Hollywood Dolls

The FR2 collection is the more expensive version of Fashion Royalty dolls, with a new taller body with better articulation and shape and more detailed and accessorized fashions. As a major collection, the main one for the year, was debuted earlier, on the online event there was two more dolls to complete the picture. 

FR2 Collection
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail: $175.00 US
Estimated Delivery: Early Third Quarter 2011 

Gorgeous dolls and outfits - and amazing accessories. My two major objections - the feathered eye brows of Dasha and the bad make up of Dominique. If the last one had a different, softer make up (with smoky grey blue eye shadow and purple red lips) I would get her in an instant.

**All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2011**

The Monograms this time were a major dissapointment for the fans. Having already received a mini collection of two gorgeous dolls and one accessory set earlier in the year, the expectations were great. So imagine everyone's reaction when they saw that only three dolls, each a variation on the same concept were presented:

Having in mind that the sculpt is only one, having the same doll and outfit in three different colour variations is a bit risky. And having in mind that Monograms are supposedly the couture edition of FR, this one comes as a let down. So let us consider them as basics. Gorgeous and expensive ones.

One of the best ways to start the year is to see beautiful dolls! This happened today with a lovely email by Integrity making public the first 2011 Monogram line releases! Let us see what they are:

Hinted at last fall in the pictures Integrity released for "Escapade" and "Extravagance" in late summer 2010,  this black & white accessory pack features a finely sculpted miniature wig stand/bust cast in the finest resin and includes a brunette wig and wide brimmed straw hat, purse, shoes, jewelry set and certificate of authenticity. Designed to fit 1:6 scale dolls. It looks like modern Chanel stuff, nice but not my cup of tea. And the hat could have been so much more interesting - please look at what Stephen Jones is doing.

Based on the success and the great feedback they got of the first basic FR: Monogram doll Disclosure, Integrity decided to revisit her and offer a companion doll that would perfectly complement her if the two were to take a stroll down the catwalk. The outfit is almost the same in contrasting colouring and the tanned FR: Monogram brunette doll is to die for. She has rooted hair and her outfit includes a sexy belted lingerie set, strappy sandal shoes, and stud earrings. It comes with a doll stand and certificate of authenticity.

The pièce de résistance of this release, a vision of couture and pure beauty, what better way to start the new year? She looks like she came out of a vintage Charles James couture collection. Clad in an elaborate dual toned, intricately draped evening gown, this stunning new creation will surely become very wanted indeed. Includes FR: Monogram brunette doll, gown, shoes, jewelry (that looks like diamanté), doll stand and certificate of authenticity.

She is rooted again and the gown looks like a re-working of the Smoldering gown from the convention 2010 collection. This one though looks much more enticing and gorgeous. If this is any indication, it looks like 2011 will be a year full of exciting dolls!

The Saturday night ballroom was dark but festive as guests arrived for the final event of the Dark Romance convention. The centerpiece doll was a FR Monogram doll: Smoldering. The Monogram dolls are very popular with collectors and this centerpiece doll looks very elegant and Haute Couture like all the dolls of this line. I guess most of the attendees wanted the chance to purchase this doll. Also she is the first dark skinned Monogram. I think she looks great.

Then the final piece to the Fashion Royalty Gift Set given to all attendees was given to them. Every convention guest was given a fashion that completed the Agnes Fashion Royalty Gift Set. This completed gift set is called Head for Glamour Agnes Von Weiss and contains a complete mix-and-match set of fashions and accessories. Agnes looks a lot like Dressing The Part Agnes as I said before and is bound to be really popular. A dark haired version of her was given out to all helpers with the workshops - here is a link to a photo of her. Such a nice reward for their efforts.

Jason Wu was the event's guest speaker, announcing his intentions for the FR lines next year. He tried to answer several questions from the audience after his speech and also revealed sneak peek photos of Veronique Perrin, the first ever FR doll (along with Adele) who has been absent from the line's release for quite a while. I saw the photos and I do think she looks really good, hopefully we will see her sometime early next year. Here is a link to a photo from that peek (from Shuga Shug)

After the meal, Jason unveiled the exclusive Dark Romance convention doll which was, contrary to many people's anticipation (but probable since Veronique would not be seen this year) Dark Romance Giselle Diefendorf. Since she was supposedly doing the "fashion show" her big sister was hosting, it was only natural to be presented as the convention doll. She looks fabulous in her gorgeous black frilly gown with beaded bodice, smoky eyes (those grey eyebrows and eye-shadow remind me of Mel Odom's Gene so much).

This year's Australian major doll date was again the Dollz in OZ event. Held at the Sheraton Four Points in Darling Harbour, it was a day full of dolls for Australian fans. The event dolls were made by Integrity: Regal Estate Agnes was the event doll and Magnetism Monogram was the companion doll.

