Integrity Toys 2019 Convention Day 3 - Jason Wu Gala and convention doll

The last evening of the Live From The Fashion Week convention was dedicated to the Jason Wu Gala. Guests entered the ballroom and saw the evening's centerpiece doll, Ethereal Beauty Vanessa Perrin, adorning the tables. Jason Wu himself was attending, as the convention doll would be designed by him. The winners of the convention design competition were also announced:

Diorama Design Competition:

People's Choice: Lani Billitti

Judge's Choice: Kelly Rinaldi

Doll Design Challenge:

People's Choice: Sinuhe Guzman

Judge's Choice: Osvaldo Vasquez (aka "Ovaz")

The winners of the OOAK dolls designed by the IT team just for the raffle room were picked and the host city of next year's convention was unveiled: the 2020 event will be held at Dallas, Texas, celebrating 25 years of Integrity Toys.

Special guest Jason Wu joined the hosts on stage to unveil the convention doll, the Elyse Jolie doll which he designed himself.

Note: All dolls pictured in these photos are prototypes; final colors and textures may vary slightly.

Item # 91471

Ethereal Beauty

Vanessa Perrin™ Centerpiece

The 2019 Integrity Toys Convention:

Live From Fashion Week

Edition Size: 550 dolls

Head Sculpt: Vanessa 1.0

Body Type: FR

Foot Sculpt: High Heel

Skin Tone: Japan

Hair Color: Platinum Blonde

Eyelashes: Yes

Quickswitch: No

The original Vanessa sculpt makes an appearance as a centerpiece, wearing the same dress as Le Flor Natalia, in another colour. Dear IT designers, it kind of defeats the purpose of having the one of a kind doll’s wearing the same clothes as other dolls, no? The doll is beautiful, even though the orange tones in her make up are a bit off putting. She’s like a mix of Night Warrior and In Bloom Vanessas.

Item # 10239

Spring 2017

Elyse Jolie™ Convention Doll

The 2019 Integrity Toys Convention:

Live From Fashion Week

Jason Wu Collection

Edition Size: 700 dolls

Head Sculpt: Elyse

Body Type: FR

Foot Sculpt: High Heel

Skin Tone: Hungarian 

Hair Color: Brown

Eyelashes: Yes

Quickswitch: No

I’m not in awe of this year’s convention doll. I can pick at least ten Jason Wu gowns that look better than this in miniature size. The original effect of appliqué flowers does not translate well in this scale. Her make up is impressive but limits her redress options. The hairstyle is simply boring. You can see the original outfit from the Spring 2017 Jason Wu Collection runway further below.

Photo: Yannis Vlamos/Indigital.tv for Vogue Runway

All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2019 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission. FASHION ROYALTY, POPPY PARKER, NU. FACE, EAST 59TH, THE INDUSTRY, THE MONARCHS HOMME and all other character marks followed by ™ or ® are trademarks of Integrity Toys, Inc. Chesapeake City MD USA 21915. All rights reserved. The W Club is a trademark of Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC. All rights reserved.

Layouts and graphics by Alain Tremblay, Marketing.

The London Fashion Doll Festival 2019 was amazing - and I was there to experience it!

My second ever fashion doll convention, the London Fashion Doll Festival 2019, was held on the weekend of 8-9 June in London, at the lovely V&A Museum Of Childhood in Bethnal Green, London. I had promised the organisers that I’d join them in this second time of the convention being held, so there I was! The event took place over two days in the Summerly Room Of The museum, plus an adjoining smaller room for the workshop. 

The V&A Museum of Childhood in London

The Summerly Room

A banner at the convention area

Everyone registered upon entry, with an easy scan of our ticket. We were given our goody bags according to our registration level (with or without the exclusive Superdoll convention doll). As I found out, the bag had loads of lovely gifts!  Check them out below.

The tables were set for eight persons and mine was named Carnaby Girl. I had the honour of being in the same table with Desmond Lingard (from Superdoll), Izzy Parker with her husband Ian, Christina Paul (who runs the Doll Club Of Great Britain website) and of course, from the organisers, Simon Farnworth, his husband Carl and Kim London. What an amazing company to be with! The tables had a folder with two lovely sketches inside by Navdeep Sikand, creator of the lovely Anouk dolls...

...who also offered ten of them for centerpieces on each table! They were raffled off to the attendees near the end of the day, Izzy won ours. The dress and bags are made by Ineke Hintz. The gorgeous base was given along with the doll. If enough requests are made, LFDF will be able to have some for sale. 

Our centerpiece doll! There were blonde and raven versions of the doll.

Everyone else at the table got a small gift as well - i won the miniature chess you see below in the round box. I was lucky enough to receive some lovely gifts from my table mates too - Kim gave me the tea set (donated by her), Carl the amazing jewellery set (by Alla Dolgaleva Rapoport), Sofia the miniature Barbies and the wonderful Thomas Bartholomew Maffei, who came all the way from the USA, gave me the Sparkle Girl outfits!

