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The Mdvanii dolls originally wore clothes that was tailored with French haute couture and were also originally made in France.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”.

The History Of MGA?s Fashion Dolls

One of the popular dolls today is the Bratz dolls that were created by MGA Entertainment.  The line of fashion dolls are characterized by its large heads and slim bodies.  The first dolls that were released in May 2001 were Jade, Cloe, Yasmin, and Sasha.  They are characterized as teenagers who have their own fashion taste.  The dolls were also crafted with almond-shaped eyes and were designed to have plump glossy lips and softly applied make up. 

Today’s Bratz dolls franchise now comes with different lines such as the Bratz Babyz and Bratz Kids.  Although the sales in 2001 did not immediately pick up, the year after that was a different story and the sales went up.  The doll franchise was even recorded to have reached huge sales in 2005 when the global revenue came up to 2 billion dollars.

However, the success was marred by some challenges and controversies.  The dolls have been regarded by the American Psychological Association to be inappropriate to young kids as its skimpy and fashionable clothing connotes sexualization.  The company had also been under a lot of criticisms wherein apparently some people claim that the dolls were manufactured in China with poor labor policies and working conditions.  But the most controversial news regarding the Bratz dolls was the long legal battle with Mattel over the design.  Mattel claimed that former Mattel employee, Carter Bryant, had designed the concept for the Bratz dolls when he was still employed by the company.

It was a long battle with both companies which tackled on stealing trade secrets and copying designs.  But the recent decision made by the federal jury awarded MGA entertainment a verdict that orders Mattel to pay 310 million dollars to MGA.  Yet during the years involved in the long dispute, MGA has continued to create different Bratz doll characters and new lines such as the Bratz Babyz, Bratz Kids, Bratz Lil’ Angelz, Itsy Bitsy Bratz, Bratz Boyz, Bratz Petz, Lil’ Bratz, and Be-Bratz.

Aside from the doll lines, the company also came up with music albums and films for the doll characters.  More new characters were introduced in the TV series and movies although some of the characters introduced in it do not have its doll version.  But kids will find more fun with the dolls and their playsets and accessories.  The Bratz has really reached a huge success that it also came out with its kids clothing line in 2007 which was called the Lil’ Bratz Couture.

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