Opium Ayumi for Fashionism.gr

A very dear friend, Chryssa, asked me to do an exclusive photo shoot and write an accompanying post for the brilliant website she owns with Natalia, fashionism.gr (in Greek). I picked Opium Ayumi as a model (I was dying to photograph her) and here are the results, along with the translated text.


"I collect dolls." Just the phrase gives one the picture of a spinster with glass cases filled with endless porcelain dolls in an old house covered in cob webs, that has not seen the sun since the time of Mommy Dearest. And the terror filled looks when they hear this phrase reminds me of Shelly Duvall being chased by Jack Nicholson in the Shining (not the Greek series made by Foscolos, relax). The truth is that in the closed and sometimes snob world of fashion doll collectors, one can meet people who will easily stand up to Bette Davis and would send Joan Crawford in the corner crying silently with just one look. But most of us are normal (as anyone can be, ok?) people who just so happens that our favorite hobby, occupation, obsession, curse (call it as you like it) is a collection of lovely ladies with stylish clothes.


Usually modern, sometimes of a bygone era, the clothes worn by fashion dolls (unlike most other dolls) are small works of art. Sometimes copies of (exact or simply inspired by) real clothes from major fashion designers, make up the wardrobe of dolls that have model proportions. Even poor Barbie, trying but struggling to be recognized as a fashion doll, had Mattel put out a special body (Model Muse) to be able to sell in this area. I personally started my collection in quite the opposite way. Although I always had an obsession with dolls and since childhood I tried to clothe every doll in my path with my creations from remnants rags and remnants (with an indignant mother chasing me as best she could), it had never occurred to me that there were dolls out there that are chic and elegant, with a style that rivals the best models from the catwalks.


That was until in 2000, when I got a doll of Olivia Newton-John as Sandy in Grease, complete with all the outfits she wears in the film. This started me searching and slowly I discovered several companies who made dolls in the image and likeness of famous actors and singers. Some of them however had other dolls, which faithfully followed the dictates of fashion's whims every season. And so it began: my collection started to grow until it reached a point where I'm afraid to really count them.


It is clearly an expensive hobby. These dolls are anything but sold at the prices that playline Barbies have. Some rare or unique ones can have values ​​reaching astronomical heights. But they are beautiful and charming and every year many come out that you always want to get, but usually you can not - and this is part of the charm of the game. And I have met many interesting people from different countries (and people in Greece, counted on the fingers of one hand) and so a new world opened up before me.


There are so many people working creatively with them, photographing them, making their own clothes (some with a very artistic view and value) or by painting them so as to completely change their personality, often making little masterpieces that you think can really breathe. And I think this is the biggest benefit that one has to discover the fascinating world of fashion dolls.


I hope you enjoyed reading that. Now let's see the actual doll. Opium Ayumi is part of this year's spring release of Fashion Royalty Squared, like Nouveau Regime Tatyana that I presented to you here. She is wearing a long black dress in what looks like jersey, that has a lining skirt underneath (detail below). It comes with a red jacket, a bag, shoes and jewellery set.



The jacket is a bit stiff, the fabric too thick to let the doll be positioned properly. If it had been done in a thinner fabric it would also fit better over the dress, which would add to the style of the doll, which reminds me of Adrian's outfits for Hollywood stars of the 30s and 40s. More about this later on. The dress is a beauty, the intricate cuts on the neckline make it unique and stylish. I wish the ribbon tying at the back was scaled a bit to fit the size but then it would have been a drag for my huge fingers.


Her accessories are to die for. A black and red clutch bag (looking like a Fendi baguette) that matches her outfit perfectly, as well as a gorgeous pair of shoes in black patent "leather" and "lucite" transparent heels. The shoes are some of the best ever made for an Integrity Toys doll.



Her jewellery set is amazing. A pair of drop earrings with red and black stones, and two incredible rings with differently shaped and sized black stones.


Opium Ayumi is an incredibly beautiful doll, impossible to photograph in an unflattering pose. Her style for me is an amalgamation of so many different eras and things: Adrian's Hollywood outfits of the 30s and 40s, old glamour Hollywood stars like Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer, the first Chinese-American film star Anna May Wong but also the Chinese stars of today like Gong Li, Maggie Cheung and Michelle Yeoh, Yves Saint-Laurent late 70s-early 80s couture, Schiaparelli's designs and of course Jason Wu's Fall/Winter 2012-2013 collection (even to the make up, which of course channels the legendary Tina Chow). Below is a mood board with all these influences and more.


