He has also shared some insights into the design process that might be of interest to doll collectors.
I chose to go with an interpretation of Ariel’s Finale dress. I mean who doesn’t love a glittery gown and this look is rarely done in product so I took that opportunity to go with this direction.
The design started with finding the perfect fabric. Myself, the softgoods team, and our Indonesia counterparts worked really hard on finding the perfect metallic thread combination that created the right purple/ silver color shift. The trapped layer of silver glitter behind the metallic threads create the most gorgeous sparkle effect that I felt emulated the gown in that iconic film moments. The draped ruffled fabric that drapes from her hip and open slit of her gown were to emulate sea foam forming the dress and to soften the opening of the slit to give it more of an organic feel. I knew I wanted to have clear shimmery water accessories so instead of her cowl neck of her gown for the film I went with an off the shoulder drape to give myself space for the collar accessory.
All the water splash effects were sculpted by the extremely talented @arpik from @mattelsculpting .I wanted the collar to feel like a big statement piece that also captures a dramatic moment. The swirl in her arm is a gorgeous accent and the shoes I wanted to wrap around her ankles and form curled waves lifting her from the water.
For her face deco I worked with the iconic Sasha. I wanted her to feel fresh, ethereal, and soft so we gave her neutral eyeshadow with a lavender graphic liner & under eye. We gave her a forward glance with lighter eyes and coral lips to pair back to her custom penalized skin tone to really capture that glowy look.
Finally her hair was slayed by Terri in her iconic big waves and separate signature bang piece.
The design started with finding the perfect fabric. Myself, the softgoods team, and our Indonesia counterparts worked really hard on finding the perfect metallic thread combination that created the right purple/ silver color shift. The trapped layer of silver glitter behind the metallic threads create the most gorgeous sparkle effect that I felt emulated the gown in that iconic film moments. The draped ruffled fabric that drapes from her hip and open slit of her gown were to emulate sea foam forming the dress and to soften the opening of the slit to give it more of an organic feel. I knew I wanted to have clear shimmery water accessories so instead of her cowl neck of her gown for the film I went with an off the shoulder drape to give myself space for the collar accessory.
All the water splash effects were sculpted by the extremely talented @arpik from @mattelsculpting .I wanted the collar to feel like a big statement piece that also captures a dramatic moment. The swirl in her arm is a gorgeous accent and the shoes I wanted to wrap around her ankles and form curled waves lifting her from the water.
For her face deco I worked with the iconic Sasha. I wanted her to feel fresh, ethereal, and soft so we gave her neutral eyeshadow with a lavender graphic liner & under eye. We gave her a forward glance with lighter eyes and coral lips to pair back to her custom penalized skin tone to really capture that glowy look.
Finally her hair was slayed by Terri in her iconic big waves and separate signature bang piece.
My Design Sketch for Disney’s 100 Platinum Cinderella. These dolls are less collector and meant as celebration dolls in the same vain as current holiday Barbie celebration dolls for example.
First things first… I got y’all that golden strawberry blonde hair. Lol! Her hair is done with her iconic bangs & an elegant hair style. For her gorgeous face I wanted to adjust the shape of her eyes & smile to have a more elegant feel. Her eye look has a gorgeous soft glam look with metallic lid and inner corner eye shimmer. I wanted the spaced out stylized bottom lashes cause you know… drag lol. For her lips I wanted those iconic lips from the 90’s that were a neutral soft color with a shimmer gloss. It was just giving an all over Platinum glam look fit for a princess that @minhtam_ nailed! For Cinderella’s dress I wanted a touch of that magical transformation feel from the film. I designed her dress to be a tea length dress for something different from all the usual ball gown silhouettes we see our princesses in. To bring the sparkle from the film we added a sheer overlay to the skirt with a silver glittered sparkle motif that extends pass the satin under skirt to give the illusion of sparkle rising. Her metallic bow on her skirt is a nod to her signature peplum but done as a giant bow to be a transformation from the bows of the pink dress to the peplum of her iconic gown. Her Metallic bodice piece was design & sculpted to flow from her hip to above her opposite shoulder to continue the sparkle motif from the skirt. Her bodice was adorned with sculpted with sparkles & diamond facets. Her headband is adorned with various jewels & pearl shapes. Her large jeweled earrings were designed to emulate the circles that go over her ears from her classic headband. Her classic glass slippers were sculpted with beautiful facets to emulate a jeweled look. All of these were sculpted by Kim from the talented @mattelsculpting team.
