Interview with Jean-Baptiste Mondino about J’adore perfume from Dior

Charlize Theron in the L’Or de J’adore de Dior advertising campaign by Jean-Baptiste Mondino

Number: Imagine Estonian fashion model Carmen Kass in 1999, wearing gold for a perfume commercial and photo campaign. I love Dior. Comment on this vision of a vous était-elle establishment?

Jean-Baptiste Mondino : I have this idea in a bottle with a necklace and its name which I like… Its vertical, sleek and elegant shape makes me think of a feminine silhouette if I wear it. I connaissais bien Carmen Kass, qui me semblait parfaite pour l’embodier avec son body d’amazone, sa Blondeur et son Charisme… Quant au bain d’or, this is pure fantasy and a minor feat of technology for the era. As perfume films are about to prove to us with unrealistic storytelling, these fluid ideas seem just right to me. I have also noticed that women who come forward often need to allow themselves that moment of desperation for their body and their spirit: if they lean into their body, invoke the ritual….

In a few years you will be able to take it off. Charlize Theron, in a series of videos and photographs taken in advance. What does t-elle pour vous represent?

Like Carmen Kass, Charlize is beautiful and strong. Besides being an excellent actress, she has the talent to give gold and luxury très naturallement, which is rare! In the film where she leaves, she shows us this clearly. I was inspired by this video by Helmut Newton, who knows what people would like to show free women owning luxury. Tout en le badtreat parfois…

Jean-Baptiste Mondino for artificial intelligence © Jean-Baptiste Mondino

“I miraculously deviate from Charlize (Theron) when I work with her…” Jean-Baptiste Mondino

Comment on your stories with Charlize Theron?

We have more than 20 years of cooperation filled with respect, involvement and complicity. I miraculously deviate from Charlize when I work with her…

Video advertising 2014, The future is goldI think I have a metaphysical explanation. Charlize Theron is free to move forward towards a brighter future. What does it mean to you to feel the cache of these images?

I adore this first and only perfume that represents the goddess Charlize, the earthly lady. There is a free and eternal woman who invites us to move and rise to meet this divine man. Je me devais de la libérer de Versailles (où se situ le début du movie) par le haut…

The comment explains the success of the perfume. I like it, is it in the top 3 of the twenty best perfumes?

From the very beginning, the success of the fragrance with her mother, here she continues with Francis Kurkdjian, never stops evolving. But does this also explain the relevance of the house of Dior and its trust in Charlize here and now, and perhaps as a help to the cosmos? I have no doubt that the scent I love will last… Forever…

“Dior J’adore!”, from September 27 to October 8, 2023, at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, 13 Quai Malaquais, 75006 Paris.