Dolls and books, whatever next? The Bold Doll sees what’s hot at the local library…
Books do make a room. Che bella! The Italian Marcella was FDA’s very first house model. She wears Gala Noir from the Collection Noir, with shoes borrowed from Rock Noir. A brunette Sasha shows off the outfit from the limited edition Velvet doll.
Fashion Doll Agency of Paris is a group of doll models created by Nunzio Carbone and Jayro Bustamante. The dolls are high fashion, yet enigmatic, their neutral expressions and impressionistic face ups share much in common with the classic Sasha dolls by Swiss artist Sasha Morgenthaler. It’s as if these vintage child dolls have suddenly grown up and entered the world of haute couture.
Sasha’s friend Cora wears her original floral frock beneath a Duffle Coat, outfit #802 from the original UK line. FDA’s Manon is exhausted with all this reading. The French model is a human rights activist when she’s not on the catwalk. She’s wearing her signature outfit from the Collection Noir, La Petite Robe Noir.
Morgenthaler was convinced that her dolls should have expressions capable of interpretation by their young owners. The dolls were consciously neither happy nor sad, rather having a more wistful expressions that could capture many moods. The faces were originally hand-painted by the artist herself, with bold abstract strokes – a style that was suggestive, not precise. She sometimes used a stick to pull up the wet paint of the eyelid to form eyelashes.
Getting to grips with the Dewey Decimal system, Sasha in a daring close-cropped pageboy wears Pink Dress #202 from the original UK line. Fashion Doll Agency (FDA) Petra wears an outfit from the 2009-10 collection, Satin Rose, just perfect for this English rose
This same elusive spirit exists in the faces of the Fashion Doll Agency girls. There is a similar degree of sophistication in the way their features are simply realized with confident strokes and a carefully chosen palette of colors. Their finely-sculpted faces remind us of how the chubby cheeks of Sasha dolls might have matured. We thought it might be fun to pair them up over some books so you can judge for yourself.
Books are so uplifting. Marcella levitates in her Rock Noir outfit. Afro Sasha wears the London outfit #210. Kaori was recruited to FDA from Japan, she brings her unique sense of style to the Parisian literati. In Noir Gamine she pulls off a chic, yet practical daytime look. Asian Sasha wears Cord, unisex outfit #809, teamed up with a pair of Sasha-size Ugg boots.
Here’s Kaori back home in Japan New York Public Library model alert! What a big girl – a white-blonde Sasha in a dress and skirt from the doll thrift store, teamed with a red scarf from Jumpsuit #807, and her brother Gregor’s red boots from a vintage Sasha sewing kit. Pola, FDA’s Brazilian model, has forgotten her library card. Luckily she looks a treat in Cow Boy Noir and she has a couple of magazines stashed away in her bag.
See the Fashion Doll Agency models animated for the catwalk premiere of the Collection Noir
