can be a game changer. Sometimes people are lost in their life because they don't know what to do and why. I have to say I'm very lucky because, since I was 14 years old, I wanted to become a perfumer. Rose perfumes are back in the spotlight this year. Should you 'marinate' your clothes in perfume?

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