Integrity Toys Obsession Convention 2021, Day 2: The Final Gala Event dolls

The Obsession Convention Final Gala Event was the final one for this year’s virtual convention. The Event Centerpiece doll was designed by Jessy Ayala and the Official Convention Souvenir doll was designed by designer Jason Wu, as it has been for many years. The winners of the three creative competitions were also announced. It was a mixed bag of a convention, more so than last year, and I think that the format of the event, if it continues to be virtual (which will almost certainly be again next year), has to be rethought. There are ways to make things a bit more interactive, so that people can get a sense of being connected and do things during the convention, instead of simply watching one webinar after another. With the problems in the supply chain not going away for the foreseeable future, it might be sensible to make the convention dolls early enough so that they can be available during the time of the event. It has been two years now living in a pandemic, with adequate and early planning, it can be possible.

Item # 91529

Sovereign

Adèle Makéda™ Dressed Doll

The 2021 Integrity Toys Convention: Obsession

Final Gala Event Centerpiece

Edition Size: 1300

Special Convention Price: $180.00

*Only for Main Convention Package Holders*

Head Sculpt: Adele 2.0

Body Type: FR 6.0

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled

Skin Tone: Sunkissed

Hair Color: Golden Blonde

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied

Quickswitch: No

Sovereign Adèle Makéda is definitely giving a run for her money to Victoire Roux for best doll of this convention. The final gala centerpiece doll continues designer Jessy Ayala's military-styling Obsession for the Fashion Royalty ladies and hits the mark - a perfect ten. And from the real-life photos I have seen, she sure is gorgeous. I will try to add this one to my collection, as well as Victoire. The jacket is in the formal military style seen especially in the 19th century, and with her hair and accessories she looks like a modern version of the Bridgerton ladies. She could very well have a part in that series!

Item # 12320

Fall 2020

Elyse Jolie™ Dressed Doll

The 2021 Integrity Toys Convention: Obsession

The Jason Wu Collection Official Convention Souvenir

Edition Size: 1300

*Only for Main Convention Package Holders*

Head Sculpt: Elyse Jolie

Body Type: FR 6.0

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled

Skin Tone: Dark A-Tone

Hair Color: Black

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied

Quickswitch: No

It is weird to have a second dark skinned Elyse in a year (after the upgrade one) and, despite her wearing a Fall 2020 Jason Wu original dress, she feels a bit underwhelming. Following after the incredible centerpiece Adele surely does not help. The obsession is cosmetics and she comes with a set of miniature Jason Wu cosmetics that are gorgeous and I’d love to have them offered as an accessory set sometime in the future. The gown is quite close to the real dress but the unfinished edges do not translate well in doll size and make the effect have no impact compared to the original. It looks like someone decided to leave the dress unfinished because they were in a hurry. Last year’s Aymeline was a much better choice for the convention souvenir doll.

The winners of the Obsession Convention Design Competitions were also announced at the final event. Each one will receive an Integrity Toys exclusive award statuette. Let’s see who won each category:

Monochromatic Obsession Styling

Competition Winner: Aral Rahman

Meet Aral Rahman

Aral Rahman was born and raised in Malaysia. He loves to design OOAK doll outfits under his own mini label ARALGHOSTIER. Coffee addict. Pure Cancerian. My muse would be pop/dance songs, favourite colors got to be black, maroon ruby, mauve & emerald. Digging in the characters of Giselle, Rayna, and Lilith.

A Note From Aral

As black and addictive as 'Opium Libre'... Feeling free and mysterious at the same time. Would love some danger while on the red carpet. Not perfect, asymmetrical, and just on edge. Effortless timeless in black couldn't be wrong! - Aral Rahman

Fashion Photo: Obsessed with Travel Photography

Competition Winner: Alberic Kacou

Meet Alberic Kacou

I'm Alby, the unique IT Collector man living in Africa (Ivory Coast, West Africa). As a globe-trotter African native, I'm passionate about travels, people and their culture, dolls, photography, fashion, and music. To me, life is a priceless gift, that I dully celebrate every day with family and friends, all over the world. I have been a doll collector for a decade, but collecting IT dolls since 2019. IT dolls are the perfect dolls for collectors, to me. Please dive into my special universe through my IG account @bibidollscollector

A Note From Alberic

Rayna is back in Tunisia, the country of origin of her grandparents. She's happy to discover the famous village Sidi Bou Said, where this special blue is present everywhere and dresses all the artistic and unique doors of the ancient shelters. Rayna's dress is assorted to the blue mood of this nice location. - Alberic Kacou

Obsessed with Fashion Diorama/Scene

Competition Winner: Nicanor Aquino

Meet Nicanor Aquino

I'm Nic from Annapolis, Maryland. Was always a doll lover, but was inspired to collect in 2018 after discovering the doll community on Instagram.

