The rose, whether it’s blushing unseen or looking like nature’s finest work, has long been an inspiration for poets, philosophers, historians, songwriters and, of course, perfumers.
For Christian Dior, it was in the blood. At the family home in Granville, the seaside town in Normandy where he grew up, the rose garden was more than just a little family plot. It was a place where he and his mother, Madeleine, could demonstrate the passion they shared for flowers — and create their dream garden, despite the weather and salty wind.
Dior’s younger sister, Catherine — a member of the French Resistance in the Second World War, during which she was caught and deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp — also dedicated herself to selling and cultivating roses after the war. Christian’s first fragrance, Miss Dior — bursting with roses and postwar exuberance — was launched in 1947 and named after Catherine, and remains a classic of the brand.
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For Christian, the rose was far more than just a design motif. He worshipped the flower; they were abundant in every area of his life and each of his homes, including Château de la Colle Noire, the country residence in Provence he bought and renovated a few years before his death in 1957.
The old castle, surrounded by vines and flowers, has been kept just as he left it. Roses can be seen everywhere from the gardens to the wallpaper and the blush-pink paint in the private chapel. In French, of course “rose” means “pink”. And Christian sure loved pink. “[It’s] the sweetest of colours,” he said. “Every woman should have pink in her wardrobe. It is the colour of happiness and femininity. I like it for scarves and blouses … It is a ravishing colour for suits and overcoats, and wonderful for evening gowns.”
In his collections too the designer was heavily inspired by the flower; some of his best-known dresses include Rose Thé, Rose des Vents and Rose Pompon.
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Introducing me to the new scent from Dior’s Collection Privée (the “couture” selection of fragrances) at La Colle Noire earlier this year, Francis Kurkdjian, the brand’s perfume creation director, picks up a single pink centifolia — a delicate-looking rose that’s actually very robust — and turns it upside down, smoothing down the petals. It is the exact silhouette of Christian’s infamous New Look: the cinched waist and the abundant ankle-length, petal-like layers of fabric in the skirt.
The look symbolised a much-needed sense of joy in femininity, a departure from what French women were wearing under German occupation. “In December 1946, as a result of the war and uniforms,” Dior remarked later, “women still looked and dressed like Amazons. But I designed clothes for flower-like women, with rounded shoulders, full feminine busts and hand-span waists above enormous spreading skirts.”
Dior Rose Star
MARCEL VASSEUR
Rose Star, Kurkdjian’s latest creation for Dior, is a convergence of two of the brand’s most significant themes. “We have lots, but none as meaningful as the rose and the star,” he says. In it, he has taken a few facets of the centifolia rose to create what must be one of his greatest hits, which I’ve barely stopped wearing since getting a sneak preview of it earlier this year.
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Like the centifolia itself, Rose Star seems delicate and dainty at first, but it is far sturdier and not as hyperfeminine as the name suggests. There’s a verdant dewiness to it, but also a hint of spice and citrus. Just before it starts to feel too pretty, the sexy underpinnings of musk and honey emerge. It is, as is typical of Kurkdjian’s creations, a cool and contemporary juice. Sometimes perfumers talk of the frustrations of working with certain ingredients. But Kurkdjian clearly loved working with this flower — almost as much as Monsieur Dior. “The rose is truly a gift from nature,” the perfumer says, “containing myriad facets with powerful, almost infinite dimensions.” He is not wrong.
La Collection Privée Christian Dior Rose Star Eau de Parfum, from £175, dior.com
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