Smoldering. There are few men who can ‘do smoldering’ better than Robert Pattinson. That sexy, broody, intense stare that on-screen is like a spark to a tinderbox. It’s the kind of look that, when mastered, you can build a career on – and, boy, has Robert Pattinson mastered it.
The face of Dior Homme fragrance since 2012, he has literally been the embodiment of the wildly popular, sexy, amber scent that this month gets re-invented thanks to the talents of Francis Kurkdjian, the artistic director of Christian Dior Parfums.
But don’t let a decade of smoldering fool you, Robert Pattinson is no Derek Zoolander. As one of the world’s most versatile and respected actors, his films include The Twilight Saga (2008-2012); The Lighthouse (2019); Christopher Nolan’s Tenet (2020) and The Batman (2022) – films that have him portraying the whole spectrum of weird and wonderful characters, normally from the very front of the film poster.
“Honestly, I find the Dior Man one of the hardest ‘characters’ to do,” says Pattinson. “Essentially you are being ask to play ‘attractive’, which actually comes with a lot of pressure when the cameras start rolling. You have to hit multiple points all at the same time.”
The newly released video for the re-imagining of Dior Homme sees Pattinson dancing, laughing, shadow boxing, smoldering in the mirror, smoldering in the throes of passion, smoldering up the fire escape of a Manhattan red brick, and smoldering while riding a motorcycle on an empty beach while being straddled by a beautiful woman. Does anyone do it better? We’ll wait…
“Shooting a fragrance campaign can be a lot trickier than a film, because the character is so much more abstract and ephemeral so there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ it’s done more on feel. Sometimes it feels like a roll of a dice, but as most of the work is done by the director, editors and crew, that dice is usually heavily weighted to a six!” he laughs.
If you’re wondering which variety of smolder Pattinson actually is in real life, you’d be surprised to hear that its, well, none of them. During our multi time zone call, with him in New York and Kurkdjian in Paris, Pattinson spends most of it chuckling, cracking wise, and constantly running his hand through his floppy hair (another asset that he has tamed, mastered and built a career on).
Through today’s eyes, it’s hard to believe that back when Pattinson fronted his first Dior Homme campaign, the whole ‘actor as a brand ambassador’ thing was out of favour. With a legion of fans built off the back of the Twilight and Harry Potter series, Pattinson’s profile was rocketing and he had a tricky decision to make.
“At the time, there was this stigma attached to actors doing fragrance ads. It was considered a bad look, and had that whole Zoolander thing attached to it,” he pauses to do his best ‘Blue Steel’ face and laugh. “But I remember being really frightened about those first meetings with Dior, like I was crossing an unspoken divide. But now, twelve years on, being the face of a fragrance is almost part of the package of being a lead actor, and working with Dior has turned out to be one of the best career decisions I ever made. It’s actually the longest relationship that I’ve ever had!” he laughs.
If Pattinson is the body of the new Dior Homme campaign, then Kurkdjian is the brain.
Having been appointed as creation director at Parfums Christian Dior in 2021, Kurkdjian had the challenge of reimagining one of Dior’s most important men’s fragrances, but as one of the world’s most successful perfumers, it was perhaps the roll of another loaded dice.
Not only is he the mind behind Dior’s Sauvage Eau Forte – the world’s best-selling men’s fragrance – but he is also responsible for creating bestsellers for Acqua di Parma, Burberry, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Versace. For his latest creation, Parfum, rather than going for traditionally masculine notes like leather, tobacco and black pepper, it was inspired by the iris flower – an ingredient usually more common with female scents, due to its soft, floral aroma.
“When I took over at Dior, I knew I would do something with Dior Homme, to make it more contemporary. Dior Homme is a brand that plays on the edge of masculinity, so I wanted to infuse [Parfum] with modern masculinity,” says Kurkdjian. “Iris is more known as a feminine flower so there was something to explore there. ‘Respect traditions and dare to be bold’ was what Christian Dior once said, so the task was to capture that blend of classicism and make it relevant for today.”
For Kurkdjian, the task was to talk to the modern man. Something that he describes as constantly balancing the dualities of being fragile and strong; powerful and charismatic but also sensitive.
“That’s what we try to capture with my character,” adds Pattinson. “He is someone who wants to experience everything, but never feels quite at home. He’s constantly trying to define himself in quite a passionate way. It’s funny because over the past 12 years of being one of the faces of the Dior Man, I’m probably one of the worst people to describe what masculinity is – because I don’t know myself!”
For both Kurkdjian and Pattinson, this project is one of sequels. While Pattinson is busy preparing for his second outing under the iconic cowl of The Batman (something that is off-limits to talk about), Kurkdjian is re-imagining an already established best-selling fragrance. The fact is not lost on either of them.
“If you do an iteration of something that already exists there will always be a comparison because there exists a point of reference,” explains Kurkdjian. “However, as that framework already exists it creates a great challenge to explore your own interpretation of the project. I love the comfort of being in someone else’s shoes and walking with them at my own pace and rhythm.”
It’s a line that rings true with Pattinson as the Caped Crusader.
“There have been many wonderful different actors who have interpreted Batman before, and so there is certainly a template to follow should you want to,” adds Pattinson. “However, I’ve found that when it feels like they have exhausted all the ways of interpreting the character, you end up going deeper into it because of the ‘restrictions’ and coming up with something fresh that you wouldn’t have considered originally.”
To avoid Kurkdjian nods enthusiastically before further adding to the weight that pre-existing expectations can have on the role of creativity.
“Before joining Dior I thought a lot about the pressure that comes with the role and how I would be able to handle it,” he explains. “But I came to the realization that it is a job that you can’t or shouldn’t do with pressure, because if you do, you’ll f*** it up. Perfume is about pleasure. It’s like cooking. Yes, creative jobs are intense and challenging, but it can’t be too stressful as your energy must be saved for more meaningful things. Your energy must fuel your creativity, not your worry.”
As our time winds up, we loop back around to the campaign video and ask Pattinson about the scene of him riding the motorbike on the beach. Now that is come classic masculinity.
“I actually had to learn how to ride a motorbike for The Batman, I had never ridden one before – well, apart from when I was 15, and my mum caught me riding dirt bikes in the countryside with my cousin. I got in a lot of trouble for that!”
“Essentially, Dior asked me if I could ride one and I was, like, sure,” Pattinson explains. “However, I was not expecting they meant, that I needed to ride a vintage motorbike on the beach across wet sand in freezing cold temperatures… it’s extremely difficult!” again, he chuckles. “Oh, and by the way, you have to do it with a girl sitting on your lap with her legs wrapped around you, and, if you could to that all while looking cool and composed, that would be great!”
Advice on pulling it off? Just smolder and style it out.
Dior Homme Parfum, from AED505 for 50ml, dior.com