Izzy had a gorgeous doll with her, the fantastic Glory resin Sybarite from the Los Angeles Convention earlier this year (above) , while Desmond had with him the 12” House Of Zenith Avenue, introduced earlier this year. She’s not wearing her original fashion and looked better IRL than in photos I had seen (below).

Soon enough, it was time for the workshops to begin. I had registered for both, so my schedule was full! First one was the Face Up workshop by Claudio Coronado, who was introduced by Simon Farnworth. 

Claudio was very thorough in showing us the steps in how to begin painting a doll’s face. A slideshow helped him show the detailed work he does. 

We got a great list of all the steps to follow when painting a doll face and helped us understand it is no easy task. Which is why you see the “before” photo of the doll head I had to paint, but not the “after”! 

The artist at work. This magnifying glass type is perfect for detailed work, I must get one.

After the end of the workshop, I had the chance to photograph the dolls on display. The Carnaby themed set up was beautiful.

The items that were going to be raffled off the next day, to support a great cause, the Children With Cancer UK charity, we’re also on display. See the slideshow below. I should also mention that there is an ebay auction with exclusive OOAK creations (dolls or outfits) for LFDF 2019, to benefit the same charity, that ends on the 22nd of June 2019, so go to this link to check the offerings and bid!

If you love Sybarites, you know Desmond is an incredibly talented photographer as well. Some of his magnificent prints were on display and for sale.

There was a small exhibition of 60s dolls as well, check them out below in the slideshow.

Emperis Dolls had a beautiful display as well and I got to meet the lovely Marcus and William who make them. They had both their new 12” dolls and their 16” ones on display and for sale. Some amazing OOAK dolls were there too, check out Cher in the slideshow below. The guys told me they almost sold out during the day.

Then it was time for the second workshop of the day: Sofia Kalaitzidi from Microsonik London showed us how to make a flower wig. These were very popular during the 60s in editorials and covers of fashion magazines. Elizabeth Taylor and members of the British Royal family were sporting them often in events.

Here are the materials Sofia gave us for the wig plus a prepared base for us to work on.

I managed to go as far as you can see below during the workshop (I’m hopeless with a needle). Some just threaded the larger flowers through the base as they had long wire stems, so no sewing needed, but I wanted a more delicate effect. Will try and finish it home!

And here I am next to the lovely Francesco from Fred-Dolls at the workshop - we had so much fun!

After the workshop ended, it was time for afternoon tea! A proper British tea, with everything necessary - tea, scones, clotted cream, jam, milk, sandwiches, sugar, macaroons and other treats! It was delectable.

During tea time, members of the organising team (l to r: dear Ismail, Simon and Claudio) presented the people dressed in sixties or sixties inspired clothes.

The t-shirts worn by the organisers ate the official convention shirt and all attendees got one!

there were eight of them, all lovely and dapper in mod outfits…

…and the winner was Olga, who was the most popular - people voted for their favourite contestant by giving them their raffle ticket!

Near the end of the day, it was time for the most anticipated reveal: Desmond unveiled the exclusive convention Sybarite doll!

Her name is Dejah and she is the last Generation X Sybarite doll to be released! The edition is 30 dolls and there are two more available at the LFDF site - hurry up!

You can see my doll below, as I opened the box right after the presentation. The last photo is the official one from Superdoll. She’s like a Motown singer from a girl group the 60s or a Northern Soul singer on a tour in Britain in the late 60s..

And here I am with dear Desmond - this one is for you Shazam Paname! Charles was in China, supervising doll production in the factory.

This was the first day of the London Fashion Doll Festival, full of wonderful people sharing our doll passion, making beautiful memories and seeing so many gorgeous dolls. Next up, the Salesroom day.

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! 

Female Icon Dasha d’Amboise - Doll designed by Vasilen Minkov, winner of the 2018 International Integrity Toys Design Competition

Late last year, Integrity Toys announced the winner of their 2018 International Design Competition. This past weekend the W Club introduced the doll based on competition winner. Vasilen Milkov's winning entry: the elegant "Female Icon" Dasha d'Amboise™. Vasilen won this competition for the second time and rightly so. He’s a fashion stylist in real life and also part of the amazing duo valeyofdolls who make incredible outfits and styling for dolls. I interviewed them for Haute Doll Magazine, when it still existed.

According to the rules of the competition, the winning design, voted on by W Club members, underwent a series of adjustments to make it production ready, while preserving the spirit of Vasilen's original design, alongside his choice of character. Check below the original entry.

W Club members got to begin pre-ordering her early and in the special price of $150.00 US versus the general public, who can purchase this doll for $160.00 US. There is no limit I’m how many dolls one can preorder. The doll does not count as one of the five W Club exclusives for 2019.