Regal Estate Agnes is a dressed doll wearing a black bustier dress with a cream coloured jacket and a black belt over it. She comes with fishnet stockings, clear blue pumps, blue stud earrings and black-and-blue necklace. Her face screening is a softer version of the Festive Decadence Agnes that was the second W Club doll last year. Her hair is long and lose. To me she looks hastily designed and produced. She does not remind me of Agnes at all.And blue with cream and black? The theme was Hollywood, but she would not get a chance there, even in daytime.

Magnetism Monogram doll is a tooted red haired doll, with a very classic make up look - brown and gold eye-shadow with red hot lipstick. She is wearing a gorgeous pink satin gown with matching pink and black shawl. The gown is decorated with a huge bow and it has a matching belt with a gold buckle. A golden cuff bracelet decorated with rhinestones and matching earrings compete the picture. Her shoes (not shown in photos) are emerald green with ankle straps. To me she is very Old Hollywood meets YSL glamour and would get her in an instant if I could.

Every time Integrity hosts an event for presentation of a new line, it has an event doll. It was the same again with the on-line event this year, but this time there were two of them - and they were mini-clones of the 16" Avantguard dolls Androgyny and Aphrodisiac that Integrity released last year.

They both look very much like their larger counterparts. The dolls use the Monogram line face sculpt and NuFace body (i.e. smaller bust and without waist articulation) so that makes them so much less articulated than their bigger sized sisters.  The reproduction of the fashions looks excquisite - I like it but already have Androgyny in 1/6 size so I had to pass, even though the price was really good for two dolls. 

The Monogram Collection was created to showcase real Jason Wu fashions done in 1/6 scale. The first dolls, released sporadically since the first charity-connected doll, Lifeball, did wear originals by Jason. Made in miniature scale, with exquisite detail and stylish as only models can be, the Monograms, due to their limited editions too, sparked the collectors' imagination immediately. Now the dolls become part of the regular releases - with a début collection that generally evoked a lot of praise from collectors and made the dolls highly requested - rumour has it that most dealers sold out before the timeslot allowed by Integrity to take pre-orders!

So this is actually the collection that Jason himself oversees now. This is obvious from the design of the outfits the dolls are wearing - they are not closer to style to his actual fashion collections anymore but they look like the earlier Fashion Roylaty doll fashions did - timeless, elegant, couture-like. So I guess this line is poised as the Haute Couture Line of Integrity, Fashion Royalty is the Ready To Wear Deluxe and NuFace is the secondary but avant-guard line. There are five dolls in the collection - and we start with the basic, Disclosure.

Enigmatic is the big hit with collectors. And why not? She wears a very elegant version of the little black dress, with a silk rose at the back of her waist, under a faux ocelot fur coat. Black jewellery, gloves, hat and pumps complete the look. What she is missing? A bag. No elegant couture outfit is complete without one. And tights too. The doll is wigged and looks like the mini-clone Androgyny with bright lipstick on. 

Up next is Dreamscape. She is a gain a wigged doll, with a raven bobbed wig and a couture-like gown. The draping of the skirt and the bodice are very intricate but the overall effect is somewhere between a classic overblown old Dior gown and a more avant-guard John Galliano one - it just cannot decide which. I'm not thrilled about this one, I guess it needed a starting over. It seems she did get the best shoes of all the collection.

My favourite from this collection is Incandescent: a beautiful doll with rooted short hair, sleeveless cocktail bi-coloured dress (pink and white) and matching jacket with double collar and peplum, black straw hat and dark glasses and gloves. Very Audrey again but still missing a bag. Her short hair make her even more special.

The final doll is one that has already been revealed to the public almost a month before the presentation, due to a mix up at Integrity - the dealers had her and got their orders before the company had managed to actually do a proper presentation - collectors first saw her on-line at a Dolls Magazine ad! The result is that she is already sold out before the rest of the collection was presented. She is the only darker skinned doll of this series and looks better because of it - she could look like Sade if one found the proper outfit.

Brilliance's outfit looks very 50's Dior - but I think the darker middle part would have been better if smaller and looked actually more like a corset. The stitching is not A-grade and her weird hat does not improve things. She is wigged and I am told by collectors who got her that it fits perfectly. I must say this is a major improvement over the Modern Pompadour wigs which slipped of heads easily. She is missing her bag too which again looks weird on a couture doll. She is beautiful though.

Overall it is a very elegant collection - and promising for the future. My only objection are the dolls - the sculpt is too generic and bland, and even with the brilliant face-ups it is getting, it still looks a bit Stepford-wife to me. They lack personalities, like real models in a way, especially in the last few years. The Jeffery Kalinsky charity showed us that these dolls do have much more to give. Let's hope to see more of that soon.