FRANCE. Koto Parfums, the French children’s fragrance specialist, has launched a new perfume line inspired by the trendy Kimmidoll and Kimmi Junior dolls.
Kimmidolls are contemporary collectable dolls that draw inspiration from the Japanese Kokeshi dolls that appeared during the 19th century. Combining traditional and modern creative sensibility, each one of the existing 80 dolls has its very own look and artwork and is said to express one of life’s true values. Following the success of the Kimmidoll line, Kimmi Junior was launched in 2009.
Based on the universal values of kindness and friendship, Kimmi Junior is aimed at juniors. Like the Kimmidoll line, Kimmi Junior dolls share a similar design comprising soft and original shapes mixed with fun and colourful artworks. Each doll is chosen based on its spirit and style, said Koto Parfums, which added that these dolls are “a unique way to display and share one’s taste and character”. To express this concept one step further, the Kimmi Fragrance was born.
Teaming up with longstanding partner Drom Fragrance International, Koto created three different yet complementary scents to embody the personality and values of the three doll characters that girls identify with: Lily, Mimi and Niki.
Lily’s perfume, a floral fragrance – Inspired by pink sugar, Drom’s perfumer Alexandra Monet created a feminine floral scent containing notes of mulberry leaf, raspberry, peach, Turk rose, peony, ylang ylang, rice powder accord, pod of vanilla, and white musk.
Mimi’s perfume, a bubbly fragrance – Drom’s Corinne Cachen sought to illustrate a fruit and citrus cocktail, “a colgne with added vitamins, fresh and addictive”. The scent contains notes of mandarin, lemon, blackcurrant, red berries, peony, green tea, white peach, violet sugar, raspberry white wood, vanilla, and musk powder.
Niki’s fragrance, a gourmand fragrance – Drom’s Delphine Jelk sought to recreate the freshness of a strawberry sorbet. The floral, fruity and musky scent includes notes of juicy pomelo, strawberry leaf, white peony, fresh raspberry, vanilla, and musk.
Bottle design
Koto Parfums said it wanted to infuse the Kimmi Fragrance line with the same je ne sais quoi that makes the original dolls jump out of shelves. “The dolls are so cute and irresistible that it quickly becomes one’s mascot. Having the dolls around is reassuring and really does cheer you up,” said Koto Parfums General Manager Nathalie Gourbeyre. “We wanted to offer just the same feeling, with a perfume.”
The bottle was designed in partnership with glass manufacturer Verreries Brosse and features a stylised dress in delicate pad printing on a faded coloured lacquer. Developed in collaboration with the RR Plastique team, the cap of the bottle comes in a 3D doll head shape. The bottle comes in eye-catching, graphic and colourful packs with selective varnishing to enhance the high-end positioning of the product.
Koto is going one step further by offering decorative stickers with each 50ml edt, so that girls can express their creativity by customising their perfume.
The edts are also available in a set with a matching scarf.
The Kimmi Fragrance range will be launched in September in selected department stores and major chains in France. International rollout will start from October onwards. As with Kimmi Junior collectable dolls (12 new dolls per year), Kimmi Fragrance will launch a new fragrance every year.
For more information, contact Olivier Mariotti, tel: +33 (0) 6 1172 1212, or e-mail: omariotti@kotoparfums.com.
