Most fashion doll collectors are already familiar with the name V.JOHN - they snap up his limited edition fashions for their dolls the moment they become available. Now he has designed his very own resin doll, named Molly Hayward and she is a limited edition of 20, available on his website. She is a beautiful doll with a distinct personality and a mixed Asian/American style. I love that he picked copper/auburn hair for his first doll. She looks good posing too.

It has been little more than a month that Santiago and Mauricio Sierra, fashion photographers, announced their 3d printed doll, Modoll. Based on the 3d scanned face of model Lindsay Wixson, the doll is 3d printed then painted by make up artist  Ralph Siciliano, hair styled by the incredible Thanos Samaras and dressed by fashion stylist Charlotte Stockdale, who picks real fashion outfits and has them made in scale. I was preparing to dedicate a post to the project but then I repeatedly saw this photo comparison posted in Facebook and Instagram:

Comparison of Modoll and Popovy bodies from Elcatka flickr page

Head sculpt comparison between Modoll (top) and Popovy Sisters (bottom) - photo from Sofaika Instagram account

Face comparison between MoDoll (left) and Popovy Sisters (right) - photo from Sofaika Instagram account

Numerous doll artists and collectors have chimed in and re-posted these images all over social media, denouncing the rip off and accusing Santiago and Mauricio of theft. Linday Wixson commented below one of the posts in Instagram that she had no idea and is very sorry. Comments about the theft on Santiago and Maurizio Instagram posts of the doll got deleted repeatedly (there are some still left). And while one may argue that Lindsay's face bears a resemblance to the Popovy Sisters dolls so that it was inevitable that the dolls would look alike, the comparison of the doll bodies leaves no doubt. The Modoll body looks like a cheap imitation of the Popovy sisters creation, with much less detail and refinement, especially visible in the joints of elbows and knees and the less detailed hands of Modoll. The finished dolls look much less alike of course, as they represent completely different visions.

Modoll wearing Saint Laurent - photo by Santiago and Mauricio

Popovy Sisters WhoYouAre Hollywood showroom exclusive - photo by Popovy Sisters

If you want to see the comments and photos related to the issue, check the #modoll hashtag on Instagram here. What  do you think? Let me know in the comments.

UPDATE: It seems that Lindsay Wixson is apologising to Popovy Sisters and distancing herself from Modoll, she posted this on her instagram just before she turned it to private, (probably to avoid negative comments - thanks to Elatka for the repost).

Asher Of New England is Leigh Slaughter's company, specializing in fashion doll jewellery for 1/4 scale dolls. Today Leigh officially presents his first ever BJD doll, a male called Kent. Asher of New England Homme (as the line is named) will consist of urethane resin male fashion Ball Jointed Dolls created by R.L. Slaughter. These dolls are hand sculpted and produced in limited runs by the artist, made to compliment current female fashion BJDs. Let's meet Kent.

Kent is a fusion of popular modern male fashion models, and actors. These dolls stand 17.5" tall and are made of urethane resin. With hand painted faces, full body blushing, and applied eyelashes. Kent has 21 points of articulation (one of which is his penis!), and comes in hand made fashions. Kent is cast in pale urethane, and is hand blushed, and strung, with hand painted blue eyes, dark brows, and has hand applied eyelashes. Included is a black pompadour wig by Ilaria of timeofdoll.it. Kent's outfit consists of dark fitted denim jeans, a hand knitted black merino funnel neck cardigan sweater jacket, with hand applied leather patches, and a working zip, Turquoise geometric cut work scarf, white undergarments by Karen Kolkman of Kolkman Kreations and harness boots by Dalila Meece of DalilaDolls. Kent will arrive in a custom padded box with stand. Kent Fall/Winter 2014/2015 is a limited edition of 5 dolls in stock and ready to ship. Order him here.

Kent is indeed a handsome doll: I love his sculpt and he poses so well - even stands by himself! Wish I could afford him! Cannot wait to see photos from people who will buy this lovely male doll.

Today was the day that the Fashion Doll Awards winners were announced by Doll Observers, after a public vote was held until a few days ago. This blog was nominated in the relative category but we did not win - proud to be included in with the rest of the amazing nominees! Congratulations to all winners and nominees as well. And of course a big tank you to Doll Observers and Simon Farnsworth who organized the whole thing. Let's see who the winners are:

Winner layouts courtesy of Doll Observers.

Joey Versaw is not a newbie in creating fashion dolls. His Mary Magpie fashion doll character has been inspiring collectors the world over for quite some time now. Her unique eccentric 50s stylization and look is what put Joey on the map. Now he makes a step in a new direction, actually two new directions at once: 3D printing and male dolls. And not simple male dolls, but specifically gay ones.

