All things FASHION, all things DOLLS! From following trends to creating modern clothes, it's Fashion Design 101 for the doll collector. A DIY guide for creating sophisticated clothes and accessories for the 12" fashion doll.
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
About Fashion Month This Season...
It's been a couple of weeks since I last posted and I wanted to bring you up to date on what we're doing. As usual for this time of year, we have been following Fashion Weeks of the major capitals. But as we near the one-year mark of this pandemic, we what was once a parade of catwalk shows have been transformed into virtual, static presentations for the second time in a row. Six months ago we felt the fashion industry had reset and was moving towards a refreshing return "real" clothes. But now, after all the lock-downs, curfews, work-from-home lifestyle changes, we are now perusing yet a second set Fashion Month of virtual shows..... and much of it is not pretty.
A number of major fashion houses around the world announced they would not be participating in Fashion Week. Others are delaying their presentations which will pop up in the midst of another country's allotted week. What is left is a puzzling mix of what resembles college art projects, Salvation Army blind grab bag frocks, not-ready-for-prime-time concepts and bloated silhouettes totally out of step with modern lifestyles...not to mention our fashion dolls' minuscule proportions.
And so... after viewing New York Fashion Week, I had a meeting with my dolls who felt they could do better.
So instead of sending the girls off on their usual trip to treasure hunt in Europe, they have agreed to pick up pencils, paper, fabric, scissors and create their own "trends" based on what they would like to see and wear for Autumn/Winter 2021. In fact, they have already begun! Where they see something from the actual shows, they've promised to incorporate it into this presentation. This promises to be a very different trend report from what we usual do. The girls need a bit more time, so while you wait, let us entertain you with a little something from our favorite YouTube dolly site.
Meet Moonyyi.
These brilliant dolly catwalk shows are the work of designer Moonyyj who makes the clothes then breathes life into the dolls with the help of wire, fishing wire and a painstaking technique known as "stop motion animation." This involves setting up scaffolding, wiring the dolls to stand on their own, then photographing each and every tiny movement, which is later stitched together using software then set to music.This is something I have always wanted to do but never found the time to try my hand at this. Their hand and head gestures, the swaying of their hips as they walk that model walk...the video is very convincing! Enjoy!!!
I have noticed that the fashion this year is different to say the least...glad you are spinning it into something positive and creative! Moonyyj is absolutely amazing. Thank you for introducing me to her. Just in the small case you are not aware, there is a hilarious and excellent doll youtube channel called Sam and Mickey. While there isn't much fashion going on there, there have been times where the dolls are wearing handmade clothing (Christmas sweaters, occasional dress). They make a ~15min mature content video per month (which is crazy considering how much work stop-animation is!). There is also myfroggystuff, where she makes doll crafts (including clothing). Have a great rest of the week! :)
There are a few things here and there that are mildly interesting, but I've had a difficult time pulling anything together into a cohesive trend report. This is why the girls decided to take things into our own hands. But I admit...it's a lot more challenging changing our original format! We've had to put a lot of thought into each piece we come up with. Thank you for your suggestion. I'm always looking for interesting doll related videos. There was a woman who did short animated clips on Instagram. She was really good, but stopped. I will definitely check out Sam and Mickey. Thank you for stopping by. Big hugs.
How interesting! Love the videos, and appro pro of nothing, the first one with Lana Del Rey covering Season of the Witch is where I got my W Club etc. name from (Jools, Julie Driscoll) who covered this Donovan song way back.
Oh how interesting, the origin or your "doll" name. I remember when I first saw your name, "Jools," I thought it had something to do with 1/6 scale jewelry!
Oh yes....it is shaping up to be quite interesting. Some new pieces mixed in with things already in their wardrobe inspired by their favorite designers.... it's all in the styling!!!
To be fair, I'm more interested on what will your dolls come up with that what some big fashion houses will put out. I don't usually check out runway presentations, but judging by what I've seen on fast fashion/casual wear sites, it looks like this year trends are "Let's pick up the ugliest trends form the past 4 decades and call it a day".
I'm also very intrigued to see your sketches and the whole process of designing an outfit or a garment from scratch.
Oh I'm sorry, I thought I had responded. Well now that Fashion month is over, I can tell you what a complete and utter disappointment it was. Even though there are designers whose work I always love....it was as if, everyone was suffering from brain fog. I know many of us have been dressing like slobs during this pandemic, but I don't think anyone wants to see more slob coming down a catwalk.....especially at the prices they ask! Everyone I know has been complaining. I spoke to a friend who teaches at a fashion school. She told me none of the students were inspired by what they saw!
Hi April, thank you for this new post. Maintenant nous attendons tes nouvelles créations pour tes dollys. Merci pour le partage de ces vidéos de défilé de mode. Et effectivement cela prend du temps considérable pour faire ce genre de vidéo en 2011 mon épisode 10 j’avais fait également un défilé de mode avec mes Barbie ... et je m’étais dit que je ne ferai plus de défilé de mode et stop Motion car cela m’avait pris un temps considérable. Mais maintenant que je vois ces 2 nouvelles vidéos j’ai bien envie de faire un nouveau défilé....
Bonjour Shasarignis. Je suis navree que je n'ai pas repondu a ton message. J'ai pensee bien a toi quand j'ai vu ces videos, car je sais tu les fait tres bien aussi. Je sais ca prend beaucoup de temp pour en faire, mais j'aimerais bien voir encore un autre. Je passe te voir dans un instant...
