The Muse, the Perfume and the Dress: the gold of J’Adore Dior

When a perfume has its own Wikipedia page, that’s a true sign that the scent is already a legend. When a golden sequin dress is used for the same perfume campaign, for over 20 years, that only means that an iconic piece has been special. Add to that a muse that stayed 20 years in a campaign, a French house with a tradition in glamour and couture and you have the most amazing story of a perfume: J’Adore Dior. 

The Perfume

We have to admit, it is very, very rare that a  fragrance ad to be as well known as the scent itself, but it’s impossible to think of Dior’s J’adore without immediately recalling the goddess-like Charlize Theron, the gold dress and the most impressive golden collar we have ever seen. Yes, this year the muse left the house and the new kid on the scene, Rihanna, took the spotlight. (Keep reading, we’ll get back to that!) 

* The history began in 1999 with… the creation of Calice Becker (a master perfumer behind other household name scents such as Tommy Hilfiger’s Tommy Girl and Calvin Klein’s Secret Obsession). J’adore was a huge launch for the French fashion house, who first entered the fragrance world in 1947 with Miss Dior, following with other well-known franchises like Eau Fraîche (1955) and the ever best-selling Eau Sauvage (1966). The strong and sweet Poison, launched in 1985, was a radical departure for Dior, being bold, sexy, and entirely modern.

* The bottle of J’adore… was equally unmatched in its design and very reicognoscible, as well: an unusual, striking and feminine teardrop shape conceived by jewellery and furniture artist-designer Hervé Van der Staeten. Representing a take on the female silhouette, it also – according to Van der Staeten – was intended to be “a talisman-like object that nestles in the palm of the perfuming hand”. He looked to historical amphoras (also source of inspiration for Christian Dior himself when, in 1947, he debuted his New Look dress designs). 

* Launched with Estonian model Carmen Kass as the “face” (1999), J’adore became an almost instant top seller for the house. It had notes of mandarin, champaca flower, ivy leaves, jasmine, Turkish rose, blackberry musk, plum. 

* The new muse (and the most longevive one)… entered the scene in 2004, when J’adore had a new face, the actress Charlize Theron. But the bottle, the main core of the perfume remained unchanged. Since the launch of J’adore, and due to its huge popularity, iterations of the franchise have been released; special edition bottles with opulent “necklaces”, and fresh versions of the fragrance, such as J’adore Absolu which arrived in 2007, with the jasmine and rose notes supercharged, J’adore L’Or (2010) with notes of Grasse jasmine and an engraved new necklace on the bottle. Charlize Theron was again in the campaign, and the new J’adore In Joy (2017) brought a floral-fruity-salty accord. The most recent takes include J’adore Eau de Parfum Infinissime (2020) and Parfum d’Eau – a lighter, sparkling take on the original (2022).

* The newest incarnation, J’adore L’Or in 2024… is perhaps the house’s most bold and exciting, not least because of the nose behind it. After joining Dior as perfume creation director in late 2021, the renowned Francis Kurkdjian has been working behind-the-scenes on his big debut with the house, and chose J’adore as the launch project, creating “the gold of Dior” in L’Or.  “The main difference for me with this new scent”, Kurkdjian said, “is the way we create the sensuality and sexiness of perfume today compared to 25 years ago. Femininity today is very differently defined than it was then. I wanted to take the old material of J’adore and twist it and reimagine it for today’s woman”, he adds. The bottle has been modernized too, with a new solid metal cap and the gold “necklace” that adorns it “melted” to become more organic and fluid. “J’adore is iconic in every way, including the bottle. So I didn’t want to change it too much but try to enhance what Dior is about.”

The dress

Among all the Dior aesthetic codes, gold is a fundamental symbol, infused with luxury and rarity. The name Dior contains “or”, French for gold, as Jean Cocteau reverently wrote, underlining the extent to which this name held the value of a magic spell. And, if you look at these almost 25 years of J’adore, the dress in the advertising campaigns was always… gold. It its a very clear sign, isn’t it?! 

The muse & the movie: over 20 years of advertisements for J’adore

It is, for sure, a rare example of advertising longevity – it may be the gold that carried away the legend? It all started with the supermodel Carmen Kass (the first film directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino in 1999). Continued with Oscar winner actress Charlize Theron for 20 years and surprised everybody with the new campaign with the famous singer, Rihanna (2024).

* The J’adore films… share a rhythmic attitude. As well as the idea of the iconic ads. “I can’t resist temptation,” Carmen Kass said, slipping into a golden pool as a male singer groaned “Oh, baby” over the ad’s backing track. “Gold is cold, diamonds are dead,” purred Charlize Theron, as she stripped off her jewelry and ball gown during her first ad spot touting Dior’s J’Adore eau de parfum. “C’est ca que j’adore.”

* In 2018, J’adore returned to the inaugural theme of the bath. In contrast with previous advertising campaigns, muse Charlize Theron no longer walked alone through the gilded wood panels of a neo-classical mansion, or the galleries of the Château de Versailles, as in previous ads. In this new advert she appeared at the heart of a magical women’s sanctuary adorned in gold embroidered chiffon. Clouds of swirling incense rise from large vases revealing the intricate forms of a transformed hammam. The striking presence of the incense evokes the primitive origins of perfume in history, and serves as a reminder of Christian Dior’s love of Ancient times and archaeology. It took more than three weeks to create an imposing architectural décor constructed entirely from recyclable materials. Dozens of archways and cupolas evoke the iconography of hammams. The ad was directed by Romain Gavras and portrays cultural blending and diverse representation, where each female profile has a subtle presence. 

* The dresses of the women in this campaign were also special…  the diaphanous wardrobe was composed of around 20 dresses specially designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri, and on which thousands of golden sequins were applied one by in the ateliers in 30 Montaigne. Dressed entirely in gold, Charlize Theron leaves the privacy of her bath to shine even brighter, positioning the image of a radiant perfume-woman in the light. 

A new muse – Rihanna, the same golden dress 

* Rihanna’s appearance in 2024 has been highly anticipated. The Dior Instagram account teased that “J’Adore has a new queen”. Fans began to speculate it was Rihanna after she was spotted at the brand’s Fall 2022 ready-to-wear show and Spring 2024 haute couture show. 

* It was not her first rodeo with Dior, though. During the Raf Simons era in 2015, she made history as the first Black celebrity signed as an ambassador for the brand. Now, the singer and beauty mogul is the new face of the iconic Dior J’Adore fragrance. 

* For the J’Adore campaign, Rihanna was back on familiar ground, shooting in Versailles with photographer Steven Klein. The duo previously worked together for Dior’s “Secret Garden IV” campaign, also captured at the legendary location. Then, the photos and film showcased Rihanna strolling, stomping, and running around the gilded palace at night. This time around, Rihanna is presented as a golden goddess with blonde caramel hair and a new neckpiece reminiscent of the signature bottle. 

* The golden dress in 2024 is… once again a creation of Maria Grazia Chiuri, modeled after the design of the original perfume bottle.

* Will Rihanna collaboration last as long as her predecessor’s? One year? Or 10? The brand said it is “the beginning of a new dream.” Rihanna, for her part, is ready to combine J’Adore’s signature blend with “my world, my story, my roots, as well as my creativity, and my own femininity.”

P.S. Dior sells more than 820.000 bottles of Dior J’adore every year.