The triumphs and misadventures of two glamorous fashion icons. Just when the guys behind D.A.E., David Escobedo and Brian Schafer, thought they had fulfilled their dream: fully-articulated versions of Vivian and Monty, their 16-inch ‘Miniquins’ – there was turbulence ahead. The Bold Doll gets the full story. STOP PRESS: Includes details of the 2021/2 dolls
The new collection sees Monty and Vivian embark on a grand European Tour. It looks like the couple had to work their passage by engaging as cabin crew: Vivian as Diamond Air Attendant, circa 1960s, royal blue stewardess uniform in cotton twill trimmed with sky-blue piping; Monty as Diamond Air Captain, circa 1960s, Black twill pilot uniform with black satchel. Chocks away and bon voyage in the new economy!
It’s been a bumpy ride, David Escobedo and Brian Schafer of D.A.E. Originals almost produced the dolls they always wanted. The prototypes of its house models, Vivian and Monty (V&M) created in 2003, were to have been fully-jointed and manufactured in hard vinyl. Casting problems, however, led to loss of detail – the factory in the Far East wanted to smooth out the dolls which would have lost the original essence and character of the sculpts. It was particularly frustrating for David, “Even though I could sketch it to show them what it should look like – the scale, how the joints work – they just did not get it. After $70,000 it was becoming too much, we were paying for the mistakes they kept making. We even had a toy engineer working with us here in the US but the factory still wouldn’t pay the proper care and attention. So we ended up going back to what V&M originally were – the mannequins – but without all the extra jointing.”
A casual town sweater set and gray wool skirt, circa 1950, with accessories in green faux suede.
There was a further complication. David and Brian wanted to make a 12” version of Vivian, Vivette. After three years of requests, however, the factory had failed to shrink the molds of the 16” V&M dolls to produce the smaller versions, and finally said it couldn’t be done.
David again, “I found another company that could shrink the full-size doll, but we kept Vivette quiet as we were going on with the new Vivian and Monty collection with the first manufacturer. But they found out about Vivette and got upset with us, they decided not to release the molds because another company was involved, despite having been asked for a number of years and not doing it. After a 5-year hiatus of holding the molds, they closed their doors to switch to battery manufacture, and the molds were no longer available, period.” There was also going to be a mini version of Monty produced but it never got that far. By the time the first Vivian was realeased in 2003 D.A.E had spent $150,000, and had gone through seven sculptors. “We lost Vivette, we lost four brand new portrait dolls that never got introduced to the market, and we lost our original Vivian and Monty.”
1940s black silk velvet cocktail dress with yellow silk dupioni jacket (inspired by the House of Dior).
A surprise came when D.A.E registered as manufacturers and listed in toydirectory.com. Suddenly a world that had eluded David and Brian opened up to them. “We could find mold-makers, face-painters, sculptors, people who root dolls’ heads, and it was like, ‘You guys have been doing this for how long? – 40 years!! – And so how come we couldn’t find you? – Oh we’re kinda hidden.’ But when we put our name into the toy directory they figured we were a fully-fledged company and everybody all of a sudden came to us. Even though we do everything ourselves, we still needed assistance because once you’re manufacturing you need extra help.”
“This is how we found our current sculptress, she did the first Monty, as a test-sample head. We mailed sketches out, as email was in its infancy, and she had photographs back to us within 48 hours. Our mailbox is in a cluster, so we have to drive down from our home to get the mail. We were late for an appointment but we stopped and got the mail and I opened it and was looking at the doll and it was ‘Omigosh!’, we finally got somebody who knew what she was doing and got our concept. Brian was driving and he kept looking over to look at the picture and we almost veered off the road. We had to pull over, we were just so excited. We thought if she can do this with Monty, let’s have Vivian re-sculpted too – that started our journey in 2003.”
The doll industry has changed since David and Brian started out 17 years ago. So it was particularly frustrating for them to be in manufacturing limbo-land due to issues with their factory. In the meantime, BJDs became very popular, as the technology that began in Japan was embraced by China and Korea. But this did give D.A.E. the confidence that at last they could produce the doll they first envisioned.
Above and below:1930s cotton casual wear. Includes a black and white cotton swim suit, matching flannel robe, sandals, and beach and boardwalk accessories.