A Note From Nicanor

My diorama is inspired by your iconic characters like Cher Horowitz and Carrie Bradshaw and their obsession and love affair for fashion. The scene depicts the ridiculousness of living and breathing fashion through obsessive shopping. - Nicanor Aquino

Congratulations to all the winners, what a creative trio! And this is the end of the 2021 Integrity Toys convention coverage from me.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Prototypes shown, final production may vary. Acrylic blocks in the accessory pictures are display props only and are not included with the doll. For adult collectors ages 15 and up only. All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2021 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. Jason Wu and all other related brands are trademarks of JWU, LLC. All rights reserved. Used under permission. The W Club is a trademark of Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC. All rights reserved.

Doll Photography by Jayme Thornton, Bill Peck, and Shaunessey Smith; Layouts and graphics by Alain Tremblay, Marketing

Integrity Toys Obsession Convention 2021, Day 1: The W Club Event

The first day of the Obsession 2021 convention ended with the W Club Event. This, as usual, was charged in addition to the main convention package and was available to all W Club members. The price was $155.00 and included one doll (souvenir), giving you also the right to purchase the centerpiece doll of the event. We already knew that the dolls would be part of the NU Face line, so after the previous reveal, these were going to be sports themed as well. Carol Roth hosted the live presentation, along with Alain Trembley. They also had all the Integrity Toys designers participate in a Q&A session, after each one presented himself. Which pretty much followed last years event.

What was new, was a condescending tone coming from both hosts against W Club members, about not reading their emails properly (sounded like a teacher scolding you about homework) and about not being understanding enough about the problems that plague doll manufacturing. Carol even prompted designers to tell what they felt collectors should know about doll manufacturing, but in a way that was more like “tell them what obstacles we face making these highly coveted collectable dolls so that they stop complaining about receiving them late or with faults or both”. And that left a sour taste in my mouth (and from what I have been seeing and reading in various forums and social media, to many other people as well). I would never dream of telling my clients off like this, ever, no matter what problems I face making their product (and trust me, I work in a design company making high end exhibit stands for companies so I’m familiar with the situation). You want people to read your emails? Maybe you should make them more condensed and make their layout better? Maybe Break down information about a variety of stuff in smaller emails instead of one big endless text email? Maybe use diagrams and pictures to convey part of the information? Don’t tell me you are doing this for the last 25 years, most of your collectors are doing similar things for as many if not more years as well. Don’t treat your customers like pre-schoolers. W Club has grown too much lately and growing pains are never easy, but people are paying you dearly for a high quality collectable doll. Their money is what give you your daily bread and also a job you love doing. Stop complaining about how your clients treat you and look into why they treat you the way they do. You are paid to give solutions to problems, not whine about it. And if that whole shebang was not enough, there came the dolls.

Item # 82153

MVP

Rayna Ahmadi™ Dressed Doll

The 2021 Integrity Toys Convention: Obsession

W Club Event Event Centerpiece

Edition Size: TBD

Special Convention Price: $175.00

*Only for W Club Event Ticket Holders*

Head Sculpt: Rayna

Body Type: NF 3.0

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled and Flat Foot

Skin Tone: Japan

Hair Color: Copper

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied

Quickswitch: No

The centerpiece was presented early on in the event, as it would be the doll attendees would see decorating their tables in an in-person event. Rayna is always a popular sculpt and was missing last year from the convention. She was a centerpiece in the Fairytale convention (and a gorgeous doll). We have already gotten two Rayna dolls since last year’s event though. The doll is beautiful - I love her make up and the hairstyle is new for this line, a bit of Sailor Moon inspiration there. She did give me a very very slight vibe of the first Rayna (the IFDC Dorothy from Oz one) which I coveted for quite a long time (not that much anymore).

The outfit is a mess. The obsession for Rayna is American Football. She is probably auditioning for a quarterback? The vest/sleeveless jacket is supposed to remind us of the padded jersey the players wear but it does not even come close. It also riffs on the recent trend of oversized clothing, which might look good on a few models and celebrities (very few if any) but it does not translate wall on doll scale. Having the end seams unfinished helps to further make the look problematic. The colour combination is a bit weird but Jacquemus has been doing it recently (although I doubt Jessy had seen his latest collection before designing this, the timing does not match) and he also did an oversized sleeveless jacket.I like the bodysuit and the rugby shorts, but combining them with kitten heel slingbacks? So not sporty. Maybe she should have had a pair of bright orange combat boots with chunky soles to go with extra pair of flat feet. For this price (and being a made to order doll. unlike the rest of the centerpieces), she’s seriously lacking. Just look at last year’s magnificent Eugenia.

