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!

____________________________________________

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!

__________________________________________________________

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.  

The W Club - Tell them I sent you!

The purpose of this post is to inform any doll collector who is not yet a member of the W Club what the club has done in the past three years since it's inception. I highly recommend membership for all of the reasons you will read below.

If you do decide to join I would appreciate it if you would use my name as the referral person! Please make sure to join prior to December 22, 2008 in order that I may get credit for the referral. And if you do use my name, please let me know. You won't be disappointed!

This year I am also joining the Gene W Club as I realized that I was missing out on all the goodies that went along with that club, too.

Membership has it's rewards!
• Exclusive access to first-to-know information; sneak peeks at
upcoming dolls, fashions & more!
• Exclusive access to members-only forums!
• VIP customer service from the W Club Liaisons!
• Guaranteed ability to purchase exclusive Club-only doll(s)!
• Special coupons for discounts on purchasing Club dolls!
• Club-only opportunities to purchase dolls, fashions & more!
• Exclusive VIP invite to Toy Fair event in New York City on 2/21/2009!
• Priority Convention Registration!
• Access to private Q&A sessions with Jason Wu and Mel Odom!
• 3 levels of Club membership to meet collectors’ needs!

Registration information is at the end of this post.

I have been a member of Integrity Toy's Fashion Royalty W Club since it started three years ago. My fondest memory of the first year was attending the first FAO event on February 14th, 2006. It was Valentines' Day and I manipulated my husband into driving down to Manhattan with me by telling him I would accept it as a Valentines' gift. I'm so generous. LOL
The event was for W Club members and their guests. Those of us who arrived at the store a little early stood on line outside in the cold of the New York winter waiting to be let in. Don't believe for one minute that we stood quietly. There were squeals of recognition every minute and hugs and chatter. Once inside we were checked in and rode the escalator upstairs past huge stuffed dinosaurs where we saw the new line of Fashion Royalty dolls for that year. It was very exciting and very crowded as we pressed together to get a good look at the dolls. We met and mingled and were served drinks and hors d'oeuvre. We got to buy the last doll in the Voyages Line, Isha "Final Cut" Cannes Collection Giftset.

That year we had a Yahoo W Club board which was pretty active and lots of fun. There were two dolls available only to W Club members: Stylish Escape Veronique and Dressing the Part Agnes.

Also offered to W Club members were two tri-fold backdrops called Evening at the Theater and Coffee and Cocktails in Krakow.

In 2007, I signed up for two memberships! On February 13 the second FAO doll unveiling event was held at which we were able to buy the beautiful Wicked Valentine Agnes doll.

The weather was typical February in New York, freezing, snowing, sleeting and overall horrible. Many collectors who drove spent hours on the road trying to get home. But we did all arrive home safely.
The W Club dolls that year were:

In Bloom Vanessa:


Costume Drama Giselle Diefendorf:

and Grand Arrival Colette:
We were given a choice of buying one or both of these dolls. There was also an exclusive fashion called Purple Reign offered to club members.

Throughout the year contests were held and prizes awarded. We got sneak peeks at dolls before the public and were offered lotteries before the public for limited edition dolls and remaining convention dolls. We were able to register for the convention earlier than the public as well.

At the last FAO Toy Fair event held on February 22, 2008, we were treated to the premier viewing of the new Hollywood Royalty line and the first doll, Ethereal Return Lana Turner was available for purchase.

Of course, we viewed the new dolls for 2008 as well. It was a fabulous event, attended by many in the metropolitan area, the country and there were even several collectors from Europe! In typical February New York fashion, we had a snowstorm. But that didn't stop several hundred collectors from converging on FAO Schwarz at 6:00 PM.

At each event the we have mingled with the founder of Integrity Toys, Percy Newsum and his family, Jason Wu and some of his staff and Mel Odom of Gene Marshall fame.

Early in the year the W Club switched to a forum-format chat board which made organizing themes, topics, threads and information possible. We share our collections and expertise. We ask and answer questions and are given information by the liaisons. We can buy, sell and barter dolls and doll related items of any kind.

We were able to purchase an Upgrade Option club doll this year. She was a Eugenia doll called "Going Public."

The last 2008 club offering which is about to arrive is called the Moods Collection. We were offered two different Veroniques with the original face mold. They will be the last Veros with this face mold. We could create our own giftsets by choosing from the following items:

Blond Ambition
Body Double Veronique Perrin Starry Night Wardrobe FashionFrench Dressing Deluxe Accessory Pack
Luxe Finish Accessory Set

The final 2008 club doll is called Bewitching Hour Luchia who is due to arrive sometime in 2009.

_________________________________________

Registration information from Integrity Toys W Club for new members:

Here are the prices of each 2009 membership- for more information see the brochure or begin the registration process, as there are details included there as well.

http://www.integritytoys.com/2009club.pdf

You may register now through 5:00 PM Central Standard Time (Chicago Time) on January 8, 2009.

