Once again Mattel releases a Moschino Barbie doll, this time with a Ken accompanying her. The set is based on the red carpet appearance of the Moschino label's designer Jeremy Scott and model Stella Maxwell at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.

The giftset is priced at $200 at Barbie Collector and €250 at Moschino, which is quite steep for two non articulated Model Muse bodies and that Barbie face. Cannot comment about the clothing quality as I do not have the set available to check out, but you know, it's Mattel. The first photo is of the actual box with the dolls (from the Moschino website), below is the website photo of the set. Barbie looks a bit different.

The venerable Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris is mounting a breathtaking exhibition dedicated to Barbie. 700 dolls in 1,500 square meters along with objects from the museum and art works from contemporary artists that try and present the various aspects of "Barbie's lives". The show opens today and will be on display until the 18th of September. The opening fits right in with the Paris Fashion Doll Festival opening this Friday. The curator  is Anne Monier, conservator at the  department of toys in the museum and the set designer is Nathalie Crinière, who also designed the incredible Le Petit Théâtre Dior exhibition in 2014.

Catwalk set up with Silkstone dolls, evoking both similar set ups from Barbie Collector photo sets and old couture runway shows in France.

The atmosphere of a private atelier showing is next to the catwalk space above

And the seamstresses of the atelier are also shown on their sewing machines - brilliant!

Modern style display - the flying catwalk

Another aspect of the modern display

Various aspects of Barbie and Ken's incarnations through the years

Glass domes showcasing collectible Barbies. I bet the girl wants to take them all home!

The wall of clothes showcases various Barbie outfits in doll size...

...while life-sized versions of them are also on display

The design process is also displayed in a very interesting way

The boxes that Barbies come in are also given their own space

A display showing the variety of molds, skin tones and hair styles and colours

And something more plebeian - a table football with Barbies!

Exhibition photos courtesy of Getty Images

Back in early November, a story appeared on WWD about the Ron Robinson deal with Mattel for an Andy Warhol/Barbie collection, exclusive to the Ron Robinson shops: the one in Fred Segal on Melrose Avenue and the flagship in Santa Monica. The collection has many items in small quantities, designed by various artists and inspired by Warhol and Barbie. The collection will become available in the shops on December 1st but pre-orders have begun from November 15th online. What interests this blog is of course the doll. It is a Platinum edition of 999 dolls but they are nowhere to be seen on the Robinson website. What is really strange though is that the doll surfaced on the Bloomingdale's website on the 18th of November. I do not know if it was possible for anyone to make a pre-order (I did read in Facebook that some people did but nothing concrete), but the site shows the doll unavailable. Having in mind that it is supposedly an exclusive for Rob Robinson, it looks even weirder. I suspect a new storm will hit Barbie Collector with this one.

UPDATE: Barbie Collection will have the doll for sale on the 3rd of December, 10am Pacific time.

There is no price mentioned. Fro mthe packaging I'm guessing it will be around $150. The sculpt is the Mackie sculpt, made to look like the iconic artist. To me it looks cheap and hastily made. The fact that it includes painting brushes and colors shows either how ignorant is the one who designed the set (Warhol never painted but silk-screened the polaroids he took to add colour and effects) or it was a company decision to make the doll look more "artistic" - i.e. "let the ignorant buyers know that Warhol was an artist, let us include some paintbrushes and colours". It is insulting to the collectors and mainly to the artist. 

If you really want this one, get another Mackie Barbie cheaper, give her a razor cut and buy clothing and accessories to make the set yourselves. I bet one can find even a polaroid camera in scale from companies that make action figures - maybe even an older Barbie set. You can find the iconic Warhol Barbie portrait easily to print in scale too.

Photos courtesy of  Mattel.

Jeremy Scott loves Barbie. He proved it by dedicating an entire Moschino collection to her, dressing women like the famous doll, accessories included. Back then, guests at the fashion show had received a limited edition of Barbie dressed in Moschino, that had collectors all over the world drooling in anticipation of an actual commercially released version. That time came today: the doll is available through Moschino, Net-A-Porter and, through Barbie Collector later on 6:00 am PT. 

There are two versions of the doll, a Caucasian and an African-American one, and she comes with two outfits: a leather "suit" and some sporty separates. Of course she has her Moschino shopping bag and assorted accessories. She's a limited edition of 700 according to Net-A-Porter (I guess each version will have 700 dolls released).

Jeremy Scott said: "I wanted to bring all of the Moschino elements to Barbie, as I had done the reverse by bringing all of the Barbie elements to Moschino for the spring/summer 15 collection. The thing I love most about Barbie, is that she is the ultimate muse, she's worn every style and design imaginable and at the same time she's had every possible profession you can dream of."

