Beauty

7 Iconic Designer Scents That Started Out as Stinkers

You don’t reach icon status without a little bit of risk taking, something designers like Issey Miyake, Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford know to be true both on the runway and at beauty counters. Their success in the fragrance world is further proof that it pays to be bold, even if you’re not always a crowd pleaser. Find out which fragrances survived controversy, bad reviews and opposing trends to become trailblazing classics

Caitlin Agnew January 6, 2016

Iconic Designer Fragrance

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Dior Miss Dior

Named after Christian Dior’s sister, Miss Dior goes hand in hand with his career-defining New Look collection of 1947. The original eau, a floral chypre created by Paul Vacher, was a perfect match for the nipped-in waists and full skirts, right down to the curves of its Baccarat bottle. According to lore, Dior asked the every woman he knew for her opinion on the scent and got a unanimous thumbs-down, but he went ahead with his convictions. Today’s version of Miss Dior, by perfumer François Demachy, is an updated twist, with elements of Turkish rose and orange in a bottle that references the designer’s signature grey houndstooth. Dior Miss Dior Eau de Toilette, from $88