For his part, Kurkdjian is brimming with excitement over his new post at Dior. “It’s a brand that even at 52 makes me dream,” he said during an interview during which he extolled Demachy for his extraordinary career.

Kurkdjian has had links with Dior spanning his entire life. The Armenian church his parents attended and grandparents married in is on a street parallel to Avenue Montaigne, the site of Dior’s flagship in Paris.

“Even in my mother’s womb, I passed in front of the Dior windows,” said the perfumer, who also has an in-depth knowledge of Avenue Montaigne, recalling the time when it was lined with couture boutiques for the likes of Celine, Nina Ricci, Emanuel Ungaro and Guy Laroche.

— Francis Kurkdjian will succeed François Demachy as  perfume creation director at Dior later this month. He will also continue to maintain Maison Francis Kurkdjian. Read more in EXCLUSIVE: Dior Names Francis Kurkdjian Perfume Creation Director at WWD via Yahoo! Life.