The 2nd London Fashion Doll Festival is being held this weekend at the V&A Museum Of Childhood!

The second edition of the London Fashion Doll Festival will be taking place this coming weekend at the Victoria & Albert Museum Of Childhood, in Bethnal Green, London. After the success of last year’s first edition, the organisers are making this one even better and enriched with lots of activities. And guess what? I’m attending this year! So those of you not being able to attend will get to see lots of photos and read all the juicy stuff after I return.

This year, the theme is Carnaby: the Swinging London fashion era, with Twiggy, Mary Quant, Jean Shrimpton, Carnaby Street fashions, mods  and so much more as inspiration! You can see the program for the two-day event below. Access on Saturday is only for registered attendees, while the Sunday salesroom can be accessed by the public via tickets bought either online or on site. 

As you can see in the program, there are two workshops, one for making a flower wig and a second for doll face enhancement, which is already sold out. 

Just like last year, the incredible Superdoll Collectables London people are making an event exclusive doll, a LE of 30, which will be revealed at the event. It will probably be one of the last vinyl Sybarites. I have already reserved mine and can’t wait to see her!

The salesroom is full of amazing dolls and doll stuff:

There are some competitions and even non-attendees can join! Take a look here: 

The V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green, London is once again serving as the venue for the second convention.  The MOC is the UK’s National Museum of Childhood. It is the largest institution of its kind in the world. Its mission is to hold in trust the nation’s childhood collections and to be an international leader in engaging audiences in the material culture and experiences of childhood.

This year LFDF decided to support the Children With Cancer UK charity. They are doing this via an eBay OOAK doll auction and a raffle which will take place during the Sunday Salesroom. Last year LFDF raised almost £14,000 for the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital Charity.

See you in London! 

London Fashion Doll Festival takes place this Saturday! Are you ready?

I know Simon Farnworth for many years, first online through doll groups and social media, and of course his incredible doll portal Doll Observers. We finally met for real last month at IDC in Milan. And now he's presiding over the London Fashion Doll Festival, which will be held this Saturday, 30th of June at the V&A Museum of Childhood.

The LFDF 2018 is organised by members of the London Fashion Doll Club, a not for profit organisation. A group of like-minded collectors who came together with the dream of organising an inclusive event for Fashion Doll Collectors. The event is not directly affiliated or sponsored by any doll brands or companies, including Mattel. Money raised from the raffle on the day will be donated to the V&A Museum of Childhood and proceeds from their Charity Doll Auctions will be donated to the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital Charity.

The event is titled WONDERLAND and the organisers have also managed, in association with Superdoll Collectables, to secure a very special Sybarite Doll Upgrade Package for attendees to purchase. I think this is a doll anxiously awaited by all, attendees or not.

The Summerly Rooms at the V&A Museum of Childhood will be home to the event with salesroom, exhibition, talks and more. Special OOAK Alice In Wonderland themed centrepiece dolls were specially designed for the event. Attendees will have the chance to win one for themselves. An Exclusive Fashion by Microsonik London will also be handed out along with a goodie bag.

There will also be time for a spot of Afternoon Tea, following the general theme. A special breakout event for the unveiling of the exclusive Superdoll Collectables Sybarite event doll will also take place for the upgrade conventioneers. Charles Fegen from Superdoll will also treat attendees to a talk about the history of the Sybarite dolls. Other dolls brands exhibiting at the event include Andymy Designs, RDG dolls, Emperis, Janka Creator, Anouk, and Free Fantasy Dolls. 

Registration for the event was £70 which includes entry, refreshments, goodie bag and more. The Superdoll Upgrade Package, which includes the regular registration price, Sybarite doll and VAT was priced at £448. Cannot wait to see the dolls and photos from the event. Hopefully next year, I might be able to attend myself!

Superdoll Sybcon 2017 in England: The Vanity Case

The 2017 Sybarite Convention was held this past weekend at Oakley Court Hotel in Windsor, UK by Superdoll. Once again, they presented a dazzling array of dolls to attendees. The convention was named The Vanity Case and the styles varied from Mugler inspired corsets with rear view mirrors to Louis XV era crinolines and frou frous. Horses made their appearance (doll sized of course) and the end marked the return of two old sculpts, Inque and Voltaire.

Mugler inspired corsets with rear view mirrors. 

Lucius

Tempest  

The convention doll was named Windsor and was dazzling. 

Windsor even had a visor

Sybarites riding horses made for 5 centerpieces for the lucky few who managed to get them. Shown here are the convention doll Windsor and companion doll Vienna.

Voltaire and Inque made a comeback as a gift set.

Photos courtesy of Superdoll Collectables, London.

Barbie gets her own dedicated space at Selfridges and lots of London pizzazz

Later this week, within the new Selfridges Toy Shop opening up on its fourth floor, Barbie gets her own dedicated space. And what better occasion to ask some up-and-coming London designers to dress her up for than this? Three of the British capital's (and one of fashion's top cities) emerging talents are making the bill: Fred Butler, Nazir Mazhar and Sister By Sibling.

It is not the first time that the iconic doll is dressed by a real fashion designer but I think it's a first in promoting up and coming names instead of well established brands. It's London Babe! The dolls are 15 in total, five per designer, and will be available in Selfridges alongside other collectible Barbies.

Each designer concentrated on their strengths: Sibling’s Cozette McCreery, Sid Bryan, and Joe Bates designed quirky knit looks (below), Fred Butler did a series of  sculptural ensembles (first photo), while Nazir Mazhar went for hard-edged street-wear styles (above). Check out poor Ken in a bucket hat and sweat suit.

Sister By Sibling had made a nod to Barbie 18 months ago on London Fashion week in February 2012 by having five looks presented on Barbie dolls. And of course this is not the only current designer Barbies around this time of the year, there's the Coach thing going on as well but that will be in another post. Enjoy the London chic: