On The Bright Side

Parfums Christian Dior's Perfume Creation Director Francis Kurkdjian's next water for La Collection Privée Christian Dior, titled Dioriviera, pays tribute to the sunshine of the Cote d'Azur.

- Bryan Goh

If one has a proclivity for the brighter side of life where he casts a ray on interests like the subjects in Slim Aarons' photography do soaking up the sun, idling for hours by the big blue, and having a liberated approach to their body - then there is a chance that this spark started from what is called the French Riviera style.

However, we are not referencing its stylistic tropes like the crisp whites, nautical influences, and barefoot elegance from movies like La Piscine, To Catch a Thief, or And God Created Woman. Neither are we referencing today's Riviera with its exclusive parties and dazzling celebrities muses because we are here to cast a light on what it was, and yes, even before Marlon Brando and Audrey Hepburn traipsed around it for Edward Quinn's book Riviera Cocktail.