Item # 82154

Adrenaline Rush

Dominique Makéda™ Dressed Doll

The 2021 Integrity Toys Convention: Obsession

W Club Event Event Souvenir

Edition Size: 2750

*Only for W Club Event Ticket Holders*

Head Sculpt: Dominique 2.0

Body Type: NF 3.0

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled

Skin Tone: Nubian

Hair Color: Soft Black Flocking

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied

Quickswitch: No

I have wanted to get a Dominique for ever, she’s a sculpt missing from my collection. And I am probably one of the few people who jumped with joy at seeing her appear as the souvenir doll of the event. She give me more super hero vibes than a sports obsessed lady (she’s supposedly a MotoCross enthusiast). If her flocked hair were platinum, she’d be a perfect Storm doll. I honestly did not understand why people complained about the flocked hair - some of the most coveted IT dolls have them: the Muse Adele, one of the Faces of Adele heads (the 1.0 sculpt),, Out Of Sight Nadja (who was a convention souvenir too), Urban Outfitting Nadja. And as for the white eye shadow (not an eyeliner, that is black), it looks good on Nubian skin (for me at least) and reminds me of Bionica Jordan,

The outfit would have been better if it had come with soft, ankle-high boots like the ones motor-cross riders are wearing, instead of the pumps. Then she would have had the extra pair of flat feet all other NU Face convention dolls have - and I bet they are not worth $20.00 (that’s the difference between her price and the other NU Face doll prices). Love the earrings, they are original and beautiful. The stirrup pant detail could have been omitted too - maybe adding a cap would have been better.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Prototypes shown, final product may vary. For adult collectors ages 15 and up only.

All text and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2021 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission. NU. FACE 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 Bill Peck and Shaunessey Smith ; Layouts and graphics by Alain Tremblay, Marketing.

Integrity Toys Legendary 2020 Convention day 1: the 25th Anniversary gala

The first convention day ended with a “gala” presentation. Alain and Carol presented the centerpiece doll early on - a gorgeous Nadja - and then they had a special guest: Rene, the first IT designer, who created most of the first Integrity playline dolls, had a nice talk with Alain, recalling the early days, the inspiration and spirit of diversity and her love (as well as the whole company’s love) for what they are doing. It was a nice trip down memory lane, with lots of photos from old catalogues and products, seeing Janay and ALysa and the other dolls from the first steps of Integrity. Toys.

Item # 82131

The Enchantress

Nadja Rhymes™ Dressed Doll

The 2020 Integrity Toys 25th Anniversary Convention: Legendary

NU. Face™ Thursday Centerpiece

Limited Edition: 600 Dolls

Head Sculpt: Nadja 2.0

Body Type: NF 3.0

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled

Skin Tone: Nubian

Hair Color: Brunette

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied

Quickswitch: No

The centerpiece Nadja doll is an hommage to The Illusionist Nadja, from The Heist 2008 convention. An iconic doll that got an iconic remake. This Nadja is gorgeous - her style, make up, outfit, everything is perfect. Legend in the making. Great work Jessy!

Item # 91483

Miami Glam

Kesenia Valentinova™ Dressed Doll

The 2020 Integrity Toys 25th Anniversary Convention: Legendary

Fashion Royalty® Thursday Souvenir

Limited Edition: 600 Dolls

Head Sculpt: Kesenia

Body Type: FR 6.0

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled

Skin Tone: Sunkissed

Hair Color: Platinum Blond

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied

Quickswitch: No

Another remake of a legendary doll, a holy grail for many. Glow Vanessa was the highlight of the Miami FR collection from 2006, the only premium doll from the line (the others were all basic dolls wearing swimsuits). She of course had as an inspiration Donatella Versace and her Barbie Signature version, released in 2004 from Mattel. I have both Vanessa and the Versace Barbie and Kesenia, while beautiful, does look a bit lesser next to them. She’s going to be very popular though. She might be closer to the looks of the OOAK prototype Natalia that was given as a contest prize, from the same 2006 collection.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Prototypes shown, final production may vary. For adult collectors ages 15 and up only.

All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC. and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission. ©2020 All rights reserved. FASHION ROYALTY, NU. FACE, and all other character marks followed by ™ or ® are trademarks of Integrity Toys, Inc., Chesapeake City MD USA 21915. ©2020 All rights reserved. The W Club is a trademark of Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC. All rights reserved.

