Zavelier · The perfumers
A Grasse education carried into an American creative career
Claude Dir grew up in Cabris, above the French Riviera, before his family moved to Grasse. Fields of jasmine, rose and tuberose formed part of the environment in which he discovered his vocation.
Trained as a chemist, he began working at Mane and was invited to attend its school of perfumery and flavours in Le Bar-sur-Loup. His education included essential oils, chemistry, accords and flavour creation. In 1980, Maurice Mane offered him the opportunity to move with his family to the United States to help develop the company’s New Jersey operation.
Dir’s later life has continued to connect France and America. In a first-person interview, he described composing, exchanging ideas with colleagues in New York and maintaining a studio practice in painting and mixed media. Even discarded formula papers became material for artworks. His career links close study of ingredients with a broader interest in making, looking and remembering.
Explore the fragrances
Discover the compositions represented at Zavelier. Shared credits identify fragrances created with other perfumers.