Item # 91437

Female Icon

Dasha d'Amboise™ Dressed Doll

The Fashion Royalty® Collection

2018 Design Competition Winner

Edition Size: TBD

Head Sculpt: Dasha d'Amboise

Body Type: FR 6.0

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled Foot

Skin Tone: Japan

Hair Color: Redhead

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied

Quickswitch: No

Included:

• 12" fully articulated doll with rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes
• Delicately pleated, flowing one-piece dress
• Luxurious tweed bolero
• Couture hat and scarf
• Opera length, fine mesh gloves
• Thigh-high, high-shine, black patent leather boots
• Contrasting leopard print purse with powder blue faux-fur appliqué
• Oversized faux-emerald earrings
• Three broaches
• Two pairs of hands
• Doll stand

Special note about hairstyle: Please note that this hairstyle is designed to be a chignon. Integrity Toys cannot guarantee that the head will be fully rooted if you decide to take it down. Final fabrics, colors and textures may vary slightly. For adult collectors ages 15 and up only.

I can’t begin to express how much I love this doll. I am a big fan of Vasilen and his work and of Valeyofdolls too, so this is right up my alley. There are no obvious changes to the initial design, which is a very good thing. Dasha is a gorgeous sculpt and I have only two dolls with this sculpt, so this will be the third. I love the red hair and pale skin combination, even though I don’t think it fits the pale colour of the dress, but the black accessories and the bolero help it fit. The outfit has many of the Valeyofdolls trademark touches, like the exquisite pleating, the leather accessories and that avant- guard style I love. Read on if you want to preorder her.

Offer Type: Open pre-order.
Participation Deadline: May 6, 2019, Noon Eastern timeth.
Pricing: W CLUB MEMBERS: $150.00 USD + S & H.($30 NRD deposit due now, $120.00 + S & H due in late Fall 2019). GENERAL PUBLIC: $160.00 USD + S & H.
Final Edition Size: To be determined, will be based on all orders received.
Shipping Timing: Approximately late Fall 2019.
Order Limit: No limit

Link for the general public (if you’re a W Club member DO NOT USE this link): 

Female Icon Dasha d’Amboise preorder here

All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2019 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission. FASHION ROYALTY and all other character marks followed by ™ or ® are trademarks of Integrity Toys, Inc. Chesapeake City MD USA 21915. All rights reserved. The W Club is a trademark of Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC. All rights reserved. Doll Photography by Jayme Thornton. Layouts and graphics by Alain Tremblay, Marketing

Integrity Toys Luxe Life 2018 Convention - final gala and convention doll reveal

Sorry for posting this so late after the convention but I was away on business and did not have time to write. Better late than never though!

As most people know, Saturday night is the time of the final gala and the reveal of the much anticipated convention doll. The centerpiece doll was the one that first greeted the attendees though, as they entered the ballroom: Agnes Von Weiss!

Item # 91453

Affluent Demeanor

Baroness Agnes Von Weiss™ Centerpiece Doll

The 2018 Integrity Toys Convention: Luxe Life

Gala Dinner Event Centerpiece

Edition Size: 450 Dolls

​Hmmm. Not bad but no comparison to last year’s Agnes centerpiece. And her dress reminds me of an old Barbie release as well as a bubble dress of the same burgundy colour I own. Simple black shoes with ribbon ties, minimal jewellery, no bag... not that luxe for me. Slapping a crown on an outfit does not mean it automatically becomes luxu. Ask Dolce & Gabbana, they have been doing it for ages. And we saw the purple highlights in last year’s convention dolls. 

The winners of the convention design competition were also announced. The Diorama Design Competition had only had one participant, so it was the sole winner for both People's Choice and Judge's Choice: Lani Billitti. In the Doll Design Challenge, the People's Choice was the talented and very creative friend Mario Paglino, while the Judge's Choice was the talented and very creative friend Sinuhe Guzman, who later told me he first saw Fashion Royalty dolls in my blog. It made me so happy that those two guys won, they are worthy winners.

People’s Choice winner doll by Mario Paglino, photo by Mario Paglino.

Judge’s choice doll by Sinuhe Guzman. Photo by Patricio Lecuona. 

Then the winners of the OOAK dolls designed by the Integrity Toys design team just for the raffle room were picked and the host city of next year's convention was unveiled- Baltimore, Maryland. The theme will be “Live from Fashion Week” and it will take place from 10-12th October 2019.

Finally, special guest Jason Wu joined the hosts on stage to unveil the convention doll, which he designed himself, Elyse Jolie.

Item # 91454

Inspired Grandeur

Elyse Jolie™ Convention Doll

The 2018 Integrity Toys Convention: Luxe Life

Edition Size: 600 dolls

A bit disappointed with the convention doll. Too much colour on face and hair, too little on the outfit. She’s a hodgepodge of previous Elyse doll’s with the make up of Spring Forward Eugenia. The design competition dolls look much better than this.

Note: All dolls pictured in these photos are prototypes; final colors and textures may vary slightly. All photos, unless otherwise noted, and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2018 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.Layouts and graphics by Alain Tremblay, Marketing.