The History Of Mdvanii Fashion Dolls

Generally created as a fashion doll catered to the adult art enthusiasts, the Mdvanii dolls debuted in London on February 14, 1989. The 25-centimeter doll made of hard resin was created by designers and artists BillyBoy and his life partner Jean Pierre Lestrade who is also known as Lala. It was the first anatomically-correct fashion doll yet the characters are based on a more adult storyline which verges on homosexuality and bi-sexuality. The creation of this doll was fostered by BillBoy’s fascination of antique French fashion and Kamkins dolls that were made by Louise Kampes. He got into the hobby of collecting dolls due to his love of vintage fashion dolls of the early 1970s. He even created dresses and repaints for Barbie dolls when he was a teenager.

In 1983, Mattel got in touch with BillyBoy and asked him to create a line for Barbie with his designs.

Mattel then launched the first ever designer series with the designer’s name on the box and it was called “Nouveau Theatre de la Mode Barbie”. His second collaboration with Mattel came up with the series that was entitled “Feelin’ Groovy Barbie” which was launched in 1986.

The Mdvanii dolls originally wore clothes that was tailored with French haute couture and were also originally made in France. Yet in 1997, the clothes were already made in Switzerland. The first doll collection was launched at Liberty & Co. which is a popular department store in London with the blessing of the store’s head fashion accessories buyer Carol Lister and the store’s owner, Richard Stewart Liberty.

The dolls were made in limited numbers and there was an exclusive edition made for F.A.O Schwarz.

The dolls were then introduced in New York where its exquisitely adorned masterpieces were priced from ,000 to a whopping 10,000. Furthermore, 10 doll houses were made which cost ,000 each. In 1993, BillyBoy ventured into creating porcelain Mdvanii dolls instead of its original resin material. The first porcelain collection of Mdvanii and her friends was made of 15 characters and all were handcrafted in France.

Today, there are several Mdvanii dolls which are included in museum display such as in Musee de Louvre, Musee de la Mode et du Textile, Victoria and Albert Museum and New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. And for Mdvanii fanatics, creations made by other artists who take inspiration of BillBoy’s creation call their art work as “Mdvaniiism” which was believed to describe pieces that evokes glamour through the concept of Mdvanii . Even some dolls also sport a stamp that could say “Mdvaniiism de BillyBoy & Lala, “This Is A Work Of Art”, or Manifesto Mdvaniiism de BillyBoy & Lala”.

Lacoste "?" History Of The Fashion Brand

It was during that tournament Rene Lacoste struck a wager with his captain that if he won that important match for France, his captain would have to buy him a suitcase created out of alligator skin. As it happened, the match was won and Rene Lacoste was dubbed by media as well as the press at that time as the Alligator. His close friend, Robert George took the opportunity to sketch a tiny alligator which was then embroidered on Renes blazer. That was the start of the alligator brand named Lacoste and the alligator has not looked back since.

Rene and Andre Gillier in 1933 then decided to join hands to set up a company. Andre Gillier, by virtue of running a highly successful French knitwear firm, had the expertise and he had in Rene the right brand ambassador to further the already well known alligator brand. Both wanted to leverage the unique design for use in shirts for sports like tennis, golf, sailing and others. In fact they released the first collection in 1933 itself.

After that, the ride has been pretty smooth for the brand as it replaced sports shirts made of woven fabric and also extended its product range to include fragrances and colognes. Some of the popular ones were Cool Play Cologne, Lacoste Hot Play Cologne, Lacoste Pour Homme Cologne, Booster Cologne and many other such fragrances.

The brand then made its foray into footwear, socks and belts. By now people were pretty conversant and confident about the quality of the brand and took to these products with great enthusiasm. The brand was also greatly helped by prominent sports personalities like Andy Roddick and many others.

Indeed, very few brands have stood the test of time for so long and kept gaining in popularity even as competition kept increasing. It is a tribute to the high standards of quality and consistency of Lacoste that it has continued to elicit interest and brand loyalty from its many fans all over the world.

Semen, Mercury, & Bird Droppings = A History of Cosmetics

The history of cosmetics isn't something to read your kids to sleep with. You don't want to talk about the days of ancient Egypt when makeup was lead-lined, mercury-filled, and semen was applied as a skin treatment! The sight of ruined and cancerous faces with drops of seminal fluid dripping down them isn't something to inspire faith with skin care manufacturers and the cosmetic industry.
Then came bird-droppings on Japanese Geishas, burned-matches for mascara among England's upper-class, shaved eyebrows tattooed back on among female Chinese nobles, and hot combs to straighten Black women's hair here in America. These are but a few of the harsh methods undertaken for the unreachable, nigh impossible to achieve standards of beauty that have plagued women since before the ancient Greek sculptures of Aphrodite.
These days our concerns about cosmetic ingredients have moved from synthetics to organics, from petroleum to castor oil, and from whale blubber to crushed insects.

The debates rages around what our cosmetics and skin care products are made of, as different sides emerge like waves to pummel the shoreline of beauty standards in this country.
Do they test on animals? Do they use organic ingredients? Are they sustainable? Is it safe? The public chamber echoes this same sentiment: people are scared of what they're putting on their skin and on their face.
But let the profits speak for themselves. We're still using cosmetics. A recent study shows the cosmetic industry is fairly recession proof. We hope or maybe we just ignore the reality of our small space in the consumer world - that we are powerless.
Except we're not. To combat cosmetics companies who sell unsafe products our only recourse is to educate ourselves about what we buy, what we use, and how. Knowing is the only way to deal with not-knowing (which is what we're really afraid of - the unknown). Pressure cosmetic companies to seek out natural skin care manufacturers organic ingredients. Check http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ for reports on safe cosmetics.
Become that person at in the market who obsessively checked the labels. Become the annoying customer who asks many questions about a store's products. Demand more for what you pay. As consumers we're only treated as well as we ask for, and it's naïve to expect any different.