If you happen to get her make sure you fluff out her dress/ bow & move her arms behind her gown for the best display of dress.
First things first… I got y’all that golden strawberry blonde hair. Lol! Her hair is done with her iconic bangs & an elegant hair style. For her gorgeous face I wanted to adjust the shape of her eyes & smile to have a more elegant feel. Her eye look has a gorgeous soft glam look with metallic lid and inner corner eye shimmer. I wanted the spaced out stylized bottom lashes cause you know… drag lol. For her lips I wanted those iconic lips from the 90’s that were a neutral soft color with a shimmer gloss. It was just giving an all over Platinum glam look fit for a princess that @minhtam_ nailed! For Cinderella’s dress I wanted a touch of that magical transformation feel from the film. I designed her dress to be a tea length dress for something different from all the usual ball gown silhouettes we see our princesses in. To bring the sparkle from the film we added a sheer overlay to the skirt with a silver glittered sparkle motif that extends pass the satin under skirt to give the illusion of sparkle rising. Her metallic bow on her skirt is a nod to her signature peplum but done as a giant bow to be a transformation from the bows of the pink dress to the peplum of her iconic gown. Her Metallic bodice piece was design & sculpted to flow from her hip to above her opposite shoulder to continue the sparkle motif from the skirt. Her bodice was adorned with sculpted with sparkles & diamond facets. Her headband is adorned with various jewels & pearl shapes. Her large jeweled earrings were designed to emulate the circles that go over her ears from her classic headband. Her classic glass slippers were sculpted with beautiful facets to emulate a jeweled look. All of these were sculpted by Kim from the talented @mattelsculpting team.
If you happen to get her make sure you fluff out her dress/ bow & move her arms behind her gown for the best display of dress.
Here’s my design sketch for Disney’s 100 Platinum Princess Tiana. These dolls are less collector and meant as celebration dolls in the same vain as current holiday Barbie celebration dolls for example.
Since Cinderella and Tiana were a pair in this celebration assortment, I wanted to find a concept that tied their designs together. I came to the idea of transformation. Both princesses have gown transformation moments that are filled with sparkle and thought that was the perfect concept for the two.
For Tiana’s gown I went with a tea length gown as well but her hem is laser cut into petal shapes to nod to elements of her iconic dress. Her gown also has a sheer skirt over it with a glittery motif made of sparkle and tiny leaves. Her large metallic leaves lay asymmetrically to represent the swirl motion her dress is created in from the film and he signature lily pad was turned into a platinum gown accent.
Along with her platinum bodice piece, she has jewel encrusted earrings and tiara with beautiful leaf shaped details that have a green color shift finish to them.
For her hair I wanted to add a bit of glam to her style in the film, so instead of a bun she has multiple barrel curls and front and side tendrils for added glam.
For her face deco, I wanted something glam with a focus on the eyes, so we did a shimmery soft green graphic liner over shades of brown shadow. Her lips we kept in a neutral shade with a brighter highlight color in the bottom lip for dimension and of course a glossy finish.
If you happen to get her make sure you fluff out her dress & move her arms behind her gown for the best display of dress.
Since Cinderella and Tiana were a pair in this celebration assortment, I wanted to find a concept that tied their designs together. I came to the idea of transformation. Both princesses have gown transformation moments that are filled with sparkle and thought that was the perfect concept for the two.
For Tiana’s gown I went with a tea length gown as well but her hem is laser cut into petal shapes to nod to elements of her iconic dress. Her gown also has a sheer skirt over it with a glittery motif made of sparkle and tiny leaves. Her large metallic leaves lay asymmetrically to represent the swirl motion her dress is created in from the film and he signature lily pad was turned into a platinum gown accent.
