An awesome opportunity to interview Chris Stoeckel about East 59th plus an incredible OOAK Della Roux!

About a week ago, Integrity Toys posted on their Instagram account that they were looking for someone to interview live Chris Stoeckel, the immensely talented designer of East 59th line of dolls, whose latest collection was quite the success! Not only that, they would also give to the person chosen for the job, an incredible OOAK Della Roux doll! I would have entered even without the doll offering, but this was even better. And yes, as most of you already know, I was the one chosen to conduct the interview through the IT Instagram account.

We had so much fun - I had sent my questions to the company beforehand, to make sure they were OK with them and that the time allotted would be covered. I also made sure that I could ask questions that the people watching would have - and that was even better! Chris told us a lot about his inspiration, his background in design and his growing up in a really diverse family, which is also his main inspiration for East 59th. Many of the dolls have names matching those of dear family members (Della is his mother, Evelyn his grandmother etc). I was lucky enough to guess that Christian Dior, Cristobal Balenciaga and Charles James are his three favourite designers - out of which he picked James as the one being that bit more favourite because he was a tortured artist, living for his passion, i.e. the clothes he created. I did not even notice how fast time passed! There will be a Fall collection for the line, of which the only definite things we know are that it will not be in autumn colours and it will not be holiday themed. There was also a moment when Chris kind of admitted (not directly though) that we are getting an Asian character for the line. He also said he might re-purpose again unused sculpts for new characters. We discovered that Eugenia and Kyori 1.0 are his favourite FR characters. Could we see Kyori 1.0 as the new East 59th character?

And then the doll: this OOAK Della is so beautiful! I missed the chance to buy the first Della at retail, so getting this OOAK doll is even more incredible for me. Chris has done an outstanding job of making both a beautiful doll, with a lovely fave and hairstyle and also a stunning gown for her to wear. The fabric of the gown is from an actual 1950s dress and the ruffle layers have a total length of three yards! This is one of the reason that this outfit could never be recreated for production. If you check her hands, you will see that the gloves have individual fingers as real ones do, and they are not the typical solution given to production dolls. Chris said he always makes them like this for his OOAK dolls.

If you want to watch the interview, it is up on the IGTV tab of the Integrity Toys Instagram account here. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Rodarte designs for Barbie - but it’s not for sale

Designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy are the latest designers working with @BarbieStyle to create OOAK designs, inspired from their Spring 2018 collection. W magazine reported:

"We were very excited as we have always loved Barbie," said Kate Mulleavy. Added Laura, "We always loved all of her accessories, especially her shoes. We played with the dolls [growing up] and made fashion collections for them all the time! We even created runway shows with our Barbie dolls."

Rodarte used four designs from their spring 2018 collection that was shown in Paris in June 2017. Then they worked with the Mattel team to choose looks and fabrications that would translate in doll scale. The dolls modeling the outfits use different body types and skin colors.

The designs, debuted Wednesday on @BarbieStyle's Instagram account. I love the attention to detail, even down to the miniature baby-breaths as used in the real runway. The dolls are one-of-a-kind and not available for purchase. Would you like to see them produced?

All doll photos by Mattel. Runway photos from Vogue Runway, Kim WestonArnold / Indigital.tv 

Marni Senofonte, Beyoncé's stylist, collaborates with Mattel for some amazing Barbie dolls!

The @Barbiestyle instagram account, one of the official Mattel accounts, posts photos and set ups featuring Barbie in a variety of roles and outfits, attracting a huge number of followers and exerting real social media influence. Many times, the dolls and outfits featured are one-of-a-kind creations, driving Barbie and fashion doll collectors crazy with envy, as they know they are never getting these dolls to own. The latest series of photos talked about online are from Mattel's collaboration with none other than Beyoncé's stylist extraordinaire, Marni Senofonte.

As mentioned in her webpage, Marni Senofonte is a stylist, costume designer, and brand consultant. Her distinct style, which has evolved over the last two decades, layers proportion and pattern, texture and technique, high-end designer and fast fashion, to create iconic, trend defining look. Her work spans editorial spreads to appearances, music and films to world tours. Intensely collaborative, she enjoys teaming with designers, craftsmen and artisans to not only realize her vision and the vision of those she works with, but also to create outfits, imagery and full-realized brands that are both distinct and defining. She has worked with a wide range of celebrities and personalities, from Beyoncé, Lauryn Hill, and Sean Combs to Ciara, Mary J. Blige, and Jay Z, as well as with brands such as Gucci, Kenzo, Roberto Cavalli and couturiers Ulyana Sergeenko and Francesco Scognamiglio. Originally from a small town in Pennsylvania, Marni started her career as Norma Kamali's assistant. She now lives between Los Angeles  and New York City.

Like most people interested in fashion, Marni was playing with Barbie dolls as a kid, cutting their her, redressing and styling them. Like many kids out there, the doll was her first foray into fashion, unleashing her creative potential. Coming full circle, her collaboration with @BarbieStyle features a range of one-of-kind looks showcasing a very diverse range of body, hair, and skin options. The stylist mentions that the Barbie Fashionistas line with their diverse body types (original, curvy, tall, and petite),skin tones and hairstyles, was her main inspiration.  The dolls are not available for purchase. Hopefully we might see some of their style filter through in future releases of Barbie. Below are photos of the dolls from the @Barbiestyle instagram account and sketches of the dolls by Mattel designer Carlyle Nuera. The details and close ups are screen captures from @Barbiestyle instagram stories. All photos courtesy of Mattel.

Victorian punk is what Barbiestyle calls Senofonte's look for the dolls

Gigi Hadid gets her own Barbie doll - and we want her too!

The latest celebrity - and a top model nonetheless - to get her likeness made as a Barbie doll is none other than the beautiful Gigi Hadid. Both the official Barbie Instagram account as well as the model herself posted a photo of the new doll, to advertise the second collection Gigi is presenting for Tommy Hilfiger. 

There was a selfie of course:

The doll looks a lot like the real thing and I'd love it if she became available to buy. Please Mattel, make it happen! I am sure Gigi would love it too! More images from the Barbie Instagram below:

Barbie as social media influencer: would you buy something endorsed by Barbie?

In early August, Mane University in Hawaii hosted a beauty conference for Dyson's Supersonic hair dryer. it seems that Barbie (Mattel really) was hired to produce sponsored content for it. You can check the Barbie Style instagram by Mattel to see the related content, or check the photos from that account below:

It seems a bit weird to hire a doll (no matter how famous she is) to advertise a super expensive ($400) high tech hair dryer. In the age of Kardashian/Jenner social media reign and companies paying 6- figure sums to influencers with millions of followers in order to promote their products, hiring Barbie must have some secret meaning I am just not getting - is it the colour?

Would you buy something, or even think of buying something, because you saw it on Barbie's instagram? Is this a thing of the future? While I like the attention fashion dolls are getting from outside the (small) world of collectors, this feels weird.

All photos courtesy of Mattel Inc., from the @barbiestyle instagram account.