The Sauvage Male

1 min read

We reveal the new Dior Homme fragrance, a landmark launch for both Johnny Depp and the house and one which speaks to the modern male in abundance. 

“I had the idea of a clear direction, strong statements. It was a stone in the rough that I chiseled and shaped,” said Francois Demachy, Dior Perfumer Creator. Yesterday the famed fashion house revealed its new Dior Homme fragrance to the Middle East, Sauvage, a fiery scent composed of bergamot, pepper, citrus, lavender and frankincense. And the chosen man to represent this ‘stone in the rough’? None other than Johnny Depp. It’s the first time the 52-year-old actor has been the face of a fragrance campaign, but drawn together in a compelling series of images that sees him depart from the characters he usually plays, Depp’s mask falls, he exposes his soul and becomes a modern shaman who fears nothing.

“He digs deep to find his inner animal. Recapture it and lay himself bare. Be one with nature, an appeased ‘sauvage’, freed from his own chains,” said the House. “Until now, he has never been the face of a fragrance. Johnny Depp is now the Dior ‘Sauvage’ man. An incredible osmosis with a project tailor-made for him. A world that fits him perfectly.”

The launch is accompanied by a short campaign film, directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino and due for wider release later this month, in which Depp desperately departs from city life and takes to the desert encountering a surreal beast. The wild and powerful landscape found in the desert teaches him how to live again, free and uninhibited. Played out to an original soundtrack composed by the legendary Ry Cooder, the short film visually exposes each element of the fragrance – fiery, provocative, mystical and very, very alive. The desert allows Depp to shine as he embodies the cravings of the modern man. “To create Sauvage, I used man as my starting point. A strong and unmistakable masculinity. Like the image of a man who transcends time and fashion,” said Francois Demachy.  

Images from the new Dior Homme campaign for Sauvage