Along with her platinum bodice piece, she has jewel encrusted earrings and tiara with beautiful leaf shaped details that have a green color shift finish to them.
For her hair I wanted to add a bit of glam to her style in the film, so instead of a bun she has multiple barrel curls and front and side tendrils for added glam.
For her face deco, I wanted something glam with a focus on the eyes, so we did a shimmery soft green graphic liner over shades of brown shadow. Her lips we kept in a neutral shade with a brighter highlight color in the bottom lip for dimension and of course a glossy finish.
If you happen to get her make sure you fluff out her dress & move her arms behind her gown for the best display of dress.
Fashionably late here is my sketch for Ariel from the Enchanted Elegance collection.
The concept for this collection is taking the signature looks of the princesses from their films and turning them into evening wear looks w/ an overlay of floral thematics.
For Ariel’s look I loved the idea of turning her mermaid form into a gown. Her layered pleated bodice is made of organza and meant to nod to her iconic shell bra. The organza slightly hides the bottom of her face as I thought this was a cool way to nod to the fact that Ariel is always peaking behind various things throughout the film. I added a two tone sequins to her hip and waist to evoke the scales of her mermaid tail. The cut out panel helps maintain her silhouette at her waist. Her intricately pleated two tone taffeta skirt was meant to twist around her body resembling a mermaid silhouette. The pleats go from pressed pleats to loose gathering then back to pleats again. This was done to make the pleating feel more organic. The skirt opening is meant to angle at the waist to the bottom of the hip & be lifted from the side of the hip away from the sequins. Then finished with a layer of pleated organza under the skirt.
We not only utilized our new collector princess body, we also introduced a new collector size head sculpt which is smaller than our core doll line. I wanted all the accessories to be fun statement pieces with nods to the ocean. Pearl coral wrap bracelet, seaweed shell earrings, and a seaweed pearl hairpiece.
For her face deco I wanted to have a more glam look for Ariel. A metallic lid with a deeper blue and gray outter shadow to add a sense of elegance to her eyes. Her lips are in her signature red but in two tones for dimension. The face deco is finished with rooted lashes.
The concept for this collection is taking the signature looks of the princesses from their films and turning them into evening wear looks w/ an overlay of floral thematics.
For Ariel’s look I loved the idea of turning her mermaid form into a gown. Her layered pleated bodice is made of organza and meant to nod to her iconic shell bra. The organza slightly hides the bottom of her face as I thought this was a cool way to nod to the fact that Ariel is always peaking behind various things throughout the film. I added a two tone sequins to her hip and waist to evoke the scales of her mermaid tail. The cut out panel helps maintain her silhouette at her waist. Her intricately pleated two tone taffeta skirt was meant to twist around her body resembling a mermaid silhouette. The pleats go from pressed pleats to loose gathering then back to pleats again. This was done to make the pleating feel more organic. The skirt opening is meant to angle at the waist to the bottom of the hip & be lifted from the side of the hip away from the sequins. Then finished with a layer of pleated organza under the skirt.
We not only utilized our new collector princess body, we also introduced a new collector size head sculpt which is smaller than our core doll line. I wanted all the accessories to be fun statement pieces with nods to the ocean. Pearl coral wrap bracelet, seaweed shell earrings, and a seaweed pearl hairpiece.
For her face deco I wanted to have a more glam look for Ariel. A metallic lid with a deeper blue and gray outter shadow to add a sense of elegance to her eyes. Her lips are in her signature red but in two tones for dimension. The face deco is finished with rooted lashes.
Here is the concept sketch for our final doll of the Radiance Collection, Princess Aurora.
Aurora’s design takes inspo from her gown in the film as well as inspo from the era the film was created, much like the animators did when designing the princess’s gowns. I kept the silhouette of her bodice and shoulder panels similar to the film but updated it by adding a scalloped edge to nod to her signature pointed peplum. Her trumpet skirt is a separate piece w/ a flowing charmeuse over skirt. The thing I love about this is you get newness in the design through the front view but from behind you have the classic silhouette of the flowy gown from the film. The over scaled jewels are placed over the metallic gold and pink jacquard fabric in a similar manner to the book cover in the film.
