The dizzying explosion in popularity of fashion dolls could be credited almost entirely to Robert Tonner. Tonner introduced Tyler Wentworth years ago, and capitalized on a new market the retro-inspired Gene fashion doll had awakened. Learning from Gene, Tonner created Tyler as the epitome of American elegance. By modernizing Tyler and expanding on the proportions of Gene, Tonner pre-conceived a wider range of dressing possibilities. For the last five years, Tonner has sold desireable dolls and continually expanded the reaches of the fashion doll market with commercial and high fashion options both well represented. What he has started has shifted only slightly to the edgy ball-jointed resin dolls of London's Superfrock and the anime-inspired BJD's of Japan. Tonner retains a foothold - quality has only improved from the early days of Tonner: the sculpts have become more beautiful and life-like, and the clothing is more imaginitive. Superfrock's Sybarite dolls have recently stolen the spotlight, but seem unlikely to maintain a grip. The bold, highly fetishized couture look that made the Sybarite a hot item now fails to push the envelope; cheap garment construction now prevails in place of the image of excess once marketed. Not so at Tonner. He wants his company to continually offer an image of couture.
When it comes to the fashion dolls such as Tyler and certain special edition couture dolls, Tonner claims originality. But a claim is all it is. Some of Tonner's best-selling looks, including from the brand new Antoinette doll, unabashedly steal from today's (and history's) elite designers. They remain uncredited and unpaid. All that can be copied for mass production is: silhouette, embellishment, color, and design. Only fabric quality is altered, much in the same way as his Theatre de la Mode collection. In the following images, I will establish the outright plagiarism.
Tonner's market strategy is sounder than Superfrock's partially because of his willingness to take a creative backseat at times. While fashion dolls remain at the forefront, he has ventured with Disney and other companies to sell dolls based off of the latest movie blockbusters as well as classic film favorites. Other special edition dolls that resulted from this backseat activity have included reproductions of some of the famous looks of the Theatre de la Mode as well as costumes from the New York Ballet.
When it comes to the fashion dolls such as Tyler and certain special edition couture dolls, Tonner claims originality. But a claim is all it is. Some of Tonner's best-selling looks, including from the brand new Antoinette doll, unabashedly steal from today's (and history's) elite designers. They remain uncredited and unpaid. All that can be copied for mass production is: silhouette, embellishment, color, and design. Only fabric quality is altered, much in the same way as his Theatre de la Mode collection. In the following images, I will establish the outright plagiarism.
As you can see, the resemblance is striking. The Tonner Antoinette version of this Fall 2008 Lacroix Haute Couture dress has stiffer fabric and looks cheaper. Unfortunately, the theft of this design has significant repercussions for Christian Lacroix. Christian Lacroix is one of the few remaining couturiers and devotes himself to couture (like Helen Mirren's oscar dress) rather than entering licensing deals that make money for successful fashion houses. Despite possessing inordinate talent and critical acclaim, he is currently facing bankruptcy because he is not good with ready to wear. His loss to the fashion world would be tremendous, and haute couture could cease to exist if he were destroyed.
This look is from Jean Paul Gaultier's Fall 2008 Couture Collection, as with the Lacroix knock off (for those who don't know, the couture fashion week is different than ready to wear, and includes less than ten designers). Obviously, this look is not original. The difference is more noticeable here merely because the shoulder pieces of the original could not be reproduced on the Antoinette.
I do not know which year this Ungaro couture dress was produced, but it's pretty far back as Ungaro has retired since 2004. The ruffle would be too expensive to reproduce with the same pleating (but there still is a ruffle), and the the print is too expensive to reach all the way down. It's hardly a coincidence to arrive at this design. Ungaro was a great colorist and fond of prints, particularly the rose. Anyone who owns the Haute Couture book would know based on the dresses there that Ungaro has used the idea of this print for a while.
These aren't exactly the same, and I wouldn't call this copying, but it doesn't take much imagination to convert, does it? One immediately recognizes it as a Dior look, which is significant.
