A few (hopefully brief) thoughts of my own:
The launch of Dior Homme 2020 feels somewhat like a pivot point in masculine perfumery for a number of reasons. First, because it reworked a groundbreaking and much-loved (in this community, at least) fragrance. Reformulations aside, I can’t think of a more significant, teleological relaunch of a popular pillar fragrance as long as I’ve been in this hobby (which, admittedly, hasn’t been very long). Dior wasn’t coy about the change either (though perhaps I’m misremembering). We’ve since seen YSL relaunch Y edt out of necessity, but I wonder if we will see more of a concerted (and forthright) effort by brands to keep successful (or at least well-known) lines from languishing by tuning them every so often to changing tastes.
More importantly, though, Dior Homme 2020 coincided with a significant cultural zeitgeist. COVID-19 will leave a lasting impact on the world, and part of that impact may be a shift toward more introversion, so to speak: fewer nights out, more working from home, tighter budgets, and increased seclusion and anxiety. Dior Homme 2020 feels tailor-made for this kind of quieter (and perhaps more pensive) world. It’s lasting impact remains to be seen, but I wonder if we’re in the middle of a change in fragrance aesthetics.
There hasn’t been a worthy designer follow-up to Dior Homme 2020, though a couple have tried, from the banal (Calvin Klein Defy) to the irrelevant (Burberry Hero). Consider, though, that it took 5 years for Dior to jump on the Bleu de Chanel bandwagon, and the flurry of subsequent “blue” fragrances was met with no small amount of derision. Though I don’t have much niche experience, it also wouldn’t surprise me to see those houses play with this DNA (Is Malle’s Uncut Gems a contender?). Regardless, I look forward to whatever the rest of the decade will bring. What are your thoughts?