`Luxury doesn’t have to be expensive’
By Margaret Kemp
FT
March 13 2010 00:53
`I like white walls, which offset my furniture, paintings and
nostalgic objects’
Francis Kurkdjian, 40, has been named `Chevalier des Arts et des
Lettres’, one of France’s highest honours, for his cutting edge take
on perfume. Le Male, created for Jean-Paul Gaultier, is the world’s
top-selling fragrance for men. Kurkdjian has recently opened a Paris
boutique and lives in the city.
You’re French of Armenian descent. Did you grow up in Paris?
I grew up in Gournay-sur-Marne, a very small town in the eastern
suburbs of Paris. We were a very close family and my grandparents
played a big part in my life. My grandfather was a tailor and the tiny
house was filled with music, art, the odours of sewing machine oil,
tailor’s chalk and the fragrant scent of spices coming from the
larder.
Why did you decide to live in the 10th arrondissement?
I knew the neighbourhood. I rented here in 1999 when I moved back from
New York. It’s a great location, a couple of miles from the centre of
Paris, not too far from Opéra Garnier, the Bastille and the Comédie
Française. I’ve lived here for five years and what I like about the
neighbourhood is the mix of Indian, African and Middle Eastern
cultures. It’s a sunny apartment. The building is huge, the former
offices of The Globe newspaper. The façade is landmarked as a fine
example of art deco style. It was also home to Jean Jaurès, the
charismatic leader of the French Socialist party. There are three
interior courtyards and secret passages that lead to the other side of
the building.
How would you describe the decor and did you have professional help?
The decor is simple, a blend of technology and classicism. The wall of
light with neon tubes and LEDs [light-emitting diodes] is the
inspiration of designer Vincent Thiesson, a great friend. I like
white-painted walls, which offset the furniture, paintings and my
nostalgic objects: family photos, an 18th-century Vietnamese screen,
an India Mahdavi light bought at auction, a few flea market finds.
When I moved into the apartment I worked closely with RMDM, a group of
young architects. Recently I spray painted all the ceiling chandeliers
white and made a wall of mirrors in the entry hall with oval glass
panels from a very cheap builder’s merchant. The effect is stunning.
Luxury doesn’t have to be expensive.
How much time do you spend here?
Not as much as I’d like. Since I became `a brand’ I travel a great
deal in America and Asia. I’m a perfume maker but I have to say I
really enjoy the entrepreneurial and diverse sides of Maison Francis
Kurkdjian. One of my lines is Apom, an acronym for A Piece of Myself,
another is a posh detergent and softener.
What do you look forward to when you return?
I love my bed. It’s nothing special. I stay in luxurious hotels and
homes all over the world but the feeling of my head sinking into my
own pillow is bliss. I always have books on the bedside table and
recently burnt the midnight oil reading Bad Boy, a biography of Yves
Saint Laurent by Marie-Dominique Lelièvre.
FAVOURITE THINGS
Big cats, little birds
Pouic, the tiny, yellow, woolly bird bought for me by my best friend,
Emmanuelle, when Hippolyte the canary died. He squeaks when you press
his tummy and he goes everywhere with me.
The 1930s panther that used to stand on a cabinet in my childhood
home. I don’t know if it’s pretty or ugly. The house was so tiny, the
living room was also my bedroom and I was really scared of it,
especially when my grandfather gave it a red felt tongue and suggested
it would bite.
A delicate, white, limited edition Pompadour porcelain rose on a base
designed by Manufacture Nationale of Sèvres to celebrate the 250th
anniversary of the company’s move to Sèvres. They wanted me to perfume
the roses but because the material was not porous it didn’t work. We
used the perfume at the exhibition.
My log fire, a luxury in an apartment building in Paris. I can’t stand
the odour of burning coal or wood so I consider it lucky that the
chimney sucks up the smells. I don’t have to go out and chop wood, I
just order the logs on the internet.
Do you have a garden or any pets?
I rescued a stray canary, christened Hippolyte, from the street. He
had a great voice and we used to sing together. He lived in a
magnificent pagoda-style wooden cage built by my grandfather. He died
a couple of years ago and I was so sad I decided no more pets; the
cage sits empty now. There’s no garden. To compensate I splash out on
orchids and fresh mimosa – the perfume reminds me of my grandmother.
Do you entertain?
I gather my friends together and design a meal around ptissier
Christian Tholoniat’s semifreddo, a delicate chilled concoction of
whipped cream and nougat sandwiched between layers of light sponge
cake, the surface caramelised Spanish style with a red-hot iron. When
I’m not drinking water I love to drink champagne – for my dinners I
build a faux wall in the kitchen using my favourite Claude Carré
champagne. By the end of dinner all the bottles are empty and the wall
falls down. The craziest bash was when I was named Chevalier des Arts
et des Lettres by the French ministry of culture. I hired a DJ and we
partied all night.
Which is your favourite room and do you perfume the spaces?
The kitchen. I work there all the time and watch television, even
though I have a giant movie screen in the living space. I use the
candles I’m working on to judge my works in progress. I’m the first
customer to test my products. I have a custom steamer trunk that goes
everywhere with me. Inside there’s more than 200 scent samples. I’ll
sit quietly in the kitchen composing new perfumes, mulling over ideas.
It’s almost a meditation for me.
Does music play a big part in your life?
The movie screen, hidden in the ceiling, has a sound system, which is
a wonderful luxury. I studied piano and music from the age of seven
and was devastated when I failed the exam to study at the school of
dance at the Paris Opera. I picked myself up and discovered the world
of fashion, not at the centre but at the edge of couture and luxury,
with my perfumes. The rejection didn’t put me off and I still play
Chopin, Mozart and Bach on the 1920 Pleyel baby grand which has pride
of place in the living space.