Blythe Doll its revival
From Mod Mania
BLYTHE ITS REVIVAL : BO PLOY CHAVALPARIT S3193683
Contents |
Blythe Doll
Some of other products took a place on the market for a while and then it stop producing due to it lack of interest and has no chance to return to the market. But some products are different and it took its way to the market again like Blythe doll it was first manufactured by a toy company Kenner in United States in 1972. The original Blythe was designed by Allison Katzman appeared with vintage looking of the 70’s. Blythe’s first introduced to the market were not successful, it was produced for only one year and then was retired because of lack of interest and poor sales. Blythe is a vintage fashion doll, which is 11- inch tall, has an oversized head and large eyes that can change color with the pull of a string at the back, mainly of her characters were deemed too scary for children.
Blythe Doll Its Revival
In 1997, Blythe was given to Gina Garan as a present from a friend and then Garan began to use Blythe to practice her photographic skills. She took hundreds photographs of Blythe and gathered all the photographs to a Chronicle books called ‘ This is Blythe’ in 2001. Hundred thousand copies were sold and remain in print, which brought Blythe back to the market again.
Moreover, before the book ‘This is Blythe’ was published Gina introduced Blythe to her producer Junko Wong of the Cross World Connections (CWC) for their first project together. It the TV commercial starring Blythe as a main character for Parco department store in Japan. After the TV commercial released Blythe became an overnight sensation in Japan and Asia. Soon after CWC associate with a toy company Takara in Japan and began to produce Blythe the new version “Neo-Blythe” to meet the demand of this new Blythe fan base.
In 2003, "Petite Blythe" is a 4 and a half-inch version of the Neo-Blythe was invented, and affectionately called "Pucci". Petite Blythe has only one eyes color and cannot manipulate its body. Due to its small size it comes with a keychain.
According to its demand among collectors, the original vintage Blythes or ‘rare Blythe’ price increased from its original price at USD$35 upwards to USD$3000 on an auction on ebay.
Different Types of Blythe
Blythe Dolls are produced in both Japan and United States. There are several types of Blythe dolls such as Kenner vintage, Ai Ai Chan, Type Blythe, Excellent Blythe, Superior Blythe, Radiance Blythe and Fairest Blythe.
Kenner vintage Blythe is the original Blythe, which were produced in United States in 1972 and same with Ai Ai Chan, which were produced in Japan by Tomy Corporation. The First Blythe produced by Takara is Type Blythe, which used the body of the Takara doll ‘Licca’ and the head was sculpted using a vintage Blythe as a model. The eyeholes were small and the eyes opened wide. The body of Excellent Blythe was changed and designed according to the size and mechanism of the 1972 Blythe with improvements for durability in the body structure to prevent breakage. In 2003, Superior Blythe was created and debuted with Superior Skate. The face line was slimmer and she assumed a more mature look. In 2006, the Radiance Blythe face made its debut. This face has larger eyeholes. Fairest Blythe is the latest version Blythe released in 2009. Each doll has its own identity through its skin tone and make-up such as the lip shape.
Blythe Community
The popularity of Blythe spread over the world after its revival in 2001 such as Japan, Europe, United States, and Asia. Many online communities were created in each local country to gather all Blythe fans to share information, opinions, and collections or even sell and buy Blythe dolls. Many existing online communities that I have looked at such as blythe-europe, blythethailand, squidoo.com/blythe and blythekenner. Most of the communities have basic information and history of Blythe to help new members and others who interest in Blythe to understand why the community is created. Each community has it own rules and regulations to protect their members. As well as a forum, which has different sections such as:
- General discussion: General questions and answers about Blythe e.g. Which Blythe doll should I purchase? Please identify this Blythe. And share you Blythe wish list etc.
- Blythe news: To update the new version of Blythe dolls and events, members can share news that they have heard about Blythe.
- Blythe Gallery: Share photographs, which divided into small groups; My Blythe Family (photographs of members’ Blythe collection aka family), on the trip (each member will share their photographs of Blythe which took from their vocations) and Blythe custom (Photographs of customized Blythe).
- Blythe Customization/Repair: Share knowledge on Blythe customization, tips on how to customize your own Blythe, which is the highlight for Blythe fans and collectors to create their very own unique Blythe.
Another sections about buying and selling Blythe dolls are generally all about members selling their Blythe collections with different prices according to each doll. This section is for Blythe collectors who are looking for Blythe on their wish list.
The communities do not exist only in the Internet but also a meeting between members gathering for exchange knowledge, showing off their customized Blythe as well as contests on Blythe customization to build a strong relationship between members. Blythe contests are to customize Blythe according to themes. Existing contests such as ‘Blythe Beauty Contest’ by www.blythedoll.com, which held every year in Japan or ‘BlytheCon’ in United States.
Every year an ‘Annual Blythe Charity Fashion Show’ is held in Tokyo, where leading designers from around the world create tiny versions of their outfits for Blythe to wear on runway. As a virtual model, Blythe has created fans among the leading design houses such as John Galliano, Prada, Gucci, Vivienne Westwood, Issey Miyake, Versace, Sonia Rykiel, and many more. Most recently, Blythe was the muse for Alexander McQueen’s campaign in United States and the television commercial, print ads, and ubiquitous billboards were all done under Gina Garan.
Blythe Customization
Today fans of Blythe customize her hair, make-up and clothes for fun and to practice their customization skills. There are many ways to customize Blythe dolls such as remove skin texture and color, dye hair, changing hair style, changing eyes colors, putting eyelashes, create outfits and making clothes for Blythe dolls according to owners’ preferences.
In conclusion, Blythe is an ordinary toy, which at first was not successfully introduced. But later on due to changes of culture and era it has became an extraordinary toy for collectors, artists and hobbyists also customize and take photographs of their Blythe dolls in a variety of settings and designs. Blythe has created communities and friendship between members of community. For some people it becomes occupation by selling and buying Blythe dolls or making clothes and sell. Blythe is stylish, smart and sophisticated, reflecting the dreams of her owners.
Videos on Blythe Customization
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB4ahj5Ft4A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bUClQY-UhQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXNb_5dVkc8
References
- Ying Chitralada. (2010). Blythe History. Available: http://www.blythethailand.com/. Last accessed 22 August 2010.
- Missblythe. (200). Blythe Forum. Available: http://www.blythe-europe.com/forum/. Last accessed 22 August 2010.
- Cross World Connections Ltd.. (2000). About Blythe. Available: http://www.blythedoll.com/eng/news/. Last accessed 22 August 2010.
- Gina Garan. (2000). A BRIEF HISTORY OF BLYTHE AND HER REINCARNATION. Available: http://www.thisisblythe.com/. Last accessed 22 August 2010.
