Fashion Fairytale: Integrity Toys Convention 2017 part 1 - The Convention Collection

October is the month of the 2017 Integrity Toys convention and of course I will be posting all dolls and information as they become available. First up is the official convention collection, which attendees could either preorder sight unseen with their registration or buy at the convention in the souvenir shop set up within the hotel where the event is taking place. This post presents the convention collection Fashion Royalty and Nu Face dolls, while the Poppies and co. will be featured in the next one. 

The convention registration started yesterday for those arriving early and everyone received a mysterious bag containing an empty box that will be the basis of the usual gift set completed day by day throughout the event. No idea yet who the doll will be or what it comes with yet, but people from the convention report that the # number marks her as Nu Face. My general opinion for this collection is that I’m not overwhelmed but am glad to see that the upgrade Doll which was available even to non-attending W Club members is the best of the bunch by far. Let’s try to guess which fairytale inspired each doll.

Item # 91424

Wicked Behavior

Natalia Fatalé™ Dressed Doll

The Fashion Royalty® Collection

The 2017 Integrity Toys Convention: Fashion Fairytale

Convention Collection

Edition Size: 600 Dolls

Natalia looks gorgeous here, even though her dress is a bit boring. She must be inspired by the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz. The face screening is a dead ringer for Hot Property Natalia.

Item # 91425

Spell of Kindness

Vanessa Perrin™ Dressed Doll

The Fashion Royalty® Collection

The 2017 Integrity Toys Convention: Fashion Fairytale

Convention Collection

Edition Size: 600 Dolls

If Natalia is the Wicked Witch, Vanessa is Glinda. The dress looks like a rehash of the Miss Amour Poppy Parker Dior inspired one. Washed Out is the nickname I would give. Looks like she is the Vanessa 1.0 sculpt. If they were going for a Metal Maven feel, it came out more In Bloom. The dress is a Carolina Herrera Resort 2017 gown. Remember they did Oz dolls for IFDC In 2011, with much better results.(Go North Isha / Luchia below):

Kiernan Shipka by Kristian Schuller for Carolina Herrera Resort 2017

Item # 91426

Sea-Devil

Véronique Perrin™ Dressed Doll

The Fashion Royalty® Collection

The 2017 Integrity Toys Convention: Fashion Fairytale

Convention Collection

Edition Size: 600 Dolls

Beautiful Veronique in her green dress and cape. The leather corset and jewelry make the doll much more interesting. Details that could have helped Vanessa pop up a bit. She does remind me a bit of her Cinematic Convention incarnation.  She must be inspired by the Little Mermaid’s Sea Witch.

Item # 91431

Fashionably Ruthless

Tatyana Alexandrova™  Dressed Doll Gift Set

The Fashion Royalty Collection

2017 Fashion Fairytale Upgrade

Final Edition Size: TBA

This the upgrade convention doll that was offered to non attending W Club member as well as convention goers to preorder, based on sketches. I’m happy to say this is the best doll by far. Both her outfits look great, she is a gorgeous doll and the Cruella De Vill inspiration is spot on. She will be shipping to non attendees by the end of the month.

Item # 82091

Rarest of All

Ayumi Nakamura™ Dressed Doll

The NU. FACE Collection

The 2017 Integrity Toys Convention: Fashion Fairytale

Convention Collection

Edition Size: 600 Dolls

This one must be Mulan inspired. I like the hair ornaments but that’s all. Great face but nothing to write home about. When you take away the ornaments (photo above), she looks really plain.  The colouring of both face and clothes channel the Royal Life convention Criminally Chic Kyori: 

Item # 82092

Changing Winds

Eden Blair™ Dressed Doll

The NU. FACE Collection

The 2017 Integrity Toys Convention: Fashion Fairytale

Convention Collection

Edition Size: 600 Dolls

Eden is undoubtedly Pocahontas. And her first time in a darker skintone, if I’m not mistaken. She looks like she came out of a Ralph Lauren ad. Great boho styling.  

