Francis Kurkdjian (born 14 May 1969) is a French perfumer and businessman of Armenian descent. He is best known for creating the men's fragrance Le Male for Jean Paul Gaultier in 1995, which has become one of the world's best-selling perfumes. He has since created a further 40 fragrances for major companies worldwide, including Elie Saab Le Parfum for Elie Saab; My Burberry for Burberry; L'extase for Nina Ricci; and Narciso Rodriguez for Her for Narciso Rodriguez, Green Tea for Elizabeth Arden.
Kurkdjian co-founded the fragrance house Maison Francis Kurkdjian with Lebanese-French businessman and former Ernst & Young partner Marc Chaya, which has become a niche brand in the fragrance industry. The brand was purchased by LVMH in 2017 for an undisclosed sum.[1] He was the winner of the Prix François Coty in 2001 for his lifetime achievement.
Francis Kurkdjian was born in Paris, France on 14 May 1969 to Armenian parents.[2][3][4] Having been exposed to music and dancing at a young age, Francis Kurkdjian wanted to be a ballet dancer during his youth.[5][2] However, he failed passing the competition to study at the Paris Opera Ballet School in 1983.[6] Kurkdjian, who already had an interest in perfume making since he was thirteen years old, decided in 1985 to become a perfumer.[5] In 1990, Kurkdjian entered the Institut Supérieur International du Parfum, de la Cosmétique et de l'Aromatique Alimentaire (ISIPCA), a perfume school located in Versailles, France.[6] He graduated from ISIPCA in 1993 and joined Quest International in Paris the same year. Kurkdjian continued his studies and obtained a master's degree from the Paris Institute of Luxury Marketing.[6]
In 1995, at the age of twenty-six, Kurkdjian created Le Male for Jean Paul Gaultier, one of the world's best selling perfumes.[7][8] This became Kurkdjian's first success at perfume making.[8] This was followed by more than 40 creations for major fashion designers and houses.
Besides selling his scents to major fashion designers and houses in the beginning of his new career, Kurkdjian opened the pathways to a new vision, lending his talent to contemporary artists, re-creating Marie Antoinette’s favorite perfume for Palace of Versailles, going back in time to the early 17th century and the sources of perfumery.[7]
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 2008.[7][9]
He was the first to open his bespoke fragrances atelier in 2001, going against the trend of perfume democratization.[6]
In 2006, Kurkdjian redeveloped the Papier d'Arménie for the year of Armenia in France.[10] Papier d'Arménie, a type of Armenian paper produced in France, is a room deodorizing product sold as booklets of twelve sheets of paper each cut into three pieces, which are coated with benzoin resin, the dried sap of styrax trees.
He co-founded his own fragrance house Maison Francis Kurkdjian with business partner Marc Chaya in 2009 near the Place Vendôme in Paris.[6][9] The Maison Francis Kurkdjian is now a major player in the niche luxury fragrance segment with more than 300 locations worldwide.
In March 2017, European luxury goods conglomerate LVMH purchased the Maison Francis Kurkdjian business for an undisclosed sum.[1] Kurkdjian remains highly involved in the business.
On October 2021, Christian Dior appointed Kurkdjian as its new creative director of perfume.[11]
Among Kurkdjian's awards include:[6]