Imagine the guys’ surprise when the first manufacturer unexpectedly came back to them and said they really wanted to work together again. The factory sent a sample doll to show what they were capable of – using high quality polyurethane resin, just the direction David and Brian wanted to move in. As David explains, “It was pretty straightforward this time, we sent a barrage of questions to them over a six-month period. Then we met with the mold-maker over here in California and we hit it off – they took our dolls back with them. I drew on the actual bodies where we needed the joints to go and how we wanted them to move.”
Double-jointing (1) gives full movement to the dolls’ elbows. Now the hand and wrist will go all the way up to the shoulder, so the dolls can touch their faces and hold the pose. Brian explains that the new design, “Gave us the opportunity to fix the previous goofs – such as Monty’s missing belly button and Vivian’s curving left foot. As the original molds for Monty were being made, the factory dropped the wax torso and it broke at the waist, when they repaired it they forgot to add in his belly button. Vivian’s left lower leg and ankle used to curve inward (this happened when the original molds were made). These problems have been corrected on the new dolls.”
The factory photos in test resin (1-5) show: the separation space between the big toe (2) so Vivian can wear sandals; and all three head variations for both dolls, so six heads in all (pictures 3 and 4).
Ava the counter display (5), jokingly refered to as Vivian’s ‘half-sister’, in her unfinished factory state. This maquette shows the wrist jointing, the elongated neck, and the round metal base to which Ava is magnetically attached.
“They pretty much got it right the first time. I told them where we wanted the articulation and they worked out how to engineer it. The technologies have become worldwide so now they knew what I was talking about. Previously, you had to send them a bunch of commercially available samples so they could dissect the dolls to see how it was done, but now they know how to make them from scratch.”
Quite apart from the dolls, D.A.E. are renowned for their spectacular recreations of vintage clothing. David took me through the process from drawing board to production: “Say I want a 1930s evening dress. I’ll look up all the major designers during the 30s and take into consideration [the work of] several different couturiers, then I’ll choose a silhouette and design a new interpretation – along with the D.A.E. touches that people love.”
“I usually research something for a good two or three weeks before I actually execute, so there’s a lot of work involved in just the preliminary sketch. I know in Paris the fabric will usually influence the design, but for me personally it works the opposite: I make the design first and then I pick the fabric. I make all of the patterns from the sketches and then I either make a muslin toile or I’ll feel confident enough to cut it in actual fabric.
Shown with and without the chiffon stole.
We build the collection by creating a bunch of dresses, suits, and evening gowns. We keep on researching and producing whatever it is that we need. From there we put a cohesive collection together. Let’s say we get about 25 dresses put into production: we’ll have three times that amount in place as we’re working, keeping all the 40s, 50s, 60s together. This year we’ll be adding a brand new era, the 30s. We’ll choose which ones we like, make sure we don’t have any duplicate colors going on, or don’t repeat the last collection. We finish all the accessories after we decide on the dresses and Monty’s costumes. We build from there – all the accessories, shoes, socks, stockings, undergarments, gloves, hats, whatever is needed for that particular look.”
A rear view and (inset) without the train.
To go into production, a pattern must be rendered. Using the original toile, pattern pieces are drawn – adding seam allowances and directions for how to cut correctly, and how the draping is done. David’s prototype costume is sent as a guide, with a general instruction to use quality fabrics, or better than supplied. As David points out, “When we did the first collection, they surpassed what we wanted. In fact I thought they had sent back our originals when they returned the first pieces.”
A 1930s walking suit.
“They send us sample outfits and we make corrections: like ‘the hat is too wide’; or ‘the brim needs to be a little stiffer’; or ‘gloves need to be tightened up a little bit’; or ‘the socks might be too loose’; or ‘the shirt might be a little too tight’. We mark and make notes of what needs to be done and send the garments back, then they make the revisions and return them to us. The factory generally gets it pretty close at first attempt and they’ve never had to go back and forth on a garment more than twice. It’s really fine-tuning at this stage. We’ve been pretty blessed with that. (David laughs).”
Time to exercise the Afghan Hound. Vivian knows that a dog is not an accessory.
