My Plastic Universe
Connect with Life in Plastic: My Plastic Universe
  • Home
  • My Plastic Musings
  • Tutorials & Projects
  • Life in Plastic Photoblog
  • Master of the Universe
  • Favorite Doll Sites

Carlyle Appreciation Day

9/11/2015

2 Comments

 
There’s a (relatively) new Barbie® designer making jaws drop with his creations. His name is Carlyle Nuera. Okay, he’s not exactly a newbie. He had been envisioning and creating Barbie® dolls for the “play line” before joining the Barbie Collector team last year. He debuted with his first collector doll by bringing back the hardly-ever-used Kira face mold with Mutya™ Barbie® doll of the Global Glamor™ Collection. This is one of the most well-thought-out and authentic representations of a Filipina in national dress (or a dress inspired by traditional designs) since the Patis Tesoro dolls of the ‘90s, which were made for the Philippine market and sold in high end department stores there. 

Having Philippine roots must have helped, but beyond that, Carlyle seems attuned to what many collectors look for in dolls: unique details. Take, for instance, the Spanish abanico or folding hand fan that Mutya™ is clutching. He also has a fresh interpretation of the butterfly sleeves popularized by Imelda Marcos, the Philippines' own Evita clone. Whatever your politics may be, I suppose, the cuteness of the butterfly sleeve cannot be denied as it's still used in Philippine formal dress today.
Picture
Carlyle Nuera, Mattel designer
PictureThis one-of-a-kind doll by Carlyle Nuera raised $9,000 USD at the live auction to benefit a children's hospital during the 2014 National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention.
When I first met Carlyle at the 2014 national convention in Nashville, he had designed my favorite one-of-a-kind doll that was donated by Mattel to the live auction. It was a sultry, pale skinned doll with the Pazette face mold—heretofore only used in African dolls. Her gown was also a major feat of beading, and it had a dangerously plunging neckline. While conventioneers were taking turns viewing the auction dolls up close, Carlyle stood there effusively sharing his love of unusual face-mold and skin tone combinations. And let me tell you, a pale-skinned Caucasian Pazette is a gorgeous thing to behold. It’s a shame I didn’t have $9000 to spare for the charity auction.

2015 is shaping up to be a huge year for Carlyle, who announced his next Barbie Collector line and revealed the first doll in the series to national convention attendees in Arlington, Virginia. The line is called Harlem Theatre™, and the first doll is Claudette Gordon™, inspired by the 1920’s “Harlem renaissance” and recent pop culture and fashion trends that have given a nod towards that era. The Claudette Gordon™ doll features a new face sculpt, something collectors crave, including myself. I mean, who wants to add a blonde Mackie face mold doll (or three) to their collection every year? Not I. Anyway, apart from her fabulous dropped waist peacock feather-inspired dress, articulated arms and legs (yay for posing ability), 1920’s headband, and beaded necklaces; she also has a carbon microphone—the perfect accessory for a star of the Harlem Theatre™. This doll was released just the other day, and I can’t wait to get mine.



Finally, on this Carlyle Appreciation Day, I want to bring attention to his set of seven OOAK Barbie and Ken dolls created for this year’s Madrid Fashion Doll Show charity auction. These dolls are called the Nineties New Era collection. I’m seriously considering taking out a home equity loan or something because these dolls are all kinds of awesome! Okay, maybe I won’t take out a loan, my husband would kill me, but I would be so envious of the lucky duck that will get to take these plastic hotties home. According to Carlyle, the dolls are inspired by ‘90s fashion ads, in keeping with the Madrid convention’s “’90s Vogue” theme. He chose a color palette of mint, coral, lavender and white, and interpreted nineties street wear in a rather inspired mix of textures and silhouettes. 
Picture
Nineties New Era collection by Carlyle Nuera - a set of seven one-of-a-kind dolls for Madrid Fashion Doll Show's charity auction to benefit the charity foundation “Crecer Jugando".
Once again, Carlyle's love of unusual face-sculpt-and-skin-tone (and-hair-style) combinations is on full display, resulting in a very unique and highly collectible set. The Ken dolls are particularly gorgeous. I would love to see this set or something similar produced for the collector market. Sometimes, even a casual fashion line can impress the most jaded collectors if it has the right mix of unique details, and a cohesive set of dolls.

In case anyone missed it, Carlyle Nuera has arrived, and I expect great things from him. In the meantime, we can speculate on what’s next for the Harlem Theatre™ line.
2 Comments
B hamrick
10/12/2015 01:48:33 pm

Reply
Raphael Dequech
11/14/2015 04:37:27 pm

Carlyle is fabulous! Love his way to think about chances and diversity! :) #1 fan!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    About the Webmaster

    My name is Jared.  I began collecting dolls in 2011.  It all started with Barbie® Basics Model No 16 Collection 002 for me. Soon after that, I started photographing my dolls, editing the images and sharing my work on my Tumblr photoblog, Life in Plastic. "Playing" with dolls has inspired me to learn to sew, paint with acrylics, re-root doll hair, practice my bead craft, among other things...My collecting hobby turned into a passion for creating art in different media!

    Fashion Doll Top 100 websites

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    November 2019
    November 2018
    March 2018
    December 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013

    Contributing Authors

    Viktor Zavadsky
    ​Colleen Kelly

    Categories

    All
    Adèle Makéda
    Alexander Mcqueen
    Angel Kent
    Barbie
    Barbie Boy
    Barbie Convention
    Barbie Extra
    Barbie Fashion Model Collection
    Barbie Totally Throwback Tour
    BFMC
    Bill Greening
    Black Label
    Carlyle Nuera
    Collecting Advice
    Conventions
    David Buttry
    Designer
    Dia De Muertos Barbie
    Display
    Doll Collecting
    Doll Couture
    Doll Room
    Doll Shows
    Dracula
    Elton John
    Exhibits
    Fantasy
    Fashion
    Fashion Royalty
    Film Review
    Fine Art
    Flight Of Fashion
    Giveaway
    Gold Label
    Halloween
    Haunted Beauty
    Hoang Anh Khoi
    Integrity Toys
    Japan Barbie Convention
    Jeremy Scott
    Jessy Ayala
    Judy Choi
    Legendary Convention
    Licensed Merchandise
    Lunar New Year
    Made To Move
    Madrid Barbie Convention
    Makeup
    Marvel Studios' Black Widow
    Mattel
    Model Muse
    Moschino
    Nadja Rhymes
    Nashville
    Nick Corporon
    Nosferatu
    Nostalgic
    Nuface
    Organizing
    Pivotal
    Play Line
    Pop Culture
    Poppy Parker
    Pür X Barbie
    Review
    Robert Best
    Scarlett Johansson
    Shero
    Silkstone
    Superstar
    Swimsuit
    The Barbie Look
    Thoughts
    Tokidoki
    Totally Hair Barbie
    True Blood
    Unboxing
    Vampires
    Vintage
    Yara Shahidi
    Youtube
    YouTube Shorts

    RSS Feed

Mandatory Credit © 2016 My Plastic Universe / Jared P. / iamken85

For any and all usage in print, online, or other media, please contact the administrator prior to use.