Each year in the midst of a French summertime, between May and June, Dior’s flower producers prepare to harvest blooms for some of Dior’s most iconic fragrances. Known as the rose harvest, the process takes place in the rolling fields of north Cannes in the French town of Grasse.
The dreamy destination — which is often considered as the world’s capital of perfume — is where Christian Dior resided during his final years, living in Château de La Colle Noire and spending most of his time in the haven-like gardens under the Provençal sun. Today, the town and its fragrant fields of roses and jasmine are still at the heart of Dior perfumery.
Detailed in this short film, the annual rose harvest involves traditions that have been passed down from generations; adorned in Dior aprons, teams pick blooms by hand with their inherited special know-how. The pink May roses, with their unique natural aroma, are then delivered hastily to the house’s perfume factory for extraction where they finally meet the expert nose behind Dior’s fragrances, François Demachy. Encased in glass in a bottle, the blooms of the sun-soaked French Riviera are then sent to admirers across the world… the epitome of a summer romance.