For me, the best thing about this release is that a boy is included in the commercial that accompanies the release - and nobody bats an eyelid. I know it should not be an issue in 2015 but there are still boy-girl distinctions in toys and it''s about time it stopped being so. So kudos to Moschino and Mattel for this.

Last time I checked, the AA version was sold out at Moschino but seems to be available on Net-A-Porter. Those who missed it go for Barbie Collector. Good luck.

Photos and video courtesy of Mattel and Moschino.

It seems Mattel is not only releasing one Tokidoki Barbie but two. As you can read here, there is a Black label version of the doll coming out on the 1st of September but there will be a second version of the doll, as a Platinum Label edition (no more than 999 dolls available). The catch is that the doll will be available only to those that can complete a treasure hunt for her. It seems Mattel likes to put collectors through hoops to get their rare edition dolls - let's hope the newly updated Barbie Collection website will be up to par for the frenzy coming upon it in two days.

The news were revealed on the Barbie Collection website, first through a video exclusive to club members, but then there was a post for everyone to read. The process will be like this:

I wish good luck to everyone who tries to get her, it will be hard. She does look better than the Black Label version but still not the kind of doll I collect.

All photos ©2015 Mattel. All Rights Reserved. ©TOKIDOKI, LLC. Designed by Simone Legno

Back in 2011, Mattel released their first Tokidoki Barbie doll, which instantly became the talk of the town, even outside the doll collector world. She was a step outside the box for the company, with her pink hair and body covered in tattoos, which caused a stir among parents. It was a huge success commercially and now commands high prices in the secondary market. No wonder then that the two companies work together again; I was expecting it sooner rather than later.

This time around she's a Black Label cool (not a Gold, like the previous one) and designed by Bill Greening and Tokidoki company. She will be probably be available for sale on the 1st of September, according to her now defunct page in the Barbie Collector site. She wears a sequinned top to show off her intricate tattoos. The skirt features many of the whimsical characters that have inhabited the world of Tokidoki for 10 years. With her Cactus Friend Polppetina by her side, she carries a chic silvery clutch and also comes with a Tokidoki gift bag. There will be a limit of 1 doll per order.

The headpiece must be the same, just with different front and back to offer variety in styling. The sculpt is the Karl one, which was of course first seen on the Karl Lagerfeld Barbie doll. She's not articulated though, unlike that doll, which of course is always a shame. She's not my cup of tea but I bet she will make many collectors happy and many resellers even happier.

During the annual Barbie convention this year, new dolls were presented to the attendees. One of them was (finally!) an articulated collector's doll, in the spirit of the brilliant (and not repeated, unfortunately) Jazz Diva Barbie from 2007. Her name is Claudette Gordon™and she's a Gold Label® doll by designer Carlyle Nuera.

Her release date is the 8th of September. She is inspired by the great beauties who sang their hearts out on stage of the Harlem Theatre. She's wearing a sleeveless dress in flapper style, that features a drop waist bodice and embroidered peacock feather design in shades of teal, purple, and gold. Black point d’esprit material forms the dress’ asymmetrical skirt. The doll also has a 1920s era “microphone” stand.

Yes, you read that correctly, she is a new sculpt, and one I really like. Sexy and elegant at the same time. Let's hope the produced doll looks like the promo photos. What I would have liked is that she had waist articulation as well. I hope to be able to get her.

Last year, during the presentation for the main Integrity Toys collections, the event doll was none other then Agnes Von Weiss as a lovely gift-set. This incarnation of hers is called High Visibility and it caused a minor uproar among collectors at the time because her lips were not painted in her usual scowl but in a more straightforward line. I think it is interesting that changes like this appear from time to time on the dolls - it makes the characters more varied and nuanced. She;s a good looking doll and I really enjoyed taking her photos. The edition size of this doll is 1350, made according to the dolls ordered by event attendees.

She comes in a variety of clothing with great mix-and-match possibilities, not only between them but also with the other outfits of the Urban Safari Fashion Royalty line of 2014. These include a corset made in a thick patterned fabric. The thickness of it is a bit off and it makes the corset look huge, destroying its shape, despite the nice detailing with the criss-cross cords on the sides. The hooks for closure in the back do not help either - it would have been better using a zip. The long skirt flares from below the knee. It looks good and matches the rest of the pieces nicely in colour and fabric. The shape though would hold much better if the fabric used was stiffer. It has a zip at the back, which again makes me wonder about not using one on the corset too.

The rest of the pieces make up a day-time outfit: a cropped, sleeveless jacket made of suede, with a belt and buckle closure on the side, over a skirt made in the same fabric as the corset. Remember that Faded Desert Kyori had a skirt made in another shade of this fabric (and the criss-cross detail missing here). You can tell the fabric is too thick by the awkward waist - it does not even have a waistband - not possible with a thick fabric like this.This is a detail that makes the skirt look unfinished and cheap, despite the luxurious texture.

