- 22 nov. 2021
- 3 min de lecture
Francis Kurkdjian, one of the most well-known and influential names in the perfumery industry, is the person behind the world’s popular perfumes. Le Male by Jean-Paul Gautier, My Burberry by Burberry, Eau de Noire by Christian Dior, and many more were created by him.
Born in Brou-sur-Chantereine a countryside town in France, his father is a computer engineering and his mother works for French education. He has an admiration for his father. He grew up in a loving family that has high respect for the culture of the host country after the Armenian massacre. He had a passion for dancing and wanted to be a professional dancer. However, he failed at the entrance contest. He then discovered a new passion in perfumery which changes his life forever. With the sharp vision of his father, he proposed his son go to perfumeries school after graduating from Sup de Luxe. His success began at the age of 25 after the creation of Le Male by Jean-Paul Gautier in 1995 which had a huge commercial success. He stayed in New York for three and a half years working for a house called Quest. He devoted his time and creativity to creating scents and collaborating with different houses and worked with designers, influencers, and celebrities to compose olfactory for them. He worked with some of the world’s biggest names in luxury and beauty, for instance, Christian Dior, Giorgio Armani, Versace, Lanvin, Guerlain, Narciso Rodriguez, Elie Saab, Ungaro, Yves Saint Laurent. In 2001 he decided to open an atelier specializing in custom-made fragrances. Francis Kurkdjian is the first person who opened the atelier to propose scents under the perfumer’s name. Despite tough challenges from packaging, process, pricing to looking for clients who did not really exist at that time, it allowed him to express himself and understand what he is capable of in the perfumery world.
Later, he met Marc Chaya, who advised him about strategies and became his partner. Chaya grew up in a family that valued arts which influenced his creative side since he was young. He loved drawing and similar to Francis, he loved dancing. He spent most of his time discovering different types of literature, arts, and music. Then at the age of 11, his father decided that creative activities could be his hobbies and he should focus on math and science. He kept his creative side and passion for arts while walking into the economics and business management path. Chaya met the perfumer, Francis, who made him realize how little space perfumers are placed upfront when creating scents. In 2009, the two decided to take another step of their career to a new height by co-creating Maison Francis Kurkdjian.
This perfume house would allow them to bring out the strong sides, Business, and Perfumery to the world. The brand offers fragrance with the value “fragrance wardrobe” that men and women are able to express themselves through the perfume with the know-how in perfume creation. Its personality is formed with the creativity of a man who is passionate in the precision of purity, sophistication, timelessness, and the boldness of a classicism reinvented.
In 2016 became a member of the Comité Colbert, the association that promotes French luxury and art de vivre around the world. The brand announced that LVMH group has the largest share in the company in March 2017. They believe that LVMH's vision in the Luxury industry would support and develop the growth of Maison Francis Kurkdjian globally. The decision has been taken after the meeting between the two parties, LVMH Group and Marc Chaya, and Francis Kurkdjian.
By Supichcha Pam Wanichchokij
22/11/2021
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