The Fashion Doll Chronicles: July 2012

Monday, July 30, 2012

IFDC 2012 Integrity official dolls - Shock, Rattle & Roll

IFDC in Las Vegas is one of the major doll conventions every year. Even more so in 2012 and their 10 year anniversary with the Shock, Rattle and Roll theme. Collectors eagerly anticipate the official dolls that are part of the convention or the exclusives revealed there from doll companies.

Integrity did again the official convention doll this year, as well as the souvenir companion one, plus they had one more doll as an exclusive. Each doll in this mini-collection has the Integrity Toys/Vampire body. Here are their official photos and descriptions:

Item #15017
Long Cool Woman
Shock, Rattle 'N' Roll Collection
IFDC 10th Anniversary Souvenir Convention Doll
Suggested Retail Price: $150.00 US
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls

"Long Cool Woman" is sleek, sexy and definitely Rock 'N Roll! Designed to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the International Fashion Doll Convention (IFDC), this gorgeous goddess of the music stage is ready to rock your collection down to its foundations! Long Cool Woman is a 12-inch fully articulated vinyl doll with hand-applied eyelashes and fully rooted hair. She comes dressed in a long dramatic rock frock completed by black pumps and jewelry. The doll stand is included. Long Cool Woman was given away as the convention souvenir doll to guests who attended the 2012 IFDC Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.

She has the Kesenia mold, in a tan body and looks superb. I love the accessories and the outfit looks like something Stevie Nicks would have worn in the 70s. She looks more and more like the old Vanessa mold with each incarnation of hers.

Item #15018
Shake It Up
Shock, Rattle 'N' Roll Collection
IFDC 10th Anniversary Companion Doll
Suggested Retail Price: $150.00 US
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls

Ready to be shaken? Well, shake it up! Introducing "Shake It Up", this year's IFDC companion doll! With her sultry looks and legs that won't quit, this girl is ready to tour with her favorite rock band and sing a little Rock 'n Roll of her own! Shake It Up is a 12"-inch fully articulated vinyl doll with long rooted hair and applied eyelashes. She comes dressed in a totally retro rock ¾ sleeve mini-dress and includes edgy "chrome" shoes and jewelry. The doll stand is included. Shake It Up was the companion doll available for purchase to guests who attended the 2012 IFDC Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The companion doll is the Korrine sculpt - like Kesenia, she comes in a totally different skin tone than the one we have seen her so far and looks much prettier too. She reminds me of a young Debbie Harry. From the real life photos of attendees I have seen on-line, she is much prettier in real life.

Item #15019
Rock Me, Baby
Shock, Rattle 'N' Roll Collection
IFDC 10th Anniversary IT Direct Salesroom Doll
Suggested Retail Price: $150.00 US
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls

Put your rock 'n roll on and ROCK ME, BABY! Introducing this year's IT Direct Exclusive for IFDC! This girl means business and she won't take "no" for an answer. She's the leader of the pack, she's got attitude and she knows how to flaunt it! Rock Me Baby is a 12"-inch fully articulated vinyl doll with long rooted hair and applied eyelashes. She comes dressed in a two piece rock 'n roll suit and comes with edgy "chrome" purple and black shoes and jewelry. The doll stand is included. Rock Me, Baby was the IT Direct Exclusive doll available for purchase to guests who attended the 2012 IFDC Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This one has the Rayna sculpt and looks gorgeous. She gives out a Joan Jett - Lita Ford vibe. Her face reminds me a lot of Anna Paquin as Sookie in True Blood (if she would only dress like that!). A very beautiful doll.

Lovely and very hard to find dolls. W Club member have a lottery going on for a few of the dolls. The only other option would be in the secondary market and I bet prices will sky rocket as they are quite limited.

All photos and doll descriptions are copyrighted by Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2012 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Nouveau Régime Tatyana

Integrity Toys FR.Squared series is dedicated to producing high fashion dolls (with Jason Wu on the helm), with couture like clothing and styling. This year's series was very close to what the line stands for. Nouveau Régime Tatyana is one of the line's three dolls, probably the most glamorous of them. Her sculpt is the one presented at last year's convention and I think here it reaches near perfection.

She has of course the FR.Squared body - elongated, slimmer, more articulated than it's regular Fashion Royalty counterpart. All the better to showcase the magnificent red dress she is wearing. Draped on the side and finished with a small bow on the shoulder, it also has a golden filigree detail on the bust. The draping is good considering the scale but I would prefer it a bit tighter on the skirt.