The fully-articulated dolls themselves are created in polyurethane resin, with removable wigs to give an extra layer of play. They have head plates so you can change their inset glass eyes, (some versions will have solid painted eyes), switch the heads around, or re-string the dolls. The resin itself is translucent, with a velvet-like texture – almost like a wax candle. D.A.E. wanted the delicate look of real skin, the previous dolls had a velvet-touch vinyl and they have preserved the same kind of feeling. There are no seams, and no sanding where they have been removed – so the dolls are perfect all the way around. David told me about the choice of resin, “Previously the vinyl was of a nice heavy quality. But we couldn’t do vinyl this time around because of all the jointing – we didn’t want it to be a hollow plastic doll – and we felt that the resin gave just the right amount of weight. The original vinyl Vivian and Monty had their legs filled with resin so that they would stand more easily. Because once you get them dressed and put all their jewelry and accessories on, and they’re in their shoes on their stands, you don’t want the dolls toppling over because they’re top heavy.”
I wanted to know if the costumes from the original dolls would fit the new line. David reassured me, “Absolutely, yes! When you add jointing it’s possible to lose proportions and lengthen the doll. We wanted the joints to sit tight together, with no huge gaps, so it almost looks seamless.”
And the dolls’ faces? According to David, “The original face sculpts have been retained, and two new faces for both dolls have been introduced. This gives a total of three for each doll, encompassing a range of moods and time periods. The faces came about because our sculptress made test heads so beautiful we couldn’t not use them. Brian and I thought as we’ve got all these heads in stock, with wonderful bodies, why don’t we make different personas of Vivian and Monty.”
David added, “Monty has his original hands, but Vivian’s hands have gone back to the original sculpt which had longer, more elegant fingers and free-edges to the nails – we couldn’t do these successfully in the roto-molded vinyl. We’ve had the hands re-sculpted to look more refined, and now with long nails.”
For the outfits we’ll continue to see the period sensibility we expect and love from D.A.E., referencing vintage Chanel and Dior, for example. David and Brian are introducing a new line of demi-couture dresses, halfway between pret-a-porter and couture, they are machine-sewn with hand-finishing on beadwork and other fine details. But expect more contemporary looks, too. David explains, “V&M are definitely mannequins, something to drape our dreams on. We have such strong face and body sculpts on both dolls, that it allows us to do almost any era and any fantasy. We have prototypes nobody’s ever seen, that cover every genre, modern looks with a Japanese influence, Lolitas and Harajuku girls – that kinda stuff. We’re trying not only to make our existing clientele happy but also to get a new demographic of collector. Some of the young collectors love the fact that V&M have that elegant grown-up look – they don’t look like kids. We’ve been doing a little Gothic, a bit of vampire, more cutting edge stuff but always with the couture D.A.E. flair that we love to do. We’ve had a very good response with the testing.”
For the new Metamorphosis line – to be released later – fashionable figures like Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert are points of reference. The line will also embody the spirit of the 60s and 70s, calling to mind David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, as well as the New Romantics, and a Vivienne Westwood / Malcolm McClaren aesthetic coming from England in the early 80s. So eccentric British-influenced couture will be well-represented (John Galliano is cited as another source of inspiration). David poses the question, “Who would wear this stuff, and where would she be going? Vivian can look quite different purely based on her makeup. People sometimes think it’s a new face sculpt and don’t realize it’s the same doll with a different face paint, perhaps gothic or maybe runway-ready. The dolls have good bone structure, our sculptor gave both Vivian and Monty good DNA!”
D.A.E. are famous for giving their dolls left and right feet – no universal-fitting shoes for V&M! This will continues in the new line, and Monty’s shoes will still have heels, like real men’s shoes. If you put Monty on a stand without any shoes or socks, only the toes and balls of his feet touch the stand – not his heels, which are ¼ inch off the floor. This was done deliberately to make sure that he would have proper heels on his shoes.
Nor will D.A.E. be cutting corners in other important areas, the jewelry will continue to have real gemstones, both semiprecious stones and freshwater pearls. And on the subject of family jewels… yes, the dolls are still anatomically suggested.
The storyline goes that after disappearing from view, the miniquins were rediscovered in a basement and were sent back to Paris for refurbishment and rebuilding. “The articulation gives new possibilities,” David says. “We’ve always designed furniture and props for photography, and people would ask, ‘Where did you get the miniature bar, or the scaled-down furniture?’ It was all custom-made for us but we never actually launched these items because the dolls couldn’t sit on the stuff (laughs). So you will see furniture and accessories in the future for room-sets and dioramas. This time around there will be all kinds of new things.”
The quantities for the whole line will be limited. Only 300 of each Vivian and Monty will be produced for the regular line and 110 for the costumed line, all for worldwide distribution. The Metamorphosis line of dressed dolls will be limited to anywhere between 50 to 100 pieces of each one.
