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! 

NU.Face Essentials: capsule collection by Integrity Toys

The second capsule collection revealed this week consists of three NU. Face close up dolls designed by Jessy Ayala. The concept is the launch of Lukas Maverick's very own underwear brand, that looks suspiciously a lot like Calvin Klein (hence the black & white photos). Each doll comes with NF branded underwear, shoes, a stand and a certificate of authenticity, enclosed in an elegant package. This collection is brought to the W Club by IT Direct with 3 members-only lotteries and special Club pricing of only $99 per doll (plus S&H). The two ladies will be available now and ship soon after the lottery ends, while Lukas will be available later this summer. The price is not bad, but it is still a basic doll. Good to see edition sizes at 900 (Dominique is 800), gives more chances to win. I’d like to get all of these.

Item # 82111

My Love

Violaine Perrin™ Close-up Doll

The NU. Face Essentials Collection

Expected Ship Date: Week of May 20th, 2019

Special Member-Only Pricing:$99.00 + S & H
OFFERED VIA RIGHT-TO-BUY LOTTERY 

Edition Size: 900

Head Sculpt: Violaine/Vanessa 2.0

Body Type: NF 3.0

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled Foot

Skin Tone: Japan

Hair Color: Soft Copper

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied

Quickswitch: No

Included:

• 12" fully articulated doll with rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes;
• Two-piece fitted NF branded underwear set;
• Stiletto-heeled mesh booties;
• Simple "golden" earrings;
• "Golden" ring;
• Alternate paid of hands;
• Stand;
• Certificate of authenticity.

Gorgeous version of Violaine, the complete opposite of her previous incarnation. Looks a lot like Rayna. She is going to look amazing dressed in anything, from jeans to gowns.

Item # 82112

My Strength

Lukas Maverick™ Close-up Doll

The NU. Face Essentials Collection

Expected Ship Date:Late-June/Early-July 2019

Special Member-Only Pricing:$99.00 + S & H

OFFERED VIA RIGHT-TO-BUY LOTTERY. DETAILS CLOSER TO THE TIME OF THE FIGURE'S ARRIVAL IN APPROX. LATE JUNE/EARLY JULY 2019.

Edition Size: 900

Head Sculpt: Lukas M.

Body Type: Homme 1.5

Skin Tone: Hungarian

Hair Color: Hazelnut

Eyelashes: No

Quickswitch: No

Included:

• 12" fully articulated figure with rooted hair;
• Fitted NF branded boxers;
• Newly engineered NF branded slides;
• Classic watch with faux-leather wristband;
• Alternate paid of hands;
• Stand;
• Certificate of authenticity.

​Another Lukas for the club, looking like a clean cut version of the Tantric one. Which will make him very popular. Love the slides.

​Item # 82113

My Essence

Dominique Makéda™ Close-up Doll

The NU. Face Essentials Collection

Expected Ship Date: Week Of May 20th, 2019

Special Member-Only Pricing:$99.00 + S & H

OFFERED VIA RIGHT-TO-BUY LOTTERY

Edition Size: 800

Head Sculpt: Dominique 2.0

Body Type: NF 3.0

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled Foot

Skin Tone: A-Tone

Hair Color: Rich Espresso

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied

Quickswitch: No

Included:

• 12" fully articulated doll with rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes;
• Two-piece fitted NF branded underwear set;
• Silver mesh high-heeled shoes;
• Simple "silver" stud earrings;
• "Silver" cuff bracelet;
• Alternate paid of hands;
• Stand;
• Certificate of authenticity.

​Finally a Dominique in a soft face palette! I’d love to add this sculpt to my collection and now is a good opportunity. Her photos are a bit blurry but they came like that in the email. I just hope the silvery eyeliner is less pronounced in the final doll. 

Final fabrics, colors and textures may vary slightly. For adult collectors ages 15 and up only. All text 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. 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 Jayme Thornton. Layouts and graphics by Alain Tremblay, Marketing.

East 59th capsule collection unveiled!

