The 2021 Convention Collection was presented to attendees on the first day. This year there were fewer dolls, mostly because of production delays but also because W Club member had asked to see more dolls outside the convention and less offered in it. There was only one Salesroom exclusive, which would be allocated by lottery. For the dolls shown below, the Poppy Parker doll is designed by David Buttry, the East 59th doll is designed by Chris Stoeckel, and the NU. Face and Fashion Royalty dolls are designed by Jessy Ayala. Each designer decided on a different obsession for his line, so we got a hodgepodge of styles, some hitting the mark, others leaving people dissatisfied. Let’s check out the offerings.
For Fashion Royalty, Jessy decided that the obsession would be military styling. This has been a constant influence with fashion designers since forever, some have even made it a constant in their offerings (see Ralph Lauren and Balmain). The concept was explained by IT as follows:
“Since the dawn of time, whether it is for a simple show of force or as a form of national pride, just about every blue-blooded "royal" and/or would-be leader of our world has been "obsessed" with their armed forces! With this collection, the ladies of Fashion Royalty are putting their own "fashionable might" on display by paying homage to military styling, as seen through their own unique fashion lens! Each dressed in military-inspired looks, featuring intricate construction details that you will immediately recognize, the unique personality of each of our favorite FR characters shines through and will make a definite impact on the ongoing story of Fashion Royalty! Designed by Jessy Ayala.”
Item # 91528
Chain of Command
Natalia Fatalé™ Dressed Doll
The 2021 Integrity Toys Convention: Obsession
Fashion Royalty® Convention Collection
Edition Size: 1300
Special Convention Price: $180.00
*Only for Main Convention Package Holders*
Head Sculpt: Natalia 2.0
Body Type: FR 6.0
Foot Sculpt: High-heeled
Skin Tone: Light Honey
Hair Color: Dark Brunette
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
Quickswitch: No
Natalia looks more like a police woman in this suit than a military officer. And that is not good, especially after all that has happened these last few years. Jessy took an Alexander McQueen staple (the two-tone tailored suit) and styled it in a way to make it look more military like. I’m not feeling it at all, even though the execution looks great - and the recreation of the small bag on the belt is perfect. What is that thing hanging from her handbag?
The doll has a gorgeous face: she is a beautiful Natalia and I might try to find her nude at some point. The straight long hair ruins all the military styling though - she needed an up do or a short crop to finish it off perfectly.
Item # 91530
Vendetta
Agnes Von Weiss® Dressed Doll
The 2021 Integrity Toys Convention: Obsession
Fashion Royalty® Convention Collection
Edition Size: 1300
Special Convention Price: $180.00
*Only for Main Convention Package Holders*
Head Sculpt: Agnes
Body Type: FR 6.0
Foot Sculpt: High-heeled
Skin Tone: Japan
Hair Color: Pale Blonde
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
Quickswitch: No
This Agnes reminds me a lot of Dressing The Part Agnes, the doll styling and the silhouette of the dress is very close to that doll. Despite the Vendetta moniker, she looks very sweet and kind here, the veil and the ringlets framing her face giving her a renaissance Madonna feel. If you take away the hat, there’s nothing military about her. Her screening (not colouring) is like Malibu Agnes and Head For Glamour Agnes. She looks like the child of Taylor Swift and Grace Kelly.
The dress is actually a variation on the famous Dior Bar Suit, the iconic New Look outfit. One of the photos has the doll posed just like the model in the most famous photo depicting that outfit. With the styling though, it reminded me of this Giambattista Valli look. The shoes are transparent vinyl patterned to mimic lace. The bag is like a highly geometric version of the Lady Dior bag. Are the gloves united together by the red neck scarf?
The NU. Face obsession was sports. Completely unrelated to military except that both are mainly straight male obsessions (soldiers and athletes are male gay obsessions obviously). Many designers have translated sports uniforms on the catwalk, again with a variety of success. Integrity Toys summed it up like this:
“Since the only way to stay on top of the game is to win, the ultra-fashionable modeling team of the NU. Face agency is ready to put its competitive edge to the test by showing us just how obsessed they are in their own fashionable way! Each model in this series wears a look inspired by her favorite sport or fitness activity, re-imagined in a never seen before way, from the mind of IT designer, Jessy Ayala!”
Item # 82151
Varsity
Alejandra Luna™ Dressed Doll
The 2021 Integrity Toys Convention: Obsession
NU. Face™ Convention Collection
Edition Size: 1300
Special Convention Price: $175.00
*Only for Main Convention Package Holders*
Head Sculpt: Alejandra
Body Type: NF 3.0
Foot Sculpt: High-heeled and Flat Foot
Skin Tone: Hungarian
Hair Color: Dark Blonde
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
Quickswitch: No
Alejandra makes her second ever appearance as a baseball bunny, with a look inspired partly by the collaboration that Jeremy Scott did with Adidas back in 2014. While the overall impression is not imminently fashion, it is kind of attractive, mainly because of Alejandra - see how a good model saves the outfit?
The doll is a recoloured version of the OG Alejandra with a ponytail. The make up is a bit harsher here, in line with her being an obsessed baseball player I guess. But the overall impression is that she’s too basic for the price. She could have been a giveaway/souvenir doll but for a convention collection one, she’s seriously under-dressed. Jessy said that the number 82 on her cap is the item number for NU Face. Nice to see they have both sets of legs, high heel and flat articulated.