Make sure you register well in advance of the deadline. Every year, things come up at the last minute, so register as soon as possible

A-Base (Gene) Gold Membership: $40

B-Upgraded Gold Membership: $140 (plus shipping), which includes the base Gold membership and the Zita Charles doll.

Of the $140, $65 will be billed at registration and $75 plus shipping will be billed in April, with the doll scheduled for May delivery.

C-Base (FR/1:6 Scale) Diamond Membership: $50

D-Upgraded Diamond Membership: $130 (plus shipping), which includes the base Diamond membership and the Vanessa Perrin Cruise Control doll.

Of the $130, $70 will be billed at registration and $60 plus shipping will be billed in April, with the doll scheduled for May delivery.

E-Super Deal! Base Platinum Membership: $80 (includes one membership to each of the Gold and Diamond Clubs)

F-Mega Deal! Upgraded Platinum Membership: $260 (plus shipping), of which $121 will be billed at registration and $139 plus shipping will be billed in April, with the dolls scheduled for May delivery.

Again, you can begin the registration process (if you do not want to view the brochure) here:

http://www.integritytoys.com/wclub.html

We have a brochure about the 2009 W Club that can be found in our forum or at this link:

http://www.integritytoys.com/2009club.pdf

Contact the Liaisons if you have any problems. wclub@integritytoys.com

So there you have it. The instructions can be quite confusing so if you need clarification or help, I recommend contacting the liaisons or you can contact me right here by asking a question.

New Nu.Face Dolls

This collection of five dolls consists of, from left to right, Takeo Mizutani, Eden, Erin S., Lukas M., and Giselle Diefendorf.

I have a big shoebox in my studio filled with assorted Fashion Fever pieces....

And why does Erin look like Colette?

Retail is $99. each. LE 1000.

Deconstruction Sight Eugenia 2009 W Club Doll #1

Eugenia has a gorgeous sculpt. This doll is beautiful. The makeup is just right. The hair, although rock hard, works for her.

The dress is pretty. I see a very similar shape to the fashion worn by Statuesque, the Colette exclusive doll. The dark stripe down the front of the bodice, from a distance, presents the same color scheme as the white jacket over the black dress. Perhaps this is the RTW version? ;-)
The jewelry is heavy and although I like it, I think it would look better with something else. Note the large metal neckpiece on Jason's runway model in the previous post!

The shoes had to go. I'm not a fan of the heavy shoe, strappy gladiator look with a light feminine dress. Again, the same profile as Statuesque is seen here. It draws the eye to the foot and artistically that makes no sense IMO. I couldn't bear to take a serious photograph of her with these shoes and the black painted hands. It spoke costume, not fashion.

The problem with back of the shoe not allowing the leg to be straight is a serious issue because it has been happening over and over again for a year and is not being addressed. In this case it's a combination of a heel that is too high and incorrectly shaped back of ankle area.

If you love Eugenia, this doll is a must have. Because it was a club doll, it is not available from regular dealers unless they are selling it as an aftermarket item.

Do you see any stylistic similarity?

Image Property of Integrity Toys

Jason Wu Montaigne Market Exclusive Doll

Several weeks ago it was announced that there would be an exclusive Jason Wu doll carried by a store in Paris, France, Montaigne Market.
She is a very sophisticated Elise Jolie with mahogany hair pulled back into a long and low pony tail. Her makeup palette is browns and beiges with gold glittery eyeshadow The beautiful fashion is one of Jason's runway looks with the addition of a large handbag and two Montaigne Market shopping bags.
No exact date was given as to availability other than end of February.

Here are excerpts from WWD's January 9, 2014 article by Joelle Diderich.

DOLL PARTS: Jason Wu is showing at Paris Fashion Week next month — though the only outfit he will be parading is a miniature version of a look from his spring collection, as worn by a doll he has designed for retailer Montaigne Market.
Priced at 150 euros, or $200 at current exchange, the limited edition of 250 will go on sale exclusively at Montaigne Market and on its Web site at the end of February, to coincide with the next round of catwalk shows. Wu has previously produced dolls for Colette in Paris, and Bergdorf Goodman and Jeffrey in New York.
His latest creation wears a sporty, belted jacket in cream with deep front pockets over a gold sequined skirt, and touts tiny Montaigne Market shopping bags...
“We did everything, from translating the little buckles that we had to make, to the shoes — we replicated the runway shoes exactly. We also replicated the Daphne clutch, our signature bag, into the doll scale, so everything from hardware and everything has to be shrunken down,” he added.

 The doll is a very close replica except for the fabric of the full sized which looks floatier and not as densely sequined. I do like the look of the doll a lot. She's prettier than the model.

Today the doll went up for sale on the MM website and there is the usual angst and jubilation over at the W Club depending on who scored and who didn't.

As of right now, there are two on eBay. Looking forward to seeing how much they bring in.