"First Love" is one of the very first doll lines to use state of the art 3D printing. Still using old techniques of hand painting, sewing clothes, and assembly are merged with the new option of 3D printing the actual doll parts. And that method of manufacturing offers another advantage: For a limited time the buyer is offered choices in customizing the doll such as picking the eye and hair colours. A Deluxe doll choice will come dressed in full costume in colours and style of the buyer's choice. A basic dress me doll is offered as well. 

Each doll is expertly crafted and original. As a doll artist, Joey takes his dolls very personally and puts a hundred percent of love and soul into each doll. They are truly unique and filled with the joy of life he feels while creating them. As he says, "growing up gay and not being able to have dolls as a child made my passion for expression and the love of dolls even greater. I like to think of them as more than just a doll; they are a true piece of expression, they are a time, a moment, and are much more art than doll".

The dolls stand 12 inches tall and are strung, being jointed at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and knees. The dolls are also anatomically correct. The skin has a texture to it and the look is that of a fabric doll made of felt like the vintage Lenci dolls. The pieces are hollow and although the dolls are meant to be played with, they should still be treated with care, as they can crush if stepped on, much like vintage celluloid dolls. They can wear most 12-inch male fashion doll or action figure clothing. You can get them here.

All photos by Ernesto Padro Campos, used by permission of Joey Versaw.

Having started creating detailed portrait dolls and through that learning to work with various materials like china porcelain, plastics etc., they soon moved on to designing and making eccentric dolls that fused art with fashion. Presenting small conceptual collections of 10 to 15 dolls after a huge amount of preparative work, they captured the hearts of many doll collectors looking for unique creations of high aesthetics. The Popovy Sisters usually start with an idea or emotion and then develop the concept of a project. Every doll is handmade from start to finish.

A couple of days ago they showcased on-line their latest collection, named ROYALS, inspired by the game of chess. The collection was first presented at the International Doll Salon in Moscow the first week of October. They tried to convey the special charm of the game, its aesthetics and atmosphere using their own unique style. The dolls are part of a Royal retinue in the form of chess pieces. The whole collection is based on contrast and geometry. Heavy materials set against light ones and soft silhouettes contrasting with sharp, rigid forms. Black against white.

Albino Queen

A characteristic feature of the collection is a parallel elongation of horizontal lines and material stripes running from the costume onto the sleeves. Adding a small luxury accent is the use of chunky jewellery, volumetric decoration and the use of fur touches in the outfits.

Beauty Spot

The collection is based on two different characters: one is an "albino girl", with a light-touch, pale make up  that includes handmade eyelashes made of mink fur, hand glued to make each doll even more unique, and the other is the "dark girl", with a more pronounced, darker make up with thick black eyelashes.

Albino Rider

The sisters used 5 dolls for this collection: Little Owl Albino, Little Owl Dark, Peewit Albino, Peewit Dark, Cuckoo Dark (the names correspond to the doll sculpts). They are available either in different outfits or in all outfits. In addition, two new “Rider” chairs can be purchased separately. There are some OOAK items and some are limited edition. For more information and orders, contact them by email.

Dark Rider

All photos and information, copyright 2014 Popovy Sisters

Alma is a 16-inch resin ball-jointed doll sculpted and designed by Paul Pham. She is wearing a 2-piece gown of wine and burgundy metallic brocade, gold Chantilly lace, and a deep espresso pleated tulle underskirt. Renowned Italian wigmaker Ilaria Mazzoni created her hard-cap hairpiece, which features a slightly waved French twist. Accessories include a gold hair comb and matching gold drop earrings, hose, a black-and-gold folding fan, and patent burgundy-and-black collared pumps.

One can pre-order her at Haute Doll website. They will make the first of two instalment payments, at $379.95. The second payment of $380 plus shipping must be paid on August 15th. Alma will ship by August 31st. Limited edition of 50. Includes signed and numbered card.

I must say she is very beautiful and will probably soon be sold out. I love her colours, both on her dress and make up. The burgundy fabric looks amazing.

 Photos and information - Copyright © 2014 Haute Doll

As you might have been informed, the IFDC doll show is up and running in Las Vegas this weekend (started Wednesday). JAMIEshow, having entered the rarefied world of retro Hollywood glamour with Gene Marshall, decided to offer as a limited edition (50 pieces) at IFDC this amazing Marlene Dietrich doll. They call her Marlena probably for copyright reasons.

The doll is a resin BJD, probably has the same body as Gene, and wears a 3-piece satin tuxedo suit complete with a top hat and black pumps. She has pale blue eyes, dark red lips and comes with a blonde curled JAMIEshow rooted wig cap. Stand included. Price: $475.

The only other Marlene Dietrich doll I know of  (and have) is the Madame Alexander one. This one is way better (and gives me an idea about what to do with my MA doll).

All photos courtesy of JAMIEshow