Two new capsule collections were revealed this week from Integrity Toys. The first one is East 59th Street by Chris Stoeckel, who continues with his foray in the world of 1950's fashion. There are two dressed dolls and a gift set inspired by retro paper doll designs available through regular IT dealers and also an IT Direct exclusive two-doll "Pink Champagne" gift set, featuring Victoire Roux modelling her friend Aurelia's latest creation on her wedding day.

Item # 73018

Lunch At 21

Victoire Roux™ Dressed Doll

The East 59th® Collection

Expected Ship Date:Summer 2019

Suggested Retail Pricing:$135.00
ONLY AVAILABLE VIA IT DEALERS

Edition Size: 500

Head Sculpt: Victoire 2.0

Body Type: East 59th

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled Foot

Skin Tone: Japan

Hair Color: Raven

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied

Quickswitch: No

Included:

• 12" fully articulated doll with rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes;
• Fitted sleeveless day-dress with oversized bow detail at the neckline and perfectly matched bright red 3/4 sleeve jacket;
• Alternate two-piece swimsuit (for that "paper doll" look!);
• Blue faux-leather handbag;
• Pair of "golden" earrings;
• Two "golden" cuff bracelets;
• Red velvet flocked Breton hat with high-contrast ribbon detail;
• Pair of blue satin high-heeled slingback open-toe shoes;
• Pair of simple red high-heeled open-toe shoes;
• Alternate pair of short painted-on "gloved" hands;
• Stand;
• Certificate of authenticity.

Beautiful doll but not enough to tempt me into buying her, although I want a dark haired Victoire for my collection (the ones I have have all variations of red hair). Elegant and bright ensemble with nice details and accessories. It has a whiff of the Busy Gal Barbie. This hat has been done to death in Poppy Parker line and should be retired. There were so many different hat designs in the 1950s so it would be nice to see something else for a change. Love the colour combinations.

Item # 73019

Opera on the 5th

Lady Aurelia Grey™ Dressed Doll

The East 59th® Collection

Expected Ship Date:Summer 2019

Suggested Retail Pricing:$135.00

ONLY AVAILABLE VIA IT DEALERS

Edition Size: 500

Head Sculpt: Aurelia

Body Type: East 59th

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled Foot

Skin Tone: Light Honey

Hair Color: Mink Brown

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied

Quickswitch: No

Included:

• 12" fully articulated doll with rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes;
• Vibrant, perfectly fitted jacquard satin evening gown with hot pink draping detail;
• Alternate striped one-piece swimsuit (for that "paper doll" look!);
• Hot pink clutch purse with "pearl" detail;
• Intricate "pink diamond" and "gold" necklace;
• Matching pair of "pink diamond" earrings;
• Pair of hot pink satin high-heeled slingback open-toe shoes;
• Pair of simple hot pink high-heeled open-toe shoes;
• Alternate pair of faux-leather opera length "gloved" hands;
• Stand;
• Certificate of authenticity.

A new Aurelia, not that different from the first one at first look. I don’t particularly like the dress with the weird draping. I wish we could see more Charles James style gowns instead of Bon Bon style dresses. Not a fan of the colour combination either. She has the more realistic gloves which is a very good thing.

Item # 73020

All Aboard On The 2nd

Evelyn Weaverton® Mix & Match Gift Set

The East 59th® Collection

Expected Ship Date:Summer 2019

Suggested Retail Pricing:$170.00

ONLY AVAILABLE VIA IT DEALERS

Edition Size: 500

Head Sculpt: Evelyn

Body Type: East 59th

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled Foot

Skin Tone: FR White

Hair Color: Auburn

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied

Quickswitch: No

Included:

• 12" fully articulated doll with rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes;
• Long shawl collared overcoat, perfectly cinched at the waist with a matching teal colored faux-leather belt;
• Matching printed skirt and blouse with oversized bow detail at the neckline;
• Taupe knee-length pencil skirt and matching sleeveless top;
• Alternate two-piece swimsuit (for that "paper doll" look!);
• Printed scarf;
• Teal handbag with "gold" details;
• Perfectly matched cloisonné earrings;
• "Golden" cuff bracelet;
• Pair of teal faux-leather open-toe shoes;
• Pair of simple teal high-heeled open-toe shoes;
• Alternate pair of short painted-on "gloved" hands;
• Stand;
• Certificate of authenticity.