Check out the quality of the workmanship at the back - the way the draping ends at the zipper is incredibly made. Her outfit is completed with tights (with a back seam), a red clutch, "crocodile" red shoes with straps, buckles and golden chain, a cuff, a ring and a pair of earrings.

The earring has a single red stone on a golden setting. The clutch has a golden button with a black stone that matches her hair. You can see the cuff better here, with it's modern sculpted design. It reminds me of Elsa Peretti's designs for Tiffany. The golden filigree on white background bust detail is visible here too.

Her earrings are matched to the outfit: golden drops with red stones, they look Byzantine in inspiration. Considering Tatyana is a Russian character in the FR storylines, it fits her to a T. Her make up is bold, like all the dolls in this year's FR.Squared line (and Jason Wu's Fall/Winter 2012 collection too). Dark, smoky eyes, with arched brows, bright red lips and pronounced rouge on the cheekbones. I think this looks great on her and is almost perfectly done. Of course the whole look is finished with fire engine red nails. Her hair is gathered at the back in a big chignon and has Marcel weaves at the front, perfectly done. There were a few flyaway hairs but nothing serious. Below is a photo of her still in her box:

And a close up of her shoes:

I could not help using some of my new filters and effects on the photos I took of her. She is incredibly photogenic; it is very hard, if not impossible, to take a bad photograph of her.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Jem & The Holograms by Hasbro and Integrity Toys - Update!

Today Integrity Toys release more information for JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS Special Edition Doll HOLLYWOOD JEM™, as the buzz generated on the web since the announcement of the new Integrity Toys/Hasbro collaboration was huge. Theannouncement generated lots of questions about future plans for the brands and about the Special Edition: HOLLYWOOD JEM doll herself, so the W Club went to the source and asked the designers for a little more information.

This line has been created by the Integrity Toys design team in close collaboration with Hasbro and is destined to adult fans and collectors of JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS. It is not intended to be "play line", it is a high-end collectible just like Poppy Parker or Fashion Royalty. The dolls feature a brand new body sculpt seen for the first time on this new line. The new body has slightly larger feet and newly sculpted interchangeable hands, which are more in proportions and will allow the characters to hold accessories better and more realistically. The dolls will be able to share clothes with many other Integrity Toys dolls, but the shoes will be unique to this new body only.

The earrings on HOLLYWOOD JEM do not light up like they did on the vintage Jem dolls from the 80's. This was done to make the earrings look more like they did in the cartoon, but they are chrome plated in red for that extra burst of sparkle. The outfits are faithfully reproduced from looks seen in both the TV show and the toy line and are ultra detailed, just like any other Integrity Toys collectibles. Each doll in the collection will feature ultra detailed accessories, musical instruments, etc. including tiny miniature amp cables for the instruments and microphones that can be connected to the doll stand for better display possibilities and added realism.

Designed to be reminiscent of the vintage oval doll stands, the new doll stand created just for the JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS collection will work in two modes, both "saddle style" and "underarm style". Interchangeable connector parts will be included with each doll. The packaging was especially designed to keep a retro look, while being modern and more "collectible". Each characters will come with special mementos. For example, HOLLYWOOD JEM includes a miniature reproduction of the original Jem poster and a doll sized "Boulevard of Fame" star frame, which Jem received in the original "HOLLYWOOD JEM" episodes for her work on the movie "Starbright".

People on the design team of JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS are serious fans, so you can expect some cool surprises with every new doll in the line, they even created an instruction sheet printed in purple, in the same style as the vintage dolls - that's attention to details! Information about the next characters in the line, edition sizes and distribution details will be released in the near future. The Special Edition: HOLLYWOOD JEM Doll JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS COLLECTION is debuting at the San Diego Comic Con International 2012 as an Exclusive with a suggested retail price of $125.00 US It will be available from Hasbro Toy Shop at booth # 3329.

If you want to find out more about this truly outrageous collaboration between Hasbro and Integrity Toys, the IT marketing team and Haute Doll have collaborated together to bring you the first ever SDCC exclusive cover variant of Haute Doll magazine, only available at the show itself for free in the Hasbro booth, #3329.

So lots more information about the new line of dolls. I wonder if this new body will make its way into their fashion doll lines. I love the poseability it shows. What do you think?