Modern miniature furniture in New York Times



For all of you who, like me, love to look at (or even aquire) modern furniture for their dolls, here is an article in the New York Times about them. I resent the implication that people who collect stuff like that are eccentric and weird - it is the only thing that marred this article for me. I would love to have some of that stufff to photograph my dolls with. They have a nice slideshow too.

My dolls in Haute Couture: a photoshoot for Grazia India magazine!

A while ago the editor of Grazia India, Nadnini Bhalla contacted me about doing a photoshoot with my fashion dolls for the magazine, with them wearing miniature outfits created by Indian fashion designers. She said she loved my Vogue mock up covers and wanted to make something in that context for the photoshoot. Of course I agreed and started planning the whole thing. After a while, the outfists arrived. Opening the garment bag of each one was a surprise: the worksmanship was incredible. The designers, with only a basic pattern to help them had made miniature miracles. Some of the outfits had miniscule accessories with them, which made them even more incredible.

fashion doll Nadja wearing Lecoanet Hemant mini couture dress

Turmeric sequin ball gown and gloves, Lecoanet Hemant

Not all the outfits were made in the exact doll sizes I had provided. Some were too big or too small to fit on either 12" dolls or 16" dolls. But with the help of pins and proper posing, all of them were finally photographed by me with my dolls wearing them. From a huge number of photos, I picked soem and sent them over to have the magazine editors finalize the selection and layout. When this was done, it was ready for printing. The issue was out in May and it was a huge 12-page spread exclusive. I am publishing the results here and hope you like them! In future posts, I will feature each and every dress seperately, with facts about the designer, the specific dress and also photos of the original outfit on the runway. Enjoy!

fashion dolls wearing mini outfits by Indian designers Raakesh Agarvwal, Sitara by Manjaree and Kallol Dutta

Jumpsuit, Raakesh Agarvwal; Bubble-hem dress, Sitara By Manjaree; Bambino-print maxi, Kallol Dutta

Bubble hem mini dress Sitara by Manjaree worn by Kyori Sato doll

Bubble-hem dress, Sitara By Manjaree

Ombre pleated gown by Nachiket Barve, worn by Kyori Sato doll

Ombre pleated gown, Nachiket Barve

Ruched dress with circuitry sleeve by Prashant Verma, worn by Lush Avantguard doll

Ruched Dress with circuitry sleeve, Prashant Verma

I would also like to thanks Nandini Bhalla (senior editor), Nidhi Jacob (editor) and Rajni Phatak (accounts) for their incredible help and collaboration and coordination of this dream project! Grazia India is in great hands!

Lame origami gown by Varun Sardana worn by Kyori Sato doll, lime one shouldered maxi dress by Gauri and Nainika worn by Eden Blaire doll

Lame origami gown, Varun Sardana; Lime one-shouldered maxi, Gauri and Nainika

Ball gown with rosette train by Preeti Chandra, worn by Natalia Fatale doll

Ball gown with rosette train, Preeti Chandra

Sheer knotted dresses by Anuj Sharma, worn by Lush Avantguard doll and Venus Sybarite doll

Sheer knotted dresses, Anuj Sharma

Tie-dye sleeveless jacket and top over satin pants by Savio Jon worn by Lush Avantguard doll

Tie-dye sleeveless jacket and top over satin pants, Savio Jon

Sequin strapless dress by Namrata Joshipura, worn by Lush Avantguard doll

Sequin strapless dress, Namrata Joshipura

Textured prom dress by Alpana and Neeraj, worn by Lush Avantguard doll

Textured prom dress, Alpana and Neeraj

The shoot was also published in an indian blog about fashion, High Heel Confidential. The photos below of the magazine pages scanned are from that blog as I still have not received the magazine to scan them myself.

double page spread from grazia India magazine Nadja doll wearing Lecoanet Hemant

All photographs for Grazia are not to be published in any other form, in print or electronically without permission from the magazine and me. Photos published by special permission of Grazia Magazine.

Fashion dolls are introduced to unsuspecting Greek public!

Last Monday, a major Greek newspaper published an article about my doll collection. The reporter found my blog on-line, liked it and asked me if I would be interested in doing a small interview for the collection, with photos of my dolls included. They also wanted one photo of me with some of my dolls. I promptly said yes, answered the questions that were sent by e-mail to me, and organised a small photo shoot in a seaside village. I wanted to have a new photo of me included with the interview, and if possible in a summer setting. By Saturday night I had sent all the material needed. The article was published in the Greece section of the paper on the 21st of July. I think it is the first time fashion dolls are mentioned in print in Greece. The only relative article I remember is one about dolls depicting famous persons - that mainly concentrated in dolls like Mattel's Elvis, Sinatra and Marilyn.