Bardzo dziękuję za udostępnienie tych pięknych filmów stworzonych przez Moonyyj! To coś wspaniałego! Pierwszy raz zobaczyłam takie rewelacyjne, poklatkowe pokazy mody! Uwielbiam, jak dziewczyny stawiają stopy, jak poruszają biodrami! Fantastyczne! Zachwyciła mnie sceneria, no i same kreacje! Nie bardzo wiem co podziwiać najpierw: stroje czy animację! Super! Pozdrawiam Cię serdecznie ♥
Olla wrote: Thank you so much for sharing these beautiful Moonyyj videos! This is great! It was the first time that I saw such amazing time-lapse fashion shows! I love how girls put their feet up, how they move their hips! Fantastic! I was delighted with the scenery and the creations themselves! I don't know what to admire first: the costumes or the animation! Cool! Yours sincerely ♥
Olla, I am so happy you enjoyed those videos. I LOVE this person's work. I so wish I could do this myself.
I have noticed that the fashion this year is different to say the least...glad you are spinning it into something positive and creative! Moonyyj is absolutely amazing. Thank you for introducing me to her. Just in the small case you are not aware, there is a hilarious and excellent doll youtube channel called Sam and Mickey. While there isn't much fashion going on there, there have been times where the dolls are wearing handmade clothing (Christmas sweaters, occasional dress). They make a ~15min mature content video per month (which is crazy considering how much work stop-animation is!). There is also myfroggystuff, where she makes doll crafts (including clothing). Have a great rest of the week! :)
ReplyDeleteThere are a few things here and there that are mildly interesting, but I've had a difficult time pulling anything together into a cohesive trend report. This is why the girls decided to take things into our own hands. But I admit...it's a lot more challenging changing our original format! We've had to put a lot of thought into each piece we come up with. Thank you for your suggestion. I'm always looking for interesting doll related videos. There was a woman who did short animated clips on Instagram. She was really good, but stopped. I will definitely check out Sam and Mickey. Thank you for stopping by. Big hugs.
DeleteThe movies are great and very realistic.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Glad you enjoyed them.
DeleteHow interesting! Love the videos, and appro pro of nothing, the first one with Lana Del Rey covering Season of the Witch is where I got my W Club etc. name from (Jools, Julie Driscoll) who covered this Donovan song way back.
ReplyDeleteOh how interesting, the origin or your "doll" name. I remember when I first saw your name, "Jools," I thought it had something to do with 1/6 scale jewelry!
DeleteOh yes....it is shaping up to be quite interesting. Some new pieces mixed in with things already in their wardrobe inspired by their favorite designers.... it's all in the styling!!!
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, I'm more interested on what will your dolls come up with that what some big fashion houses will put out. I don't usually check out runway presentations, but judging by what I've seen on fast fashion/casual wear sites, it looks like this year trends are "Let's pick up the ugliest trends form the past 4 decades and call it a day".
ReplyDeleteI'm also very intrigued to see your sketches and the whole process of designing an outfit or a garment from scratch.
Hope you're having a lovely weekend.
Oh I'm sorry, I thought I had responded. Well now that Fashion month is over, I can tell you what a complete and utter disappointment it was. Even though there are designers whose work I always love....it was as if, everyone was suffering from brain fog. I know many of us have been dressing like slobs during this pandemic, but I don't think anyone wants to see more slob coming down a catwalk.....especially at the prices they ask! Everyone I know has been complaining. I spoke to a friend who teaches at a fashion school. She told me none of the students were inspired by what they saw!
DeleteHi April, thank you for this new post. Maintenant nous attendons tes nouvelles créations pour tes dollys. Merci pour le partage de ces vidéos de défilé de mode. Et effectivement cela prend du temps considérable pour faire ce genre de vidéo en 2011 mon épisode 10 j’avais fait également un défilé de mode avec mes Barbie ... et je m’étais dit que je ne ferai plus de défilé de mode et stop Motion car cela m’avait pris un temps considérable. Mais maintenant que je vois ces 2 nouvelles vidéos j’ai bien envie de faire un nouveau défilé....
ReplyDeleteBonjour Shasarignis. Je suis navree que je n'ai pas repondu a ton message. J'ai pensee bien a toi quand j'ai vu ces videos, car je sais tu les fait tres bien aussi. Je sais ca prend beaucoup de temp pour en faire, mais j'aimerais bien voir encore un autre. Je passe te voir dans un instant...
DeleteBardzo dziękuję za udostępnienie tych pięknych filmów stworzonych przez Moonyyj! To coś wspaniałego! Pierwszy raz zobaczyłam takie rewelacyjne, poklatkowe pokazy mody! Uwielbiam, jak dziewczyny stawiają stopy, jak poruszają biodrami! Fantastyczne! Zachwyciła mnie sceneria, no i same kreacje! Nie bardzo wiem co podziwiać najpierw: stroje czy animację! Super!
ReplyDeletePozdrawiam Cię serdecznie ♥
Olla wrote: Thank you so much for sharing these beautiful Moonyyj videos! This is great! It was the first time that I saw such amazing time-lapse fashion shows! I love how girls put their feet up, how they move their hips! Fantastic! I was delighted with the scenery and the creations themselves! I don't know what to admire first: the costumes or the animation! Cool!
DeleteYours sincerely ♥
Olla, I am so happy you enjoyed those videos. I LOVE this person's work. I so wish I could do this myself.