2010 Integrity Toys Debut Line of Dolls

At 5 PM EST last night approximately 400 W Club members from all over the world logged on to a webinar held by Integrity Toys for the purpose of seeing the new dolls for 2010. Carol Roth ran the event. Percy Newsome, Jason Wu, Vaughn Sawyers, David Buttry and Alain Tremblay took part.
I expected a live event with live pictures rather than just live voices and pictures. It was over after about one hour. About 6 questions were taken from attendees. The event was scheduled for two hours so I wonder what was missing.
One by one each grouping was shown. I compliment the size and quality of the images. For the first time we have been shown images that didn't try to be artsy but rather intended to display the dolls and fashions with appropriate lighting and focus.

The Event dolls are a set of two mini Avantguards, Aphrodisiac (on the left) and Androgyny and will sell for $175. That's a fair price for the two. I would have rather gotten a Fashion Royalty doll but many are pleased with this choice. They are wigged as are the original full-sized versions and are dressed in the same fashions. It's a cute idea. I think it will be fun to photograph the two Aphrodisiacs together. I don't have Androgyny anymore. I wonder if there will be a mini Goldmine. She would definitely find a place in my collection!
The Fashion Royalty Monogram Collection, in my opinion, was the winner out of all the lines. Besides the doll Brilliance, which I have previously reviewed, there is a lingerie version , two fantastic dressed dolls and another dressed doll that I will pass on. Each one is $150 except for the lingerie version which is $120.

They are Enigmatic, Incandescent, Dreamscape and Disclosure.

Enigmatic and Incandescent

Dreamscape

Disclosure

I don't like the pink gown from the waist down and that's a shame. The fabric detail on the bodice and shoulder and the cute beaded hat are lovely. I like the look of the short wig as well. The structure of the skirt reminds me of the outrageous Biltmore Hotel Gene Marshall gown from years ago. The Biltmore gown was a work of art. I don't want to spend $150. for a Monogram doll whose outfit is useless to me.
I finally found a use for Brilliance's outfit...it fits a Silkstone doll perfectly!


But I digress. Back to the debut.

Next up are the Fashion Royalty dolls themselves. They were divided into two categories, Dazzle and Foundation....whatever. Foundation would be a good name for a line of lingerie dolls.

The Dazzle dolls have 60's hairstyles and Heidi Klum type sequined dresses. They are $79. except for the Kyori giftset which is $175.

Sorry to say that Mattel did the sequin thing better.
The Kyori giftset comes with a big red ruffled gown sporting a beige bow, a plaid suit with a blouse underneath, two pairs of shoes, earrings, bracelet, ring and black potholder gloves.

Let's talk about hair. It's depressing to see those gorgeous faces under the ridiculous hairstyles. They look rock hard and are so unattractive. Adele's Afro is not to my taste either. I'd really tone it down a few inches which would still give her an ethnic hairdo but keep her from looking like she belongs in a Mike Myers movie.

Overall, the theme of the collection is a little bit of this and a little bit of that as far as fashion eras. It's certainly not like Jason's runway collections which are cohesive and relate to eachother.

The Foundation Collection
Staying Power Darius Reid and Model Citizen Lukas M., two Hommes in ill-fitting suits carrying great man bags and wearing great shoes. $139.00 each. This is not a giftset with two dolls. I have combined them into one image to save space. One can only hope that the jackets do not actually fit the way they look in the pictures.
Fire Within Jordan $139.
Jordan is very pretty and I think her outfit is adorable. I'm hoping the construction lives up to my expectations as it looks complicated. I will get rid of the pot holders immediately. I love hats for my dolls.

Tricks of the Trade Eugenia Perrin Frost $139.00
Which "trade" is that? The outfit is cute, I think. Actually I don't know what to think about this doll. I'm afraid she'll open her mouth and the fangs will come out. I am ordering her because she is so strange that she's interesting.

Private Goddess Natalia Fatale $150.
Someone is going to have to rethink the color and the draping of the fabric on that dress. The bodice has possibilities. Did Natalia's fairy godmother use the nursery room draperies for the skirt? Was she in a hurry?
Winning Ensemble Luxury Wear Fashion $69
I want the doll that is modeling this outfit. It appears to be Vanessa before the LDS hairstyle was applied. The outfit is another mini bubble skirt type dress in spring colors, a 50's bow hat with tulle, and the ubiquitous black gladiator shoes. I'm undecided.


The Three NuFace dolls below are Perk Colette, The Great Pretender Lillith and Mais Oui! Giselle Diefendorf. Each is $99.
Giselle's outfit comes with a fitted black jacket that has an interesting peplum. I think they're all adorable. The clothes are edgy eye candy. Colette and Lillith have beautiful faces. They will be mine.


Flash Star Luxury Wear Fashion $69.
Poppy Parker, the Dynamite Girls and ITBE will be covered in the next post.