The pattern in the woven jacquard is a hand drawn style floral to nod to her time in the forest and her palette over all was muted to add a level if sophistication.
Her crown, shoes, and necklace are all sculpted in her signature silhouettes but done w/ ornate details of vines and jewels from the book cover as well.
For her face deco I definitely wanted to make sure she had her signature bold brows. For her eyes I wanted a heavy lid with her lash line turned down to give a sleepy dreamy look to her eyes. Her bold graphic liner is accented with a gorgeous pearl pink lid. We softened her smile and gave her a two-tone lip. She is def one of my favorites from @minhtam_ .
For her hair I picked out a new hair blend color to distinguish her from the playline Aurora. I worked with Terri A. on her and the goal was to capture her flowing hair and iconic bangs. She nailed it by making sure the bangs, though styled, still looked full and above her brows to capture her signature look.
Aurora’s design takes inspo from her gown in the film as well as inspo from the era the film was created, much like the animators did when designing the princess’s gowns. I kept the silhouette of her bodice and shoulder panels similar to the film but updated it by adding a scalloped edge to nod to her signature pointed peplum. Her trumpet skirt is a separate piece w/ a flowing charmeuse over skirt. The thing I love about this is you get newness in the design through the front view but from behind you have the classic silhouette of the flowy gown from the film. The over scaled jewels are placed over the metallic gold and pink jacquard fabric in a similar manner to the book cover in the film.
The pattern in the woven jacquard is a hand drawn style floral to nod to her time in the forest and her palette over all was muted to add a level if sophistication.
Her crown, shoes, and necklace are all sculpted in her signature silhouettes but done w/ ornate details of vines and jewels from the book cover as well.
For her face deco I definitely wanted to make sure she had her signature bold brows. For her eyes I wanted a heavy lid with her lash line turned down to give a sleepy dreamy look to her eyes. Her bold graphic liner is accented with a gorgeous pearl pink lid. We softened her smile and gave her a two-tone lip. She is def one of my favorites from @minhtam_ .
For her hair I picked out a new hair blend color to distinguish her from the playline Aurora. I worked with Terri A. on her and the goal was to capture her flowing hair and iconic bangs. She nailed it by making sure the bangs, though styled, still looked full and above her brows to capture her signature look.
The overall theme for the collection was based around gems and the connection between the uniqueness of gem shapes with the uniqueness of each Disney princess.
For the first collector princess dolls Mattel and Disney wanted to release something classic and recognizable with their designs.
When designing the gown I wanted something that read elevated while still having a very animated look and feel to it. I went with a soft golden yellow for the palette to sit along with the two others in this collection. I wanted to get her ballgown as full as possible within my possibilities lol so myself and the team made sure we got that.
I brought the storytelling of the enchanted rose into the gown by placing the rosettes in a manner that looked as though they were pinning the drapery. The brocade fabric of her gown has a mix of matte and shine and is designed with flourishes nodding to the interior design of the castle. The gems were hand sewn and placed along her gown to resemble the falling petals of the rose and the pleated fabric was chosen to provide texture and volume to the skirt.
For the face I wanted something glam w/ neutrals and pops of gold shimmer and @minhtam_ served that to a ‘T’.
For the hair I got to work with the amazing @shirleyfujisaki . We went for something true to her signature look but elevated with more volume to the sides and beautiful curls all accented w/ a satin bow.
For her earrings I designed them to have a rose and flourishes flowing from it to cuff her ear. And for her shoes it also had the design motif of roses and flourishes but wanted to incorporate the Easter egg of the magic mirror sculpt of the beast head on the back of the heel which is an amazing detail brought to life by Matt from sculpting.
For the first collector princess dolls Mattel and Disney wanted to release something classic and recognizable with their designs.
When designing the gown I wanted something that read elevated while still having a very animated look and feel to it. I went with a soft golden yellow for the palette to sit along with the two others in this collection. I wanted to get her ballgown as full as possible within my possibilities lol so myself and the team made sure we got that.
