Elysegate ends with a bang - The Nordstrom Jason Wu 10 years anniversary doll

It was hotly anticipated but yet again wholly catastrophic: the Nordstrom Elyse Jolie Jason Wu anniversary doll, probably the most beautiful of all in this line, was no exception from the rule that defined all previous releases for the 10 year anniversary. While promised that it would be an online only sale, it was available mainly (if not exclusively) by phone. The online link showed the doll sold out when it first appeared, then available and so on. People calling Nordstrom found either sales representatives that knew about the doll or some that did not. International buyers could not get the doll (with rare exceptions) when the opposite was communicated initially. All in all, quite a clusterfuck, if you pardon my language. Was it worth it? To each his own. Some people love the thrill of the hunt, others don’t. I feel we have enough drama and anxiety in our daily lives to have them in our favourite past time as well. Below are the doll photos from the Nordstrom website as well as their product description. The final photo is the outfit from the Jason Wu Spring 2008 Collection.

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W Club members have an opportunity to enter a lottery for 15 dolls reserved just for them, probably as a small I-am-sorry gesture for all the sale shenanigans around the anniversary dolls.

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This was the outfit that opened the Spring 2008 show and is inspired by Grace Kelly in Rear Window.

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 Details & Care

Celebrate designer Jason Wu's decade-long career in fashion—and his previous experience as a toy designer—with this limited-edition, highly collectible doll dressed in a stunning look from the spring 2008 runway. Luxe touches like red lips, a faux-leather handbag and stunning stiletto pumps beautifully complement the posable doll's black-and-white silk-faille dress.

  • 12"
  • Includes doll, stand, dress, bag and shoes
  • ABS/polypropylene/silicone/PVC doll with 100% silk clothing and PVC accessories
  • Imported
  • Collectors
  • Item #5576263
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So what can we expect from the rest of the 10th anniversary Jason Wu doll collection?

fter the blink-and-you-will-miss-it appearance of Citrine (?) Elyse on Net-A-Porter, let’s see what is coming up next as part of the 10th anniversary Jason Wu doll collection. Each of the dolls will feature the "Elyse Jolie™" sculpt. No surprise there as Jason has called Elyse his miniature "muse". The dolls have the Fashion Royalty FR 6.0 body, wearing replicas of a variety of fashions from past collections. The doll vinyl will be that of La Vie En Bleu Elyse, who premiered the line, with the matte, velvety texture. Each of the five dolls will be done in an ultra-limited edition of 200 dolls per look and will retail for $225 per doll. Strangely enough, there was a post back in 2012 where a prototype of this year’s Net-A-Porter Elyse exclusive doll shows up (photo below) between Bergdorf Goodman Poppy Parker and the Monogram exclusive to Collette’s in Paris.:

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Two dolls, one dressed in an evening look and other in daywear, will be available through Bergdorf Goodman, who is no stranger to these collaborations, having previously partnered with Wu on collector dolls to celebrate "Fashion's Night Out". One was available through Net-a-Porter, one will be sold through Nordstrom and one will be exclusive to Wu's website at JasonWu.com. More details about each doll, including specs and ordering instructions from the retailers, will be available once details are finalized with each retailer. 

Integrity Toys released photos of the real-life runway look that the remaining dolls will be based on:

Photo from Vogue Runway, Marcio Madeira 

Photo from Vogue Runway, Marcio Madeira 

Jason Wu Spring Summer 2008 Prêt À Porter. The model opening the show wearing this dress, inspired by Grace Kelly in Rear Window, is Iekeliene Stange, who is the inspiration for Elyse's face sculpt.  Lovely dress, one I’d love to have on a doll.

Photo from Vogue Runway Yannis Vlamos GoRunway.com

Photo from Vogue Runway Yannis Vlamos GoRunway.com

Jason Wu Spring Summer 2011 .Prêt À Porter This Is the collection that inspired the New Close-Ups Fashion Royalty Collection In 2011. We see Anja Rubik wearing a striped sweater and slacks here. I’m not sure I like the turban with this outfit but the whole look draws heavily on  interwar France. 

Photo from Vogue Runway Marcus Tondo GoRunway.com

Photo from Vogue Runway Marcus Tondo GoRunway.com

Jason Wu Fall Winter 2011 Prêt À Porter.. This collection was his "baroque meets sportswear" one, a line inspired by a Robert Polidori book on the 25-year restoration of Versailles. Bergdorf Goodman Luchia's look came from this collection. Diane Kruger wore this gown at the Met Gala of 2011. Nice but not one of his best looks, for me.

Photo from Vogue Runway Filipo Fior InDigital GoRunway

Photo from Vogue Runway Filipo Fior InDigital GoRunway

Jason Wu Fall Winter 2013 Prêt À Porter. The collection was named Extreme Femininity and was the inspiration for the ITBE Light Strike Natalia, Red Strike Janay & Night Strike Monogram dresses. Chanel Iman is wearing the dress shown above, quite similar to those, so I wonder why pick this one again? I’d rather have one of the two pictured in the advertising of that season, with the gorgeous Christy Turlington below.

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Since the first doll went on sale I have been reading lots of comments about how the dolls should have been made more accessible to doll collectors. My humble opinion is that these are not dolls made with collectors in mind. They are a premium item offered to Jason Wu fashion clients, who spend thousands of dollars to buy one of his clothes. They are not marketed by Integrity Toys or the W Club and are sold only through high fashion establishments. They are meant to commemorate significant moments of his career to his clients, many of whom are women who I guess would love to have one of his outfits in miniature to cherish and maybe display as a curio and memento. Maybe, alongside the “not suitable for children” warning, they should have added “not made with Fashion doll collectors in mind”. 

UPDATE: it seems someone has the two Bergdorf Goodman dolls on eBay. They mention that they will be available in the first week of November and have actual photos of the dolls in their boxes. ​

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The seller is artsharm and the doll above is available here, while the one below is available here. Thanks to Jeff Bunn who spotted them first, posting these on The Pink Lounge Facebook group. 

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All information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2017 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission. The W Club is a trademark of Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC. All rights reserved.