Item # 82152
En Pointe
Violaine Perrin™ Dressed Doll
The 2021 Integrity Toys Convention: Obsession
NU. Face™ Convention Collection
Edition Size: 1300
Special Convention Price: $175.00
*Only for Main Convention Package Holders*
Head Sculpt: Vanessa 2.0 / Violaine 1.0
Body Type: NF 3.0
Foot Sculpt: High-heeled and Articulated Ankle
Skin Tone: FR White
Hair Color: Brunette
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
Quickswitch: No
Violaine looks more like Poppy Parker than a Perrin sister in this incarnation. Many people find a similarity to Bergdorf Goodman Poppy in particular, but her Princess Leia hairstyle makes this quite impossible for me. The sport she’s supposedly obsessed with is ballet, which is a bit weird as ballet is not what one would normally think of when considering sports. Ballet is an art form, not a sport (although there are plenty of straight male humans out there that consider sports as art). So I do not find this relevant, plus the doll is so different in style from the rest of the NU Face ladies that it speaks for itself.
The outfit reminds me of what Sarah Burton did in her Fall/Winter 2020 collection for Alexander McQueen, putting harnesses over asymmetrically hemmed dresses. But also the Spring/Summer 2017 collection of Gauri and Nainika from India, who did many different iterations of the concept. I would have preferred the harness over the top (which then would have to be more tailored) for a better look and also in a contrasting colour. This total beige look, while very ballet in feel, looks very bland.
Thankfully, Poppy Parker had a more fashion-related obsession: Parisian Couture. Unfortunately, there is only one Poppy in this year’s convention collection. Here’s the company description:
“Poppy Parker gives us a glimpse at her latest look, as she is seen attending a very special soirée in Paris, celebrating her favorite French Couturier, Louis Laurent! Designed by David Buttry!”
Item # 77212
Silver Soirée
Poppy Parker® Dressed Doll
The 2021 Integrity Toys Convention: Obsession
Poppy Parker® Convention Collection
Edition Size: 1300
Special Convention Price: $160.00
*Only for Main Convention Package Holders*
Head Sculpt: Poppy Parker
Body Type: Poppy Parker
Foot Sculpt: High-heeled
Skin Tone: Japan
Hair Color: Platinum
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
Quickswitch: No
She is a lovely doll - echoing the Style Lab Get It Together doll from 2019’s convention. She has a screening seen before on Oh La La, Powder Puff and other Poppy dolls, with a different colouring. She is both soft and strong, which is nice and gives her a certain glow. People who saw the online presentation during the convention and the doll in David’s hands, said she looked even better.
The dress sort of reminds me of another 2019 convention Poppy, Young Romantic. They would look cool displayed next to each other. Since the French designer she’s obsessed with echoes Yves Saint Laurent a bit, I tried searching for a similar style in his early collections (both the Dior years and his first solo collections) but there is not much online to work with. The accessories are nothing that stands out but fit the style perfectly.
There was only on 2021 Convention Salesroom Exclusive, Victoire Roux, obsessed with Surrealist Art. that gave the opportunity to Chris Stoeckel to give her a Mugler outfit from his 1995 Fall Couture collection. Here’s Integrity Toys description:
“1950s top-model Victoire Roux channels her own personal Obsession for modern art and beauty, as she pays homage to her friend and fellow French citizen, famous surrealist visual artist Man Ray!"
Wearing an original creation by Integrity Toys designer Chris Stoeckel, this truly unique doll features a special "one-eyed" sculptural mask, which attaches to the doll's head using a special magnetized earring, which is included in the set! Fun and versatile, Victoire makes a statement wearing a long, flowing black lace floor-length evening coat, or a high-contrast, wearing her flamboyant pink jacket!”
Item # 73043
Black Ice
Victoire Roux® Dressed Doll
The 2021 Integrity Toys Convention: Obsession
The East 59th® Convention Salesroom
Edition Size: 700
Special Convention Price: $160.00
*Only for Main Convention Package Holders*
Head Sculpt: Victoire Roux 2.0
Body Type: East 59th 1.0
Foot Sculpt: High-heeled
Skin Tone: Japan
Hair Color: Silver
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
Quickswitch: No
She’s a winner! Easily the best doll of the convention so far, this unusual Victoire edition is a couture marvel! Her main outfit is a reversal of look 3 of the Fall/Winter Haute Couture Thierry Mugler collection (lace for the coat instead of patent leather, vinyl for the bodysuit instead of lace. There is also a magenta sculpted jacket that can be worn instead of the coat, taken from look 13 of the same Mugler collection. And there is that mask!
The doll is gorgeous too - with her silver hair and intense make up, she channels not only Simonetta Gianfelici who modelled the original outfit and was a muse to both Mugler and Claude Montana, but also the very regal and imposing Carmen Dell’ Orefice, the model that has the longest modelling career ever, from the 1950s till now. She’s totally different from any of her previous iterations.
I think it would have been better that they had her story be like she is the Carmen of her world - Victoire keeps modelling even in the modern era and she dons the outfit in a runway of our time, older but ageless. Just like Carmen. Surrealism was a hot thing in fashion a bit earlier than Victoire’s era (Elsa Schiaparelli collaborated with Salvador Dali and Jean Cocteau to create some memorable and influential stuff, and the 50s was her last decade of work), but this is so distinctly Mugler that the story falls flat. And no, she’s not channelling 60’s Catwoman extraordinaire Julie Newmar - wrong era for Victoire.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Prototype shown, final product may vary. For adult collectors ages 15 and up only.
All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2021 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission. FASHION ROYALTY, POPPY PARKER, NU. FACE, EAST 59TH, THE INDUSTRY, THE MONARCHS HOMME, METEOR, NU. FANTASY and all other character marks followed by ™ or ® are trademarks of Integrity Toys, Inc. Chesapeake City MD USA 21915. All rights reserved. The W Club is a trademark of Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC. All rights reserved.
Doll Photography by Bill Peck and Shaunessey Smith ; Layouts and graphics by Alain Tremblay, Marketing