Item # 82095

24K

Erin Salston™ Dressed Doll

The NU. FACE Collection

The 2017 Integrity Toys Convention: Fashion Fairytale

IT DIRECT SALESROOM EXCLUSIVE

Edition Size: 600 Dolls

The Souvenir shop exclusive is another Erin ( did they overproduce the sculpt by mistake and now they flood the market with her?). This one is inspired by Rumpelstiltskin but she’s not winning any gold medals from me. Platinum hair for a doll personifying a fairytale character that spuns gold out of straw? Come on! The leather coat should have had a dark gold shade as well instead of this basic brown. I like the silhouette though.

So what do you think of the convention collection? Which one is your favourite? 

Note: all dolls pictured in these photos are prototypes; final colors and textures may vary slightly. All photos and 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. Doll Photography by Jayme Thornton and/or Alain Tremblay. Layouts, Graphics and 3D renderings by Alain Tremblay, Marketing.

Everybody’s saying Claudia Schiffer is the real Barbie, so Mattel made one to prove it!

Ever since Claudia Schiffer was catapulted in the upper strata of the galaxy we know as Fashion, she was frequently compared to Barbie. People kept saying she looked like a living Barbie doll so much, that in 1994, Ellen Von Unwerth photogrhed her vir Vogue Italia as The Real Barbie. So, to celebrate 30 years of Claudia Schiffer’s career and the launch of her self titled book, published by Rizzoli, Mattel decided to recreate one of the looks in that editorial, featuring a Versace dress. Here are the four photos they posted on their @babriestyle Instagram account:

Barbie Claudia! 

The original photograph by Ellen Von Unwerth for Vogue Italia

She does look a lot like Claudia! 

Close up of the doll - can we have her on sale now? 

It’s amazing how well they recreated the face and style of Claudia. The doll looks perfect. It would be amazing if she became available commercially, I’m certain it would sell very well. How about it Mattel? As we wait for it, let’s have a look at the rest of the original editorial. Published in Vogue Italia , on the July 1994 issue, titled Claudia, The Real Barbie. The photographer is Ellen Von Unwerth, fashion editor is Alice Gentilucci, Ward is the hairstylist and Francois Nars did the makeup.

As you can see above, the original photograph in the editorial was mirrored for the Instagram post (probably for the book as well, where Von Unwerth wrote the foreword). We end this with a backstage photo, with Claudia holding a Barbie in hand.

​Update 18th of October: The OOAK Doll made an appearance in Saks NY windows dedicated to the debut of an eight piece capsule collection that Claudia did with Aquazzura. So if you are in New York, you can see the doll if you visit the Saks NY flagship store. Photo from the model’s instagram account:

All doll photos courtesy of Mattel. All Claudia Schiffer photos by Ellen Von Unwerth. 

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.:

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 

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

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

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

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.

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. ​

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. 

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.  

Jason Wu 10th anniversary collection new Elyse doll exclusively for Net-A-Porter

Jason Wu is releasing a very special collection of dolls this year to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his human-sized clothing line.  Each doll is done in an ultra-limited edition of 200 dolls per look, and features the "Elyse Jolie™" sculpt- one that Jason has called his miniature "muse". They are on the Fashion Royalty FR 6.0 body, wearing replicas of a variety of fashions from past collections.  These dolls are being distributed by Jason's company in conjunction with various retailers and, as such, neither the W Club nor Integrity are involved in the distribution in any way. If you remember, the first doll of the line, La Vie En Bleu Elyse, was the one made for Integrity Toys 2016 Convention attendees (blonde version) and the W Club members via lottery (redhead version) way back at the beginning of the year.

The first retailer to have a doll was Net-A-Porter: https://www.net-a-porter.com. Net-A-Porter has different websites for different regions, including North America, Europe and Asia/Pacific, and they split their limited quantities (200 dolls) amongst those sites. The look is from Jason’s Spring Summer 2012 collection, seen below on the runway. Doll retailed for US$ 225.00.

Jason Wu S/S 2012, from Vogue Runway, photo Alessandro Garofalo, gorunway.com 

The retailer said their VIP customers that have personal shoppers were able to pre-order the doll through the personal shopper and preview the doll early. For everyone else, the dolls went live early in the morning on October 13th. For their European or "International" site, the dolls were up at approximately 6 am UK time on 10/13. For their North America site, 6am ET on the 13th and for the Asia/Pacific site, 5 am Hong Kong time on the 13th. They ship to 190 different countries. The dolls sold out in minutes.

