Exclusive! Maison Francis Kurkdjian Speaks On His Playful New Fragrance, 'Kurky'
The master perfumer awakens his inner childhood with 'Kurky'—a fruity, musky fragrance crafted for adults who still believe in fun.
In a world of polished bottles and solemn scents, Maison Francis Kurkdjian flips the script with Kurky—a fragrance that doesn't whisper sophistication but grins with it. His latest creation breaks from convention, trading luxury’s usual gravitas for something far more mischievous: childhood joy. With Kurky, Kurkdjian taps into the sweetness of nostalgia, the boldness of imagination, and a refusal to take adulthood too seriously. It's a plush, fruity rebellion wrapped in whimsy—an olfactory wink to anyone who still dares to daydream. L’OFFICIEL SINGAPORE sat down with the master perfumer to unpack the story behind this charming new scent.
Kurky reaches into the nostalgia and innocence of childhood. What inspired this theme for this addition to your fragrance line?
MFK: Kurky comes during a moment of my creative life when I want to introduce the idea of letting go. I wanted to create a fragrance that would awaken one’s inner child. An invitation to dare, to experience life through a rainbow of colors, and not to take life – or yourself – too seriously. To awaken the remnants of insouciance and passion that lie buried deep within us. It is the fragrance for grown-ups who dare to dream like children.
Kurky is a manifesto to keep dreaming and smiling at life. Why should everything be so serious when we are adults? Why can't we do silly things when we grow up? Why shouldn't we love candy anymore? When you are a child, it's cute to eat candy, but once you are an adult, it's frowned upon. I own up to it, I like to eat candy, even if it seems odd.
How did you decide on the name ‘Kurky’ and what is the significance of that name?
Since I can remember, people always had a hard time pronouncing my Armenian family name. So Kurky is a friendly nickname given to me by my very close friends, it’s short for Kurkdjian, and some of them still call me that since I was little. I like the fact it resonates well with quirky and kooky. It sounds friendly and intimate. The name was born spontaneously, without too much deliberation, out of creativity and freedom. Like a sudden smile or a burst of laughter.
There is a callback to simpler times when thinking of the theme of childhood. What emotions do you want to invoke when creating Kurky?
Kurky is playful, kooky and quirky!
It says in the press statement that Kurky’s fragrance profile is a ‘fruity plush toy’. Was this the imagery you had in mind when creating this scent and what went into picking the notes to express this fragrance profile?
When creating Kurky, my vision was a mouthwatering scent that would feel juicy, fun and quirky, while staying away from traditional gourmand accords. It needed to be sweet enough to make your mouth water like a sweet treat, but still maintain a light, freshness to it. The highly musky base translates to a kiss on the neck, a scented caress and tenderness. I composed it in opposition to classicism. It’s like a giant, musky soap bubble and I added fruity notes of peach and raspberry (what I call a tutti-frutti accord), like a jellybean candy, with hints of creamy vanilla. Or like a plush toy.
While Kurky has some gourmand, candy-like elements, it never leans too sweet and has a light, airy quality unlike some gourmand profiles that lean rich and heavy. Could you talk us through how you approach ‘sweetness’ and these gourmand elements in relation to other sweet scents in your line?
In the fragrance wardrobe, Kurky stands out like sneakers, or a white t-shirt worn under a suit: it doesn't detract from the elegance of the look, but rather conveys a relaxed attitude, a will to let go. Kurky is a bit of a snub to the current trend. It embodies the irreverence, freedom, and audacity that are at the heart of the House, in contrast with today's gloomy, darksome context and with an industry where everything is so serious, full of pompous adjectives.
Fragrance often has a “buttoned-up”, serious vibe in the luxury fragrance realm. Was Kurky a way to break free of that, unbutton that collar and have a little fun?
Kurky is one-of-a-kind amongst the fragrance wardrobe of the Maison. I wanted a playful and colourful scent to bring joy and fun to the public. Kurky is created to astonish, stand out, defy our expectations and captivate our adult minds with its childlike spirit. Like an antidote to this tendency to forget, Kurky is a childhood fragrance created for adults who dare to experience life with the eyes of a child. It’s there to remind us to look at clouds and wonder what shape they are, rather than worrying if it will rain.
How would you describe your inner child?
I think the child that I am still slumbers within me. And above all, two quotes guide me. First, that of Charles Baudelaire, "Genius is childhood recovered at will," and the one often attributed to Marcel Proust: "Creation is childhood regained." Very early on, I had the awareness and the good fortune to know what I wanted to do "later" as we used to say when I was little. It has guided me constantly, even if I often had to be patient. The House carries this part of childhood within it since its creation. As early as 2009, Les bulles d'Agathe (Agathe's Bubbles), a nod to the olfactory education of the youngest children with scented soap bubbles, came to tickle our inner child.
How did the concept for the packaging come about?
I wanted a fun and whimsical outer packaging, something that would resonate with childhood, and particularly my childhood memories. There’s a pattern taken from French school notebooks, the ones on which we learn how to write cursive, in the iconic colour of the House, what we call "Paris Gray". There's also a nod to the misspellings of my last name and I personally doodled little images on the pack, like a primary school boy. And for the colours, I chose orange and green, two very distinctive colours of the 70s (I was born in ’69), that I softened to bring some kindness and tenderness, with a candy-like feeling.
