Ayumi's New Look and Adele's Incarnations

Ayumi Nakamura is a character who was introduced to the NuFace (originally called Model Behavior) collection in 2007. That doll was called Miracle Child. If I remember correctly, the Model Behavior dolls were quite popular. Ayumi wasn't as popular as Erin, Colette and Giselle.

The next Ayumi incarnations were London by Night in 2008 and Sunset Rave in 2011. By that time, the Model Behavior line was called NuFace and many new characters had been added. Ayumi seemed to have faded away along with Nadja and Colette.

Surprisingly, Ayumi popped up in the FR2 line as Luminous in 2011 (below, left)  and Opium in 2012. Luminous was not a popular doll and although her dress was quite pretty, her face was not.  I'm not sure what sculpt Opium uses. She has grown on me and in a close-up is very beautiful. Of all the aforementioned Ayumis, she has remained in my collection. She was a change from the first Ayumi sculpt. At that time, the IT designers were mixing up the sculpts like crazy. I don't have a clue as to whether or not Opium's sculpt is a mix from other dolls or a new sculpt entirely. 

The third sculpt is totally new. She looks beautiful. The screening is lovely. Her youthful and glamorous hairstyle and the sequined qi pao made her a keeper in my collection!

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"Le Smoking" Adele received rave reviews by collectors. She's been compared to The Muse Adele, (2008), widely held to be the most beautiful Adele ever produced. For this version of Adele, they went back to the Adele 2.0 sculpt. Hopefully, they will keep it there as 3.0 is dour. 

Via Venetto Adele (2004) from the amazing Voyages Collection was my first ever Fashion Royalty doll. I have a fondness for that sculpt but I do like 2.0 more. In the photo below, she is not wearing her original fashion. 

Graphic Language Adele (Graphic Flirtation, 2004) used a new sculpt. This doll is still very popular albeit not on her original body. 

The Muse (2008) It doesn't get better.

In 2011, Adele 3.0 was introduced at a convention as part of a two doll gift set called Style Counsel along with Veronique. What a hot mess these two turned out to be. Veronique needed a different hairstyle and Adele needed her old face back. 

In 2013, Adele was released as an ITBE doll. She appears to be using the 2.0 sculpt. This image is by Julia Leroy who restyled the hair and designed the jewelry.

I call this 2014 FR2 version What Were They Thinking? It is really named Vivid Encounter.

FR Monogram Collection - #2 Doll "Statuesque"

The model on the right is wearing Jason Wu and so is the doll on the left. She is the second entry in the new Fashion Royalty Monogram Collection which is intended to showcase select works from Jason's fashion runway.
A limited number of dolls were made available to the public at Colette, a Parisian boutique, and online on their web site. They are sold  out now but members of the W Club may have a chance to obtain one at a future date.
In this picture she looks like Valia but in other pictures I've seen, she has a strong resemblance to the Avantguard doll, Goldmine.

The image below is from the website.

The retail price of this beautiful doll is (was) approximately $250. without VAT, depending upon the exchange rates of the moment. Shipping to the US would have brought the price up to about $300. I had her in the shopping cart and at the last minute I controlled myself. I would like to have her though. I like her much better than Lifeball.

This is what is says on her box:
"Statuesque"
Desc: Exclusive au magasin Colette, Paris
FR: Monogram par Jason Wu New York
# 93010

New Fashion Royalty, Poppy Parker and Tulabelle Dolls

Integrity Toys revealed its new dolls to the members of the W Club last Saturday. The categories were Fashion Royalty, Poppy Parker, Tulabelle and Jem.

The Fashion Royalty theme is Urban Safari.
From left to right they are:


On The Rise Elise Jolie, 
Vivid Encounter Adele Makeda, 
Elusive Creature Natalia Fatale, 
Faded Desert Kyori Sato,  
City Prowl Eugenia Perrin Frost and
Full Spectrum Veronique Perrin

All the dolls are editions of 700 or 800 each except Adele which is an edition of only 400. Each doll's retail price is $135., a bit of a hike from last year's FR dolls. These have the FR2 version 2 body. 

Overall, this group of dolls is nice. There's nothing spectacular or new to write home about. The designer stayed close to the chosen theme in most cases and the clothes are pretty tame. My own favorites are Elise and Adele. I love anything Elise as I used to love Vanessa. However, the fashion looks very familiar to ones IT has done in the past. My other favorite is Adele but only for the outfit. I don't know why they think that Adele looks good in washed out lipstick. She doesn't. I love the outfit and the jewelry and I hope that the color of the actual lining isn't too off in real life. Also, they never should have changed her sculpt. She was beautiful.