Lots of accessories to use as well. Two pairs of shoes (white strapped sandals and dark brown strapped pumps, both with extra lacing which I could not figure out how to tie properly (hence the sloppy look or total photoshopping of them on the photos). An extra company photo of the shoes properly tied would have helped a lot. There is also a huge tote and a brown straw hat along with sunglasses (in lilac) which are the same style used throughout the Urban Safari outfits. The hoop earrings are a colour variation of the ones Faded Desert Kyori is wearing as well, as are two of her bracelets. Excellent colour co-ordination throughout.

She has an intricate hairstyle - a middle part, with hair swept backwards in two waves, and then forms a double bun at the back. The copper shade matches her Japan skin-tone, as does her make up - coppery eye-shadows and orange-red lipstick.

As I had recently acquired some Silkstone Barbie outfits, I decided to try them on Agnes.and they do fit well, despite the height difference (the skirts just look a bit shorter). 

Here she is wearing the Boater Ensemble from the BFC Barbie Silkstone doll of the same name. She absolutely rocks it. I just added the Lady Dior inspired bag from the Fashion Royalty Fashion Spectacular accessories set. Even the tights fit (very tight though due to the length of the legs). I did not try to put on the gloves as they look like oven mittens. She is also wearing another Fashion Royalty bracelet.

Under the jacket is a lovely two-toned dress that looks fantastic on its own as well. I should have put on her a couple of Chanel-style chain necklaces or even a chain belt, they would look lovely with this. The spectator pumps fit perfectly.

The second outfit is from the Capucine Silkstone Barbie doll. Again it fits her nicely and the skirt looks a lot like her own - albeit in the stiffer fabric better suited to this shape. Here you can tell how her height makes the skirt look short. The shoes and jewellery are from On The Rise Elise Jolie from the Urban Safari line. This outfit reminds me a lot of Gianfranco Ferre's work at Dior.

It is a common know fact to doll convention attendees that the dolls they are getting as the best perk of participating at such events are kept secret up until the moment they are given to them, mostly at the last dinner/gala/party of said event. Nothing beats the ooooohs and aaaaahs of happy conventioneers unpacking their dolls and marvelling at their beauty and style. Well, it seems that Mattel just took away the very pleasure. As from this year, they took over designing and making the dolls for all official Barbie conventions in the world. And just a few days before the Japanese event, they released on Facebook photos of the convention dolls - the ones that will be given to ALL conventions this year (I understand that the Spanish and Italian ones will be slightly different). I see no rationale behind this - it is not even making them any favours on social media. I'm not a Barbie collector (I do buy some dolls from Mattel but I'm not a regular collector of them) so it does not bother me at all, but I guess it does bother the actual collectors.

The doll (in its variety of hair and skin colours) clearly is inspired by Marlene Dietrich and her tuxedo from the film Morocco:

The problems that the dolls are still non-articulated. Having done the pivotal Jazz Barbie dolls some years back, I think they could have done the convention dolls like them too. So instead of looking like elderly ladies with their canes, they'd have the jazzy, crazy style in all their glory. Alas. It would be nice to secure the outfit in the future - let's hope the top hats are not plastic.

Today the first photo of the upcoming Karl Lagerfeld Barbie popped up on the indomitable designer's website. It shows the doll looking up to her real-life counterpart, dressed in a miniature version of his iconic black suit and white shirt plus accessories as promised by the original sketch.

According to the website, Barbie Lagerfeld is arriving at the end of the month. Taking inspiration from the designer’s signature style, the doll will be dressed in the designer’s likeness with accents taken from the real KARL LAGERFELD line. Borrowing from Karl’s iconic silhouette, the doll will be wearing a tailored black jacket, white high-collared men’s shirt with French cuffs and black satin cravat finished off with fitted black jeans featuring the iconic all-over head print. The accessories include black fingerless gloves, sunglasses, black ankle boots and a black leather purse with silver metallic accents. As for the doll, I can't tell which sculpt this* is but the body looks like a pivotal. Barbie specialists please advise!


The Platinum-label Barbie Lagerfeld doll will be available in limited quantities (only 999 dolls will be produced) for approximately $200 USD or €200 Euro through exclusive retail channels including: select KARL LAGERFELD retail stores, TheBarbieCollector.com, NET-A-PORTER.COM and Colette in Paris. The worldwide retail launch is set for Monday, September 29, 2014. I bet it will be really hard to get one despite the extremely high price.


* Update 16 Sep. 2014: the sculpt is new and it is named Karl (of course)! Body type listed as poseable. Skin tone: Peace.




All photos ©2014 Mattel, Inc. All Rights Reserved.