Dior Homme edt Review – Francois Demachy; 2020

Well, they’ve gone and done it again. After confusing us with the name changes of the various Miss Diors (not to mention its interminable flankers) and playing fast and loose with Eau Sauvage / Sauvage / Joy, the sages at Dior have decided that the scent we have, until now, known as Dior Homme will be called Dior Homme Original, and the Dior Homme name will be used for an entirely different composition by Francois Demachy. The latest episode of my Love At First Scent series features a review of this brand new iteration. Watch it below or by clicking here.

You’ll see from the video that I think the 2020 version is far from awful. Indeed, it’s never anything less than well-made and wearable. But the ambiguities that made Olivier Polge‘s composition an instant classic have been completely flattened: the Dior man of 2020 has no time for anything other than clear, conservative statements.

What’s curious is that the brand has chosen this new ‘straightness’ to be represented by Robert Pattinson, an actor whose complex public image is at odds with the scent’s easily-legible identity. The 2005 version was fronted by a young Jamie Dornan, whose mix of the fragile and the square-jawed was a perfect fit with the contents of the bottle. It’ll be interesting to see if Pattinson’s backing does for Dior Homme what Johnny Depp did for Sauvage.

UPDATE – 30th March 2020

For me, perfume has never been about attracting compliments. I know all too well that there’s a whole arena of reviewers and scentusiasts out there who measure a fragrance’s ‘effectiveness’ partly by how much positive attention it garners. And that’s fine — each to their own. But it’s something in which I have almost zero interest. However, when a scent attracts more-than-normal levels of praise, I tend to sit up and take note, because it’s usually an indicator that something noteworthy is at play. 

I’ve now worn Dior Homme 2020 several times. You know, just to give it a fair crack of the whip. And on each occasion, quite a few people have made the effort to tell me how much they’ve enjoyed smelling it. Truth be told, I’ve enjoyed smelling it too. I still maintain that there’s nothing especially remarkable about it, but at least it doesn’t display the mind-numbing crassness of Chanel Bleu or Dior’s own Sauvage. As the translucent woods (ie Iso E Super) in the heart make way for the vetiver and patchouli in the base, an undeniably suave accent begins to make its presence felt… although it doesn’t quite remain intact all the way through to the closing stages of the drydown. 

But what’s interesting is that this composition seems to have struck a chord with certain notions of contemporary masculinity. Back in 2005, we were able to accept the gender-bending iteration of Dior Homme. Now, we seem to have regressed to wanting men to fit within narrower definitions of masculinity. In uncertain times – for instance, times when the clean-cut straightness of Captain America is a massive box office draw – we seek comfort in easily-legible, readily-comprehensible stereotypes. Good news for Dior, I guess. Their latest Homme is doubtless a well-executed statement on ‘Guy’ version 2020. But I just hope it isn’t a sign of further returns to ideas and images best left behind in the past. 

Persolaise

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