​Evelyn gets the best outfits this time around. It’s a great giftset with so many options. And I’m a sucker for green. Might be getting this one later on, if it’s still available. 

Item # 73015

Pink Champagne

Victoire Roux™ and Lady Aurelia Grey™ Two-Doll Gift Set

The East 59th® Collection IT Direct Exclusive

Expected Ship Date: May 20th, 2019

Week of Special Member-Only Pricing:$199.00 + S & H

OFFERED VIA RIGHT-TO-BUY LOTTERY

Edition Size: 500

Head Sculpt: Victoire 2.0 and Aurelia

Body Type: East 59th

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled Foot

Skin Tones: Victoire- FR White / Aurelia- Light Honey

Hair Colors: Victoire- Pale Blonde / Aurelia- Raven

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied

Quickswitch: No

Included:

• Two 12" fully articulated dolls with rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes;
• Victoire wears an intricately designed pink lace trapeze style wedding gown with matching satin bow detail at the waist;
• Her maid of honor Lady Aurelia Grey wears a lovely long-sleeved, cream satin and gold micro-sequin cocktail dress, wrapped in a scrumptious matching shoulder length faux-fur stole tied with a gold-tone satin bow;
• Each doll has her own "pearl" necklace and matching earrings;
• Pink pumps;
• "Golden" pumps;
• A pink bouquet, opera length gloves and a matching veil for the bride;
• Alternate pair of "painted on" short-gloved hands for Aurelia;
• Miniature bottle of pink champagne;
• Two "gold" rimmed champagne glasses;
• Two doll stands (each doll has her own);
• Certificate of authenticity.

I really don’t like this one. The colours, shapes, textures, are all somewhat off. The Victoire gown in particular looks shapeless. The fabric and embroidery don’t particularly do the shape justice and keep it from looking good on the doll. It’s a great price for two dolls though. Oven mittens make an appearance on the bride.

Final fabrics, colors and textures may vary slightly. For adult collectors ages 15 and up only. 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. EAST 59th 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.

Anna Sui Japan does Barbie as part of her Swinging Tokyo Collection!

Anna Sui, the well known US fashion designer, has launched a new project called "SWINGING TOKYO". Taking inspiration from the 1960s London street culture "Swinging London", which is the origin of her creation, she proposes a fashion that can be enjoyed freely and urbanely for the next generation of Tokyo. In this project, she initiated a collaboration with various other creatives. From May 1st, 2019 (Wednesday), sales begin at Isetan Shinjuku and the official online shop (Japan).

One of the project’s collections is a collaboration with Barbie. There are four types of dolls combined with an outfit designed by Anna Sui and an original mug, comprising a set of Barbie Doll and Anna Sui collection-ware that will be cherished by all ages. The combination of the catchy and girly world of both brands is a must-see for fans. Each set is sold for ¥21,600 (about US$194.00). There are some T-shirts too. The title below and all information are translated from the Japanese site.

Barbie and Girlish Chemical Reaction Collection 

According to the Japanese website, special items created from the "SWINGING TOKYO" project will start being sold sequentially at the Isetan Shinjuku Store and Anna Sui Official Online Shop from Wednesday, May 1st, 2019. I could not find any Barbie items online yet. The price is expensive for the doll quality: it is just a $5.00 play line doll repackaged in a Sui branded box. You do get an Anna Sui dress with her plus the mug but $190.00 for these is just too much. Remember that a Barbie collector designer doll is usually $100-150. And they are very limited. I wouldn’t pay even half the price for those sets, knowing of probably discard the doll. My favourite is the black dress with the bow. And for that price, they could have given each set a differently coloured mug, no?

© All photos 2019 Mattel. All Rights Reserved.

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