Last year at the Cinematic Integrity Toys convention, there was the Official Integrity Toys Advanced Design competition. The winner was Jason Kramer with Defiant, modelled by a Natalia Fashion Royalty doll. The winning design, picked by the members of the Integrity Toys design team, after adjustments to make it production ready while preserving the spirit of Jason's original design, is now ready for preorder. A major change is that instead of Natalia, the doll wearing the outfit is now Rayna. W Club members can pre-order as many dolls as they like, so the total edition size will be based on how many pre-orders are received. The doll is also available for the general public to preorder, you can click on this link.

Rayna™ is a 12.5-inch fully articulated vinyl fashion doll with long, silky fully rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes. Her look that can be worn multiple ways is composed of a high-contrast custom printed removable plaid skirt over high-waisted capris and a black micro sequined sleeveless top, finished with a multi-strand chain necklace, oversized hoop earrings, cuff bracelets, high-heels and a clutch purse. A doll stand and a numbered certificate of authenticity is also included. For adult collectors ages 15 and up.

Hmmm... Rayna is one of the rarest Integrity Toys sculpts, first premiered as an unknown doll wearing an outfit for sale and has only been released as part of conventions or special events, while lately she appeared as part of an ITBE collection but in a dark skin tone. I was looking forward for a more easily available version of hers and now she's here. But she does not look like Rayna at all. Look at the photo below and tell me you'd recognise the same character if no one told you who it was.

I do not know why the designers picked this particular doll to use the small, slanted eye design but it is a total disaster - it is not Rayna. So, while the outfit is gorgeous and I'd love to have it in my collection, the doll will keep me off buying it. We were informed that she has painted eyes so I cannot attribute the look to the newly available, and much discussed, decal eyes that the company used on some dolls. It is a major disappointment for me. I know some people will pre-order her in the hope that Integrity will redesign the eyes but I cannot commit like this. And no one should have to.

So who is the talented Jason Kramer? He began working in design straight out of college, where he majored in Theatre Arts, with an emphasis in Costume design. He has designed costumes for both theatre and dance productions, and now works as Artistic Director and Lead Designer at a costume design company that specializes in custom made dance wear. When he's not working, he spends most of his free time with his husband James and their dog Apollo in their Long Beach, California home. 

The inspiration for this design was grunge fashion, with a more contemporary and chic interpretation. He collects dolls for the last 15 years. His favourite era of fashion is the Dior New Look. Favourite IT sculpts include Eugenia, Natalia, Elyse and Tulabelle. 

Jason Kramer

The winning design as sketched by Jason

The Saturday gala is always a bittersweet event: while everyone is anticipating the presentation of the convention doll and lots of other reveals and gifts of the night, it is also time to say goodbye and marks the end of the convention. The Integrity Toys design team conducted the highly anticipated OOAK and complete collection raffles, unveiled the final dolls of the weekend and announced that next year's convention would take place in Chicago (the theme, dates, registration information and other details will be revealed approximately in the Spring of 2016). They also announced the winner of the design contest, Jason Kramer, who was attending his first convention and won both categories, the advanced with his 12" entry (which will be made into a doll from Integrity next year) and the intermediate with his 16" entry. Here are photos taken from the flickr profile of Crystal.

Jason Kramer - winner of the advanced category in the design contest

This is Jason Kramer's 16" entry that won the intermediate category. It is actually portraying model Shalom Harlow at the finale of the Spring Summer 1999 Alexander McQueen collection, where her dress was spray-painted by industrial robots live on the runway.

Of course the final two dolls of the weekend were revealed: Elyse Jolie was the centerpiece (the designers mentioned that the change in her name's spelling was requested by her and they had being writing it wrong for years!) and a new character was introduced in the Nu. Face collection, Ms. Karolin Stone, a model and actress. Everyone in attendance received the gorgeous Karolin doll who is the official convention doll. Not everyone was pleased, as Elyse or Vero were expected to be convention dolls. The fact that Jason Wu did not make an appearance during the convention and no doll was wearing one of his real life outfits in miniature was also much discussed and speculated upon.

I'm not a fan of this Elyse. She looks a lot like previous releases of her (On The Rise was the first that came to mind), while the dress is too transparent  - shouldn't it be lined? I really like the fabric buy maybe it needs a different design to look its best.

The face looks familiar. She could be using the Ayumi 2.0 (more likely, as it is out of use now) ot 3.0 sculpt. Her severe look and simplicity did not go down well with some attendees - I read somewhere that when she was announced, everyone was silent for a few moments. She looks modern and strong but I would not try to get her.

Note: The dolls shown are prototypes and final versions may vary slightly. All doll photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2015 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission.