Quintessentially 1980s, the Lady Luminous range was highly sought-after when introduced in 1988. The dolls had high production values and their outfits were exquisitely tailored for the time. This line was aimed at the Japanese market but really took off when Lady L was discovered by US and European collectors.
The doll was noted for her life-like proportions – scaled to those of a real fashion model. Her head is one-sixth the size of the body – which follows the human form. So Lady Luminous looked less doll-like than her contemporaries. Most dolls have heads which are oversized, clearly obvious in Bratz, but even Gene and Tyler have heads slightly too big for their bodies, compared to human scale.
Baby animals are adorable because their heads are larger than adults’ compared to their bodies. This look cute to us. Disney and other animators have been aware of this for decades. But Lady Luminous was never intended to be cute and her head can seem a little small when you’ve been looking at other dolls.
Above, from left to right:
•The nude doll shows how Lady Luminous is heat-seamed at the hip, her fixed model-girl leg position; and the articulation at the shoulders. For stability, the eye-wateringly long rod in the straight leg reaches inside almost to the doll’s shoulder.
•LL 909-160 is enrobed in a theatrical, closely-fitting red velvet gown with fur trim. Attention to detail is apparent in outfits and accessories.
•Model 903-120, modeling a classic off-the-shoulder 80s look in palest cream, complete with over-sized hoop earrings.
•The demure 911-170, is in gray flannel with white silk collar and cuff accents. She sports plenty of 80s gold jewelry as well as the decade’s trademark rimless hat.
•Doll 813-170 is the archetypal 80s city slicker, power dressing par excellence – check out those shoulder pads and the kitten bow. Such is the quality of the outfits, there is a fully-fashioned polka-dot blouse beneath the houndstooth jacket – even though only the bow is seen.
•A change of season. This doll (right) is toasty in pure white wool crepe and luxurious fur fabric skirt with matching accents. Her innocent expression is somewhat at odds with her foxy outfit.
The doll was designed by Takara to be a clothes horse. Her measurements correspond to a womanly 34” bust, 21” waist, and 34” hips, and she would be 5’8” tall. Perhaps shorter and more curvaceous than some super-thin catwalk models – but a healthier-looking size than the current obsession with size 0. She’s slim, but looks good naked.
She is not very poseable, to say the least. She’s jointed only at the neck and shoulders – only three points of articulation. Lady Luminous does not even move at the hips – her legs are permanently posed in a classic model stance.
The doll was marketed as breathtakingly lifelike. This might be true for her proportions, but the graphic simplicity of the face paint can look naïve to the contemporary eye – certainly compared to the naturalistic effects of the latest resin fashion dolls. But at the time her face-detailing was a huge step forward. Takara gave the dolls fashionable face paint to reflect what was going on in style magazines.
Above, from left to right: Close-ups of some of the face-ups of the range. The three different skin tones used are shown.
The same basic molds were used, and there were three different vinyl colors – a very pale white, a honey mid-tone, and a darker African American tone. The dolls’ hair was rooted with high-quality Saran filaments in a wide range of shades and styles. The face-up was also varied depending on the doll. So from one basic mold a whole population of top models was created. The range of clothing was completely of-the-moment – using top quality fabrics and with great attention to detail.
When these dolls were first sold in Japan they were available in both doll stores, and stockists that sold plastic models and kits for boats and airplanes. According to Takara’s research, 70% of sales were to men. Apparently, many male Japanese customers were interested in customizing Lady Luminous.
The dolls had understated packaging – a sturdy black box, embossed in gold with the LL Lady Luminous logo. In the box, the dolls were wrapped in a plain corrugated cardboard roll. There was no Takara branding on the box at all – so in the early days, before the doll was distributed in the US exclusively by Murat Caviale, visitors to Japan found it hard to discover who the manufacturer was. This was compounded by the reluctance of Takara to sell Lady Luminous outside Japan. Its view was that US and European customers would not pay the required price for this level of quality. So the doll was a trail-blazer and opened the gates to the high-quality high-cost dolls we know and love today.
Lady Luminous was launched in 1988 in Japan and the style and outfits are rooted firmly in the 80s. The garments feature shoulder pads and power suits of that decade. Hemlines above the knee and the 80s obsession with the colors red and black, and with tailoring are very much in evidence. Earrings are BIG. Later in the production history, Takara introduced a range of boxed outfits. These included underwear and ensembles in a softer, more muted palette of colors, including some floral prints.
A promotional leaflet shows the initial range of Deux-L dolls and accessories, as distributed by Murat Caviale. The bride doll was a popular model, having several variants in style of dress and hair. Outfits could also be bought individually, as shown below right.
The quality of the doll continues right down to the solid metal stand. No straddle stands to spoil the line of Lady Luminous’s outfits. She is attached by two metal rods through her feet: one short, and the other alarmingly long, reaching almost to her shoulder to give stability. The stand harks back to some of the early vintage dolls (like Bild Lilli) whose feet were similarly pierced with (shorter) metal rods for display.
The proportions and height (17”) of Lady Luminous, means that she cannot easily share outfits with some more modern dolls. For example she’s a little thicker in the waist and smaller in the bust than Gene, but you may find that they can share some less form-fitting clothes.
Above left: Lady Luminous Doll, imaginatively named 006-155, wears the high-waisted pants of the 80s teamed with the era’s favorite nautical look. The same basic mold was used across the range but individuality was achieved by means of unique face paint and hair color. Three skin tones were used to further extend the range. This quality of face paint and detailing was unique at the time and blazed a trail for vinyl successors such as Fashion Royalty.
Above right: The politically-incorrect luxury doll, Mink, wearing a coat in the boxy, big-shouldered silhouette of the period.
Bride dolls were a popular part of the line-up, several different versions were made. Shown here are models 102/210 and 104/210.
Lady Luminous is no longer commercially available from Takara, but she does still sometimes appear on eBay and other internet sales sites. She’s well worth tracking down – sometimes labeled as Deux-L (ie LL in French), another brand name used by Takara. Presumably she was intended to be a French fashion model. As a piece of doll history she’s well worth a place in your collection, but, quite apart from this, she will show off an outfit to great advantage. Because of her natural figure, the doll herself is not grounded purely in the 1980s and will look great in modern fashions.
LL 810-170 looks fresh in a pretty summer print. Her face-paint picks up the colors of the dress and the cornflower blue shoes. the same doll is off to the beach in one of the outfits available separately, a swimsuit with wrap-skirt cover-up and saucy daisy earrings.
A version of this feature first appeared in Haute Doll Magazine, September/October 2009.
FUN FACT
It’s not widely known that the renowned illustrator and fashion doll designer, Mel Odom, first considered using Lady Luminous as his muse before deciding on creating his own doll, Gene Marshall.
