DIOR Higher

Completely streamlined and stripped of all embellishment, Higher captivates with its direct, aromatic raw materials and its positive energy, which gives a fierce urge to look higher, further...

When the house of Dior creates a “Higher” between haute couture and men’s fragrance

It is very rare for Dior to offer a fragrance that is in total alignment with a haute couture collection, as the two sectors are now largely separate. Since Miss Dior, few close relationships between these two flagship departments of the haute couture house had been established so transparently.

This is the first time a fragrance has had to embody the representation of the Dior Homme brand, confirms Hugues de la Chevasnerie, marketing group head for fragrances. Fahrenheit and Eau Sauvage are better known by their name than by their connection to the brand.

However, Higher, released in 2001 to accompany the Dior men’s suit range, marks a renewal. While the advertising campaigns for the Higher haute couture range obviously show the clothing, the Higher fragrance itself has been entirely stripped bare. As the very expression of all contrasts, the Higher fragrance had to present a pure and powerful nudity while remaining elegant through magnificent black-and-white photographs.

Beauty hardly needs artifice; a fragrance like Higher hardly needs effect, as its own effect is immediate.

Higher, or the pure fragrance of a new century...

The design of the Higher bottle is, in the same way as its face, relatively “bare,” one might say stripped down to elongated, ultramodern facets recalling the shape of connected devices or urban elements that no longer bother with curves. The creative team behind Higher sums up its concept in a few words: The design of the bottle and the treatment of the photo say everything; the tagline often comes as compensation for a weak creation. No artifice, then, and no striking slogan for this resolutely modern man, whose elegance is meant to be timeless.

Both dynamic and very delicate, the lovely juice of Higher lives up to its fiercely innovative concept. The top notes are bright thanks to basil, bergamot, lemon and rosemary, which, together with the pear note, are softened and sweetened by a few original fruity touches. At the heart, cardamom with its very modern facets creates a delicate woody base. Finally, the powerfully wild and energetic cypress is wrapped in white musks to bring the softness of its cottony base notes.

This surprising aromatic woody fragrance is that of the urban man of the new millennium, who lives in the present and embodies the eternal masculine, Dior states about Higher. What better way to present this new fragrance than under a light entirely free of an overexposed ambassador or highly sophisticated settings, so as to highlight only the aesthetic image one wishes to convey? Higher dispenses with everything and offers men beauty that is simple, clear and distinct.