Rihanna Is The Golden Muse Of Dior’s Iconic J’adore Perfume
In our eyes, Rihanna is the only girl in the world for the role.
Since the 2000s, Rihanna has been making dance floors work, work, work with her infectious electronic and R&B-inflected pop hits. For another side to her “queen of the night” persona, there’s her role as the latest face of Dior’s J’adore perfume and its accompanying campaign film. Shot by her long‐time friend Steven Klein, it features the Barbadian baddie striding through the gilded halls of the Palace of Versailles dripping in gold. Here, she shares more about how the famously feminine fragrance embodies celebration.
HOW IS J’ADORE A SPECIAL PERFUME FOR YOU?
“I’ve always loved this perfume. My mother worked in a perfume shop and she used to bring home the testers when they were almost empty. There was always a bottle of J’adore in the house.”
READ MORE: Exclusive: The Man Behind Dior Perfumes On The Importance Of The Human Touch
DESCRIBE THE J’ADORE FRAGRANCE IN YOUR OWN WORDS.
“J’adore is a unique fragrance. It’s fresh and sexy at the same time. It’s not too spicy or too delicate or too clean. J’adore has an aura and expresses a genuine ‘essence’.” (Debuted in the late 1990s and a signature scent of Dior since, the J’adore EDP has the fresh and floral notes of ylang-ylang, the sweet yet sophisticated Damascena rose essence, and sensuous jasmine sambac as well as jasmine grown in Grasse, making for one distinctively feminine floral-fruity scent. Other iterations such as L’Or de J’adore, which is spotlighted in the campaign featuring Rihanna, have also been introduced.)
The latest J’adore campaign shimmers in gold – a shade intrinsically tied to the fragrance’s legacy, from its golden hue to its iconic bottle design. Originally inspired by the gold-beaded Maasai necklace from John Galliano’s 1997 debut couture collection for Dior, the bottle now evolves further. The campaign stars Rihanna, resplendent in a gold-sequinned gown and a reimagined version of the necklace designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri. At its heart is L’Or de J’adore, the newest scent in the J’adore line, housed in a sculptural bottle defined by a single piece of gold-toned metal artfully moulded around its neck.
HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU WEAR J’ADORE?
“Personally, I feel that perfume has so much power! It can give you self-confidence, awaken memories and transport you to a different place. J’adore makes women feel that they can become who they really want to be deep down inside. It’s magical!”
IN YOUR OPINION, WHO IS THE J’ADORE WOMAN?
“She’s beautiful, strong, sexy and resilient at the same time.”
READ MORE: It’s An Olfactory Revolution: Dior Has Just Released An Alcohol-Free Perfume
WHAT WAS SHOOTING THE CAMPAIGN IN VERSAILLES LIKE?
“Versailles is enchanting. It embodies so much history and the magnitude of French luxury, and everything is astonishingly beautiful. Being able to wander around in it early in the morning was a privilege and a breathtaking experience from beginning to end!”
Party anthem queen Riri makes an entrance at the Palace of Versailles as the star of Dior’s latest J’adore campaign.The pop diva was unveiled as the new face of the iconic 1999‐born scent – well loved for its fresh yet sensual floral fragrance – this September.
AND WHAT WAS IT LIKE WORKING WITH STEVEN KLEIN?
“I always enjoy working with Steven. Even with all that he has accomplished, he still has such a genuine, pure, childlike passion for his art. It’s such a joy to work with artists like him. And it’s really full circle to be back at Versailles for Dior with him (she was shot by Klein on the very same palatial grounds for the brand’s Secret Garden IV fashion campaign in 2015). Dream team, baby!”
DESCRIBE THE OVERARCHING THEME OF YOUR NIGHT AT VERSAILLES – THE SETTING OF THIS J’ADORE CAMPAIGN?
“It’s a dream in gold! J’adore is closely connected to gold through its colour, bottle and image. (The luminous-smelling fragrance has always had a gold hue and originally comes in a teardrop-shaped glass bottle adorned with gold coils inspired by the beaded Maasai necklace John Galliano had designed for the house in 1997.) And nowhere else in the world will you be surrounded by as much gold as at Versailles.”
The gilded halls of the Palace of Versailles, the setting for Rihanna's J’adore campaign
WHAT ABOUT DIOR INSPIRES YOU AND WHAT ABOUT THIS NEW CHAPTER WITH THE HOUSE ARE YOU MOST EXCITED BY?
“The house of Dior has always represented the highest level of elegance and craftsmanship, and the regality of a woman. It’s always an honour to be a part of the brand’s history and to now be able to represent J’adore is an even greater responsibility because of how important this fragrance is to Dior.”
READ MORE: Capturing The Essence Of Girlhood: Natalie Portman Talks Miss Dior Perfume
CHRISTIAN DIOR SAID: “A DROP OF PERFUME AND YOU ARE DRESSED IN DIOR.” DESCRIBE THE OUTFIT YOU WOULD ASSOCIATE WITH A DROP OF THE NEW L’OR DE J’ADORE?
“You don’t need clothes if you’re wearing J’adore. That’s the outfit: pure gold – thanks to the legend that’s Francis Kurkdjian!” (Created by Kurkdjian, Dior’s present-day perfume creation director, and released last year, L’Or de J’adore can be described as a more voluptuous and floral rendition of J’adore, with key notes such as orange blossom, jasmine grandiflorum and centifolia rose absolutes. Its bottle has likewise been updated and is adorned not with gold coils, but a single, organic-looking piece of gold-toned metal.)
THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN EDITED FOR CLARITY AND BREVITY.
This article first appeared in the November 2024 Party Edition of FEMALE