The last doll is the event doll available to any W Club member who wishes to pre-order. The edition size in this circumstance will be determined by those who sign up to buy her. She is  High Visibility Agnes Von Weiss. It is a mini gift set as she comes with two fashions. She, too, retails for $135. but will not be available to the public.
Agnes' fashion leaves me cold. The cropped vest over the bustier is fussy and awkward and probably too bulky for the doll to wear. The long skirt is just like another early FR outfit. But Agnes is a very popular sculpt so many will order her.
I like Veronique's outfit a lot but it's not worth $135. I would not keep the doll as this is not Veronique to me.

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The Poppy Parker line gains four new characters, not all with new sculpts. The theme is the Girl From I.N.T.E.G.R.I.T.Y. Apparently they are crime fighters (or murderers) as all come with color coordinated weapons. Seriously?

Sebina Havoc: Mistress of Disguise aka Loni Lawrence joins the line. She is pictured on the right, above. This doll comes with an extra head with the Poppy Parker sculpt.

The new guy is Sebastien Havoc: Brother in Arms aka Lex Lawrence. He's a bad guy and Sebina's brother.

The third new character is Agent Kimiko Gunn aka Tina Tanaka. This doll uses the original Ayumi sculpt.

Colette returns as Agent Penelope Chase aka Jolie James. All these 'forgotten' sculpts are making comebacks.

Four others, above are from left to right: Agent Lotta Danger,  Spy-A-Go-Go,  Arm Candy Chip Farnsworth III and Mayhem in Monte Carlo Poppy Parker.

The dolls and their outfits are cutesy. The entire Poppy Parker line is on the comical side of tongue in cheek. They need to be careful not to turn them into action figures as opposed to fashion dolls. The price of each doll in this line is $120. That's a huge increase over last year's prices. Perhaps it's the tiny guns.

I like Arm Candy's suit a lot. It's a very gay James Bond look. I just don't care for Chip's sculpt. I'm wondering if Lex Lawrence is a combination of features seen previously. He's got very strange eyes.

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There are four new Tulabelle dolls. Each is an edition of 300 and costs $140. Tula's clothes will fit the Avantguard doll. I don't have any FR16 dolls but the clothes are very similar in size.

Click on any of the photos to see larger size versions.

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Jem and the Holograms

The Jem line dolls are action figures to me. They wear costumes, not fashion.

To each his own. 

Each doll is $125.

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What is your opinion of the offerings?

Did you pre-order anything?

Please include your name in your posts...if you dare. :-)

Integrity Toys Convention 2016 Luncheon and Banquet

 'The evening started with the introduction of the final centerpiece of the weekend, the ultra-sophisticated Dania Zarr, which was followed by dinner, the announcement of this year's competition winner, Salvador Lopez Arriaga, the highly-anticipated raffle of the designer OOAK dolls and finally, an interview with top designer Jason Wu where he announced the plans for the celebration of his company's 10th anniversary in 2017 and the introduction of new features in the Fashion Royalty line, starting with the "Velvet Touch" skin finish! Jason then announced that as a thank you for everyone who opted to attend convention this year ONLY, a special pre-order offer would be included with the convention doll to pre-order the very first Elyse doll that features the "Velvet Touch" skin finish.Finally, the moment everyone was waiting for came and this year's convention doll was unveiled, the ultra-glamorous Dasha, which came with not one, but two complete outfits to match the other girls in the convention collection! What a trip!'

The W Club Member's Luncheon featured a Nu Face Doll as the centerpiece and the gift. There weren't 400 motorcycles and they were a separate purchase. Someone posted that they were $20. I don't know if that is verifiable.

Full Speed
Erin S.™ / NU. Face Dressed Doll
W Club Luncheon Exclusive Table Centerpiece
Limited Edition of 400 Centerpieces

Very cute.

Checking In

Colette D.™ / NU. Face Dressed Doll
W Club Luncheon Exclusive Giveaway Doll
Limited Edition of 400 Dolls Only
New Sculpt!

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Tweed Couture
Dania Zarr™ Dressed Doll
Saturday Night Dinner Table Centerpiece
Limited Edition of 350 Centerpieces Only

This was inspired by a John Galliano Couture Fashion for Christian Dior Fall/Winter '97-'98. Quite stunning!

Diva
Dasha™ Dressed Doll
Official Convention Doll
Limited Edition of 500 Dolls Only

This gown was inspired by a Christian Lacroix fashion from 1995 as seen in this image from Vogue. They did a great copy!

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La Vie en Bleu
Elyse Jolie™ Dressed Doll
Designed By Jason Wu Collection
Limited Edition: TBD
Additional 2016 Supermodel Convention Attendee Exclusive
 

I believed, at first, that they had changed the sculpt. I examined her face closely and now I am convinced it's the same Elise sculpt but painted very differently.  I don't care for this interpretation as it washes out her beautiful features. Her lips look tiny and her eyes are squinty. 

But the toned-down make-up and styling of the doll is in line with the human model from Jason's pre-fall 2016 collection. She looks taken aback and ragged.

It was announced that next year's convention will be held in Orlando.