Looking ahead, David and Brian have plans for teenage boy and girl dolls, Sandy and Louis. They’ll be all-American kids with a high school styling from the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s, yet still with a high fashion perception, maybe channeling a little Ralph Lauren.
“We will introduce Ava the miniquin this year, she’s a counter display, and Vivian’s ‘half-sister’, based on the very first doll we ever came out with early in 2000. Ava is our accessories mannequin, made of resin. She has a round metal base and her hand is jointed at the wrist. She just has the one hand to display a glove and bracelets: and the arm is magnetized so you can move it around. There are magnets in the shoulder plate so you’ll be able to take Ava apart for storage in her box. The head is fixed – she has a long stylized ‘giraffe’ neck. She’ll have her own wig wardrobe that you’ll be able to interchange with Vivian.”
Three views of Ava, the countertop miniquin, designed to showcase Vivian’s wigs, hats, gloves, and jewelry. The wrist is articulated and the arm is magnetized so it can be re-positioned.
David summarizes the ethos of D.A.E., “We’ll continue to do the bespoke in-studio range for private clients [D.A.E’s haute couture line], but we still believe in the art of play, and in giving our customers the bang for their buck. Brian and I are the ones that actually do the work – we don’t have a lot of assistance – we pull each other’s hair out if we’re not pulling out our own (chuckles). We like to give a lot of accessories and so even though it’s our design, you can still put it together in any way you want. People have always teased us by saying, ‘You know it’s not D.A.E. if it doesn’t have a hat and gloves, and it if doesn’t take a half-hour to get it dressed!’ But the truth is we put it all together so that it’s a cohesive design. It’s our vision – for you to mix and match any way you want.”
The ensembles shown are prototypes from the new collection, and they may differ from the main production run. The dolls modeling fashions are hard-vinyl sample Vivian and Monty dolls. It was D.A.E.’s hope that the articulated resin dolls were to be in production at the time of writing in 2011.
This story first appeared in Fashion Doll Quarterly magazine. For more information: contact dae@daeoriginals.com, phone +1-480-465-0951, or visit www.daeoriginals.com
UPDATE 2021/2
The dolls returned late 2021, for shipping in 2022. David Escobedo, flying solo, has realized his ambition of creating a line of fully-articulated resin Vivian and Monty dolls, together with a range of bespoke couture outfits. The whole collection ‘Romance Reborn’, is shown below.
Vivian is getting dressed for an elegant evening on the town. It starts with a beautiful foundation made of pink lace and accented with mini embroidered flowers. Comes with pearl and crystal jewelry, stockings and matching shoes. A matching pink chiffon cover up completes the look. Includes doll, fashion, accessories, platinum wig, stand and box. 16” fashion doll. Available in Platinum, Raven, and Redhead versions, each in a limited edition of 15 dolls. See below for the other versions and full-length images.
Monty comes dressed in white knit union suit undies. As he dresses for dinner he covers up in a classic black and sliver diamond patterned brocade robe with black collar, cuffs and tie belt. Accessories include black socks, sock garters, black leather slippers and a garnet silk ascot. Includes: doll, fashion, accessories, blonde wig, stand and box. 17” fashion doll. Available in Blonde, Ginger, Raven in a limited edition of 15 of each doll. See more below:
Vivian loves to celebrate the arts and does so in her beautiful theater ensemble. She arrives wearing a trapeze coat of iridescent gold and aqua taffeta lined in blue. The coat closes at the neck with a cerulean blue bow accented with a rhinestone pin. Underneath she wears an H-line Dior inspired cocktail dress of aqua blue ombre brocade with a gold embroidered hem. Accessories include blue crystal jewelry, white gloves, aqua glitter evening bag, tulle petticoat and gold tone shoes.
For her day of days, Vivian wears a pale pink and white tulle wedding gown. The lace overdress is made of embroidered tulle with white lace trim, pearl buttons and fastens at the waist with a white taffeta bow. Accessories include pale pink tulle veil with a pearl tiara, white short gloves, pearl and crystal jewelry, crinoline, rose bouquet, blue garter and white shoes.
Monty needs to look sharp for a wedding or a grand gala. He wears a white dinner jacket with black satin lapels and black vintage cashmere pants. His tuxedo shirt has an inset of white pique, finished with black rhinestone studs and cuff links. Accessories include a cranberry colored cummerbund and bow tie set, black dress socks and patent faux leather shoes. How can Vivian possibly resist?
