Miss Dior is a 1947 perfume released by

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...

Fragrance

Miss Dior dates to 1947, shortly after the Christian Dior fashion line debuted its acclaimed New Look collection. The fragrance’s name was a tribute to the designer’s sister, French resistance fighter

Catherine Dior Ginette Dior (2 August 1917 – 17 June 2008), better known as Catherine Dior, was a French resistance fighter during World War II. Involved with the Franco-Polish intelligence unit F2 from November 1941, she was arrested in Paris in July 1944 by ...

, familiarly known as Miss Dior. The perfume, a floral

chypre Chypre ( or ) is the name of a family (or ''concept'') of perfumes that are characterised by an accord composed of citrus top notes, a middle centered on cistus labdanum, and a mossy-animalic set of basenotes derived from oakmoss. Chypre perfumes ...

with leather and

galbanum Galbanum is an aromatic gum resin and a product of certain umbelliferous Persian plant species in the genus ''Ferula'', chiefly ''Ferula gummosa'' (synonym ''F. galbaniflua'') and ''Ferula rubricaulis''. Galbanum-yielding plants grow plentifull ...

notes, was created by

Paul Vacher Paul Vacher () (died 1975) was a French perfumer. Vacher created Le Galion fragrances, trademarked in 1936. He worked at Guerlain, among other perfume houses. He is best known for his parts in the creations of Miss Dior for Christian Dior in 1947 w ...

and

Jean Carles Jean Carles (12 January 1892 – 8 July 1966) was a French perfumer who worked in Roure Bertrand Fils et Justin Duppont in Grasse (now part of Givaudan) in the early 20th century. He was the founder of the Roure Perfumery School (french: De L' ...

. Other notes included mandarin, gardenia and bergamot as the top notes; jasmine, narcissus, neroli and rose in the heart notes; and patchouli, oak and sandalwood as the base notes. The original Miss Dior glass bottle was etched with a houndstooth print.

Other versions and reformulations

Miss Dior Chérie Eau de Parfum was launched in 2005 as a flanker to Miss Dior (perfumery’s term for a sequel or spinoff), with the intention to draw a younger audience. It was developed by

Christine Nagel Christine Nagel (born 7 October 1959) is a Swiss perfumer. She has served as the in-house perfumer at Hermès since 2016. Prior to joining Hermès she created designer perfume hits like Narciso Rodriguez for Her (2003, with Francis Kurkdjian) an ...

with the objective to create something “audacious, impertinent, and gourmand”. Miss Dior Chérie most prominently featured unconventional strawberry and caramelized popcorn notes, though it also had a popular patchouli fraction reminiscent of

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...

’s 2001 hit

Coco Mademoiselle Coco Mademoiselle is a women's perfume by French fashion house Chanel, introduced in 2001 for younger consumers. The fragrance was created by Jacques Polge, the nose of Chanel from 1978 to 2015. Coco Mademoiselle le Film In 2006, Chanel launc ...

, as well as mandarin, violet, jasmine, and musk. ''Elle'' also noted it had an antecedent in Thierry Mugler Angel (1992), which popularized sweet, food-like fragrances. In 2009, after appointing

François Demachy François Demachy is a French perfumer. He trained at . He was succeeded as Dior’s House Perfumer by Francis Kurkdjian, but he remained a perfumer under the LVMH umbrella brands. Biography Born in Cannes, Demarchy has lived almost all his life ...

to serve as an in-house perfumer, Dior released a flanker to Miss Dior Chérie called Miss Dior Chérie L’Eau, signed by Demachy. ''

British Vogue British ''Vogue'' is a British fashion magazine published based in London since autumn 1916. It is the British edition of the American magazine ''Vogue'' and is owned and distributed by Condé Montrose Nast. British ''Vogue'' editor in 2012 c ...

'' described this perfume as a “sparkling and distinctive floral scent blended with notes of tangy yet spicy bitter orange, Gardenia and white musks”. In 2010, Dior released an

eau de toilette Eau de toilette (, meaning "grooming water") is a lightly scented perfume. It is also referred to as aromatic waters and has a high alcohol content. It is usually applied directly to the skin after bathing or shaving. It is traditionally composed ...

version of Miss Dior Chérie, which also advertised additional floral notes as a twist on the original. In 2011, Miss Dior and Miss Dior Chérie (eau de parfum) underwent significant changes. Miss Dior was revised and reimagined by Demachy and this fragrance was renamed Miss Dior Original. Miss Dior Chérie became simply Miss Dior and though it retained similar packaging, the fragrance was significantly altered, also by Demachy although with less fanfare, and since then has born little resemblance to Nagel’s creation. These changes were part of Dior owner

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French holding multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris. The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house ...

’s efforts to gain greater control over their perfume formulations. Prior to bringing on Demachy to create its perfumes in-house, Dior has contracted out its fragrances and consequently,

Givaudan Givaudan () is a Swiss multinational manufacturer of flavours, fragrances and active cosmetic ingredients. As of 2008, it is the world's largest company in the flavour and fragrance industries. Overview The company's scents and flavours are de ...

held the formula for Nagel’s creation. Adjustments allowed Dior to take over Miss Dior Chérie without violating

’s copyright.

Legacy

Miss Dior and other versions of it were the subjects of a 2013 exhibition at the

Grand Palais The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées ( en, Great Palace of the Elysian Fields), commonly known as the Grand Palais (English: Great Palace), is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arro ...

in Paris.

References

{{reflist Perfumes 1947 works