I brought the storytelling of the enchanted rose into the gown by placing the rosettes in a manner that looked as though they were pinning the drapery. The brocade fabric of her gown has a mix of matte and shine and is designed with flourishes nodding to the interior design of the castle. The gems were hand sewn and placed along her gown to resemble the falling petals of the rose and the pleated fabric was chosen to provide texture and volume to the skirt.
For the face I wanted something glam w/ neutrals and pops of gold shimmer and @minhtam_ served that to a ‘T’.
For the hair I got to work with the amazing @shirleyfujisaki . We went for something true to her signature look but elevated with more volume to the sides and beautiful curls all accented w/ a satin bow.
For her earrings I designed them to have a rose and flourishes flowing from it to cuff her ear. And for her shoes it also had the design motif of roses and flourishes but wanted to incorporate the Easter egg of the magic mirror sculpt of the beast head on the back of the heel which is an amazing detail brought to life by Matt from sculpting.
Happy Birthday Girlies! Here is my concept sketch of Princess Rapunzel, as part of the Disney Princess Celebration Collection.
This collection is aimed for younger b-day celebration gifting & also to be enjoyed by all. Similar to birthday Barbie.
When I was asked to design this doll, I immediately knew I wanted to incorporate the lanterns from the film. They released them every year on her birthday and knew that was the perfect go to for this birthday celebration doll.
I wanted a design that felt like older birthday Barbie dolls as I remember as a kid I bought my mom (well made my grandma buy it lol) a birthday Barbie doll for her birthday once. I remember the big poofy gown and festive prints. We took the idea of lanterns in the sky and made it into a colorful confetti print. Her dress has great volume and the confetti print is layered over a taffeta skirt for the ultimate princess birthday skirt. Her satin bodice has printed pink ribbon details, yes I would have loved for it to be actual ribbon but we try to work with what we can to give you the over all best version of the doll we can in total. Then for her sleeves we used the sheer fabric with the lantern confetti and gathered it for a nice puffy princess sleeve effect.
Her signature crown is in a molded gold color along with her golden pearl earrings. Her tinted purple heels also have a golden shimmery finish. Her hair is 8” Saran and in her signature hair style. She also comes with a cute celebratory pink cupcake.
For her adorable face I worked with @iwasakibombs from the face team at Mattel and aside from being an amazing artist and over all cool guy, he was able to nail the look I sketched out to a T. He was really able to capture the updates I wanted to apply to her original face deco with the side glance, updated eye and eyebrow shape as well as her lip color and smile.
And of course @ericjdahan came up with the cutest birthday packaging to present her in.
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This collection is aimed for younger b-day celebration gifting & also to be enjoyed by all. Similar to birthday Barbie.
When I was asked to design this doll, I immediately knew I wanted to incorporate the lanterns from the film. They released them every year on her birthday and knew that was the perfect go to for this birthday celebration doll.
I wanted a design that felt like older birthday Barbie dolls as I remember as a kid I bought my mom (well made my grandma buy it lol) a birthday Barbie doll for her birthday once. I remember the big poofy gown and festive prints. We took the idea of lanterns in the sky and made it into a colorful confetti print. Her dress has great volume and the confetti print is layered over a taffeta skirt for the ultimate princess birthday skirt. Her satin bodice has printed pink ribbon details, yes I would have loved for it to be actual ribbon but we try to work with what we can to give you the over all best version of the doll we can in total. Then for her sleeves we used the sheer fabric with the lantern confetti and gathered it for a nice puffy princess sleeve effect.
Her signature crown is in a molded gold color along with her golden pearl earrings. Her tinted purple heels also have a golden shimmery finish. Her hair is 8” Saran and in her signature hair style. She also comes with a cute celebratory pink cupcake.
For her adorable face I worked with @iwasakibombs from the face team at Mattel and aside from being an amazing artist and over all cool guy, he was able to nail the look I sketched out to a T. He was really able to capture the updates I wanted to apply to her original face deco with the side glance, updated eye and eyebrow shape as well as her lip color and smile.
And of course @ericjdahan came up with the cutest birthday packaging to present her in.