Monty and Vivian head out for a wonderful day of fun! He wears a pair of butterscotch colored corduroy pants that could be paired with either multi-colored striped long-sleeved shirt or an olive-green cable knit sweater. Either way Vivian thinks he looks smart! Accessories include socks and shoes.
For a day in the office Monty wears a sharp textured blue wool jacket with a long-sleeved cotton dress shirt and gray wool slacks. Accessories include yellow and blue silk tie with matching pocket square, grey dress socks and black shoes.
For an evening of bowling with Vivian and friends, Monty sports a pair of dark denim pants topped with either a tri-colored stripped aqua, lime and blue button-down shirt or a black and white knit polo. Accessories include socks and shoes. Fits most 17” fashion dolls.
Vivian takes to the reins in her sharply tailored equestrian gear. Her fitted houndstooth jacket in brown and cream is accented with a brown velvet collar and brown buttons. Her tan cotton sateen jodhpurs have brown faux suede patches to prevent chaffing. Accessories include brown velvet crash helmet, faux suede gloves, black boots and black riding crop. Tally- Ho!
Forever the sportsman, Monty loves his English fox and hound set. He wears a white cotton shirt, yellow silk vest, red wool jacket with a black satin collar and grey jodhpur britches. Accessories include black top hat, black riding gloves, riding crop, grey socks, and black knee-high boots. Monty‘s ready for an adventure – View Halloo!
Vivian attends the state flower show and has tea with her best beau Monty. She wears a soft yellow silk dupioni shift dress with orange chiffon neck tie. To keep the early spring air at bay she covers up with a tan crepe swing coat lined in orange taffeta. Accessories include leopard print gloves and fur bag, orange silk dupioni hat, earrings, scarf pin, shoes, and her bouquet of peach-colored flowers.
Vivian entertains at home with Monty and a couple of friends. She wears vintage moss green velveteen pants. But she can’t decide what to wear with it – the long tunic or short trapeze top, both made from a vintage sateen rose print. What’s a stylish girl supposed to do? Accessories include glass jewelry and simple heeled shoes. Fits most 16” fashion dolls.
Vivian is the maid of honor in a lovely pink and gold brocade gown with a heart shaped bodice, full skirt and matching figure eight cover up. Accessories include a whimsical rose trimmed fascinator and a matching bouquet of roses. Pink shoes, white long gloves and crystal and pearl jewelry complete the look.
Vivian and Monty spend a morning at the museum and have an afternoon lunch in the café. She wears a one-piece day dress with a hot pink sleeveless top and a wool houndstooth circle skirt in cream and black that glitters with gold lurex. Accessories include a black silk dupioni bolero jacket, black belt, hot pink hat with black feather trim, decorative parasol, pink petticoat, pink shoes and black and pink jewelry.
Monty shows off his golf game in a white knit shirt, red plaid pants and faux suede zippered jacket. Accessories include red cap, golf glove, socks and shoes. With his bag of golf clubs and ball he is ready to hit the fairway!
Vivian lives in a high-end department store and therefore enjoys the finer things in life. She hunts designer perfume in the fragrance department and finds two delicate little perfume bottles. Which one will she chose? She wears a black wool knit, high neck long sleeved day dress that has a full circle skirt. Peacock colored accessories include a marvelous feathered hat, glass jewelry, a vintage brocade fringed shawl and matching gloves. A black belt, black tulle petticoat and black shoes complete the look.
Vivian rings in the New Year at a grand gala wearing a royal purple silk dupioni gown trimmed with emerald green silk and hand beaded in silver and purple glass beads. Accessories include long silver gloves, crystal jewelry, silver faux fur stole lined in silver brocade, silver clutch evening bag, organza petticoat and purple shoes.
Vivian can choose from a number of pieces in this simply casual collection. A white sweater top, black wool top, red and white houndstooth capris or a cute red and black brocade pencil skirt. Accessories include black faux leather belt, gold earrings, bracelet, and black shoes.
Monty is ready to explore the city or the countryside in this handsome outfit consisting of a white button-down shirt, vintage blue and green knit vest, cotton sateen navy blue pants and a brown cashmere car coat. Accessories include socks and shoes.
For more information about D.A.E. fashion dolls and outfits: contact David Escobedo at dae@daeoriginals.com, phone +1-480-465-0951, or visit www.daeoriginals.com