Layouts and graphics by Alain Tremblay, Marketing

Integrity Toys 2019 Convention Day 3 - The W Club Luncheon

Saturday is the last day of the convention and, apart from workshops, it means W Club Luncheon, usually dedicated to Nu Face. Club members got the Paris Runway Giselle Diefendorf centerpiece doll and received the NYFW Karolin Stone doll as a gift. Both were designed to celebrate the Fall/Winter 2020 Fashion Week by Jessy Ayala. Then, Carol Roth hosted an informative Q & A panel on stage with the Integrity Toys design team, where Club members' pre-screened questions were answered.

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

Item # 82122

Paris Runway

Giselle Diefendorf™ Centerpiece Doll

The 2019 Integrity Toys Convention: Live From Fashion Week

W Club Luncheon Exclusive

Edition Size: 700 Dolls

Head Sculpt: Giselle Diefendorf 

Body Type: NU. Face

Foot Sculpt: High Heel

Skin Tone: Cream

Hair Color: Silver With Raven Ponytail Wrap

Eyelashes: Yes

Quickswitch: No

Giselle looks like a cross between Sister Mogul Giselle and Live, Work, Play! Giselle. The outfit is a simplified version of one from Balmain Spring 2019 Haute Couture collection. I love her make up and styling.

Item # 82123

NYFW

Karolin Stone™ Giveaway Doll

The 2019 Integrity Toys Convention: Live From Fashion Week

W Club Luncheon Exclusive

Edition Size: 700 Dolls

Head Sculpt: Karolin Stone

Body Type: NU. Face

Foot Sculpt: High Heel

Skin Tone: FR White

Hair Color: Champagne Blonde

Eyelashes: Yes

Quickswitch: No

Making a return after quite an absence (it’s only the third version ever), Karolin Stone is the gift doll this time. Her fans will love her. I still don’t like the sculpt. The outfit is nice, although not a match for her Salvador Lopez Arriaga version.

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.

Photography by Jayme Thornton - Layouts and graphics by Alain Tremblay, Marketing.

Integrity Toys 2019 Convention Day 2 - Poppy Parker Luncheon

The second Live From Fashion Week Convention day began with more shopping for Style Lab and the rest of the collections plus the workshops. Then, guests were welcomed to the ballroom for the special 10th anniversary Poppy Parker luncheon. Love is Blue Poppy Parker, a colour variation of Miss Amour, was the centerpiece doll. All attendees were given a Pink Powder Puff Poppy Parker Doll as a souvenir. After more shopping and workshop in the afternoon, convention guests got to mix, mingle and score some great deals while shopping from their fellow conventioneers at the Fashion Bazaar, that made a much welcomed return.

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

Item # PP156 

Love Is Blue

Poppy Parker™ Centerpiece Doll

The 2019 Integrity Toys Convention: Live From Fashion Week

Edition Size: 550 Dolls

Head Sculpt: Poppy Parker

Body Type: Poppy Parker

Foot Sculpt: High Heel

Skin Tone: FR White

Hair Color: Raven

Eyelashes: Applied

Quick Switch: No

Just a colour variation of Miss Amour. And she doesn’t have the perfume bottle. I’d rather have that one remade with something different, an evolution or reworked version. Her face is gorgeous.

Item # PP157

Pink Powder Puff

Poppy Parker™ Giveaway Doll

The 2019 Integrity Toys Convention: Live From Fashion Week

Edition Size: 700 Dolls

Head Sculpt: Poppy Parker

Body Type: Poppy Parker

Foot Sculpt: High Heel

Skin Tone: FR White

Hair Color: Pale Blonde

Eyelashes: Yes, Applied

Quick Switch: No

And another colour version of an older doll was given as a gift to the luncheon attendees. The pink edition of Powder Puff looks slightly less gorgeous than the original but I’m sure Poppy fans went gaga over her and Poppy completists are scrambling to add her to their collection.

UPDATE 14.10.2019: David Buttry responded to people’s comments about the colour variations on his FB profile:

Just a little something I whipped for convention. I'm a little old school where a color variation is something very special and I thought it would be a lovely surprise and gift for Poppy collectors to revisit the Bon Bon collection for this year's convention in Baltimore. It's Poppy's tenth and I wanted to reflect back on the history, even if it was just a few years ago as these were the most extravagant dolls I've done for the Poppy collection. That's why I chose to do what I did this year and from the overwhelmingly positive response from collectors in the ballroom, I did my job. I can't make everyone happy all the time, but for those that I did make happy, enjoy your dolls and I hope you love them as much I did creating them. For those that felt it was lacking, there's always next year. :) See you in Dallas, Texas in 2020!

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. POPPY PARKER 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