Here is the text from the retailer’s website: “Before he began his career in fashion, Jason Wu worked for 10 years as a toy designer. This limited edition doll is created with high-end specialists Integrity Toys and dressed in an acid-bright chartreuse gown from Wu's Spring '12 runway show. Fully posable with a display stand, this exquisitely detailed collector's item has glossy patent sandals, long eyelashes and coordinating red lips and nails”.

While I’m really liking the doll (like Fine Print Elyse with her hair down), the dress is not wow, even though the colour is a favourite. The double layering leaves something to be desired as the bottom layer is not ruffled as the top, making it look unfinished. Same goes with the ruffle itself, which does not transfer well to this scale. The only accessories are her shoes nice but we have seen them before), belt and earrings (great). 

I guess she was made not only to channel the exact Wu Fashion but to also appeal to buyers outside the fashion doll collecting community. The stiff poses of the photos (the first one, posing more naturally, was from the club email and not the retailer’s site, so I’m guessing that one is an Integrity Toys photo while the rest are Net-A-Porter), few accessories, no fuss dress and accessories (I bet the shoes will be on the doll) make it look that way. 200 dolls for a worldwide retailer. Not easy to get. 

Love her close up but someone forgot to fix the stray hair.

Am I the only one seeing bad sewing here?

Great shoes, I hope they are already on the doll to help non doll collecting buyers.

First photo and 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. Doll Photography (first photo) by Jayme Thornton and/or Alain Tremblay Layouts, Graphics and 3D renderings by Alain Tremblay, Marketing. Doll photos from Net-A-Porter.

Superdoll’s Gibraltar: an ode to John Galliano

On the 28th of September, Superdoll London unleashed the gorgeous Gibraltar on their customers. As usual, the doll sold out quite soon. And how could it be any different? She is one of the most beautiful Sybarites released this year. Her outfit and styling are a direct tribute to John Galliano and his Dior Couture collections of 1997, both Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter. To me it looks like a combination of two gowns: the Masai inspired black gown from his S/S 1997 Christian Dior Haute Couture collection and the peacock gown from his Belle Époque inspired F/W 1997-98 Christian Dior Haute Couture collection. The hairstyle of the doll even comes from the last one. And the name of the doll? The place where John Galliano was born.

​The description from the Superdoll website.

Venus is fabulous as could be in her strelitzia Extravaganza, a late night rendezvous calls for coiffure, blossoms and very high heels.She is probably not paying attention to anyone other than herself this evening!
From the top. A gorgeous headpiece of banana yellow guipure asymmetrically sprouts from her flaming blunt red banged wig. A statement just as we get started ...fabulous!
Her eyeshadows in the spectrum of shocking green and smoke surround her eyes of translucent pistachio and blind fern with lids of unripened vanilla. Lips of fluorescent coral Macaw and beyond.
Her 1 piece frock; an ode and a nod; in electric blue sinuous silk satin custom printed with deconstructed strelitzia embellished in laser organza petals and piece d' resistance..... a beaded Massaii corset finished with a flourish of jungle bouquet. Probably not something you would wear for pre rendezvous cocktails.. unless you were a D'Royce; of course.
Venus loves twilight and loves nothing more than oozing around in skin tight satin as the moon comes out.
Always accessorised to the twenty sevens, Venus has a discreet electric blue clutch trimmed in stuff that matches her corset, opera length gloves in almost not there yellow illusion tulle, and totally uncomfortable stiletto heeled courts in magical 'just the right' blue.
Huge inspired gilt bracelets are her final accessory!
Venus knows once the beats start beating she's gonna shimmy all night long.
Could someone please hand her, her sunglasses?

Doll characteristics:
Clone: 1000 Venus d'Royce
Skintone: COSMETIQUE
She comes with the following standard accessories:
-manic_cure hands (see booklet for hand change instructions)
-booklet
-stand
PRODUCTION MAY VARY FROM PROTOTYPE SHOWN.
Price: £279.75 (Excluding VAT at 20%)

And now let’s see the inspirations... 

John Galliano for Christian Dior, Haute Couture Spring/Summer 1997, photo by Annie Leibovitz for US Vogue. 

John Galliano for Christian Dior, Haute Couture Fall/Winter 1997-98, photo by Peter Lindbergh for US Vogue.