The article as printed in the actual newspaper.

Here is the translation in English:

"Collectible dolls signed by Versace" (referring to my Barbie Versace doll)-the big headline
Toys for big children - the smaller headline

Rare collection- a collector, from Thessaloniki, gathers history and big screen heroins in miniature. (text box)

"I am an Olivia Newton-John fan and found on-line a doll representing her as Sandy from the movie Grease. Of course I ordered her. When I received her, I knew I could not stop at one!" says to TA NEA (The News-the newspaper's name) Mr. Stratos Bacalis, fashion doll collector.

The 39 year old collector works as a designer and engineer in an architectural firm in Thessaloniki. He studied fashion design and civil engineering. But, as he claims, "I never got my degree as a civil engineer since design won me over completely because it was such a fascinating world". His love for style and fashion found an ideal expression in 2000 when he discovered that Sandy doll on the Internet.

This photograph was used in the contents section of the paper, page 2.

So a special hobby began, that today translates to approximately 100 fashion dolls. It's about dolls that can be from the well known to most of us Barbies, but in collector's editions, to pieces that represent historical persons or famous actors in roles that became legendary such as Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in the film Gone With The Wind. In fact some are creations of well known fashion designers such as Versace. His passion is such that for every piece in his collection, he knows almost everything related to it, from manufacturing details to the history of the person represented.

One of the unused photographs .

Even though every doll is indeed a particular creation, Mr. Bacalis, as any collector indeed, has a special weakness for his geishas. "There is a series of dolls inspired from the film "Memoirs of A Geisha". I have three of these dolls up to now. I find them particularly fascinating. They are all dressed in exquisite kimonos. They are wearing the shoes real geishas wear, down to the small bells hidden in their soles!", he characteristically mentions. his second big favourite is Scarlett O'Hara, for whose guardarobe he has bought two costumes from the film as well. (actually I have many more)

Mattel's Queen Elisabeth the 1st.

Historical persons


As for the one he always wanted to have: "Queen Elisabeth the first from Mattel. It was a limited edition and expensive. I like the Tudor era very much. So when Mattel put the doll on a very attractive offer, I could not resist..." he notes. Of course his wishes do not end there. As he admits, he would love to have quite a lot of dolls. "I wish I had the money to buy them all, even though then I would have to leave the house due to lack of space! I would like to obtain Elisabeth Taylor as Cleopatra, but she is expensive and hard to find as she has been discontinued. Maybe one day..." he characteristically says.

Fashion Royalty Agnes Von Weiss

These dolls are not sold widely in Europe as the shops importing them are few and mostly on-line. So if someone wants to buy one of them, he has to turn mainly to US on-line shops. Of course, as Mr. Bacalis points out " you need a lot of research to find the best place to buy one, as well as perseverance and patience". He adds that "one can find some real bargains and also make a research into relative forums and groups of people with the same hobby". Also of use are the manufacturers web sites for information about new releases.

From US$25 ...to US$17,000!

Prices depend on many factors. Manufacturer, quality, doll and edition size are the most important. "A simple Barbie Collector's edition can start from US$25. While for a unique doll one can give many thousands of dollars. It is always a matter of supply and demand as with every collectible" he mentions.

There are some dolls that have been produced in One Of A Kind editions. Most of them are auctioned for charity purposes so their price can reach astronomical heights. For example, in 2006, a Barbie In Midnight Red was auctioned in London for US$17,000.

And the photographs of the article with their captions:


Olivia Newton-John as Sandy in Grease.


"The "Ghost of Christmas Future" doll from the Dickens' story "A Christmas Tale" is one of the many in my collection that I particularly like" says to "NEA" collector Mr. Stratos Bacalis.


Audrey Hepburn with the black dress in "Breakfast At Tiffany's"

The box in the centre of the article has a top-5 of fashion dolls.

Top-5 of fashion dolls:
  1. Fashion Royalty dolls, designed by a real fashion designer, Jason Wu.
  2. Barbie collector's editions.
  3. Sybarite dolls from the UK.
  4. The Tonner Doll company dolls.
  5. Mel Odom's Gene Marshall and Madra Lord dolls from Integrity.
I found the article generally good, the reporter made a nice text from the answers I send but she did not mention my blog even once! And the strange thing is she found me from the blog!!! Go figure. That omission not withstanding, everything else was great. And I got the chance to make fashion dolls known to a large section of the public here with a serious article.