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Sybarites fashion doll steal the limelight
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CNTV, November 1, 2011
They're more fabulous than Barbie, and have haute-couture wardrobes most super models would die for. They're the latest must-have doll, and now a limited-edition range - called the Social Monstrosities - has launched in London.
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The Sybarites are the creation of South African-born, London-based doll makers Charles Fegen and Desmond Lingard. |
With her high-heels nonchalantly kicked back over a chair, draped in fur, and sporting immaculately coiffured hair with a supermodel pout - she has attitude and style. Sybarite doll is one of a collection of 16-inch resin divas.
Unlike Barbie these dolls wear the most expensive catwalk fashions and you wouldn't want to leave one alone in the hands of a toddler - the cheapest dolls cost hundreds of pounds and limited-edition versions many thousands.
The Sybarites are the creation of South African-born, London-based doll makers Charles Fegen and Desmond Lingard. The pair - who are both keen doll collectors themselves - previously worked as fashion designers. However, a decade ago they decided they could do it better and founded Superdolls.
All of the dolls are designed in London, here at their studio in Hoxton. Each doll's face is unique and designed to be the ideal of catwalk beauty.
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The Sybarites are the creation of South African-born, London-based doll makers Charles Fegen and Desmond Lingard. |
Charles Fegen & Desmond Lingard, Sybarite doll makers, said, "It's a really beautiful experience to take a blank canvas, and it almost evolves into a personality itself and then you go 'Wow, how fab, we love her.'"
"And they come alive in your hands while you're working with them. And the whole process of creating them gives them their personality."
"What it is is our dolls are human clones. They are clones of humans that are the absolute perfection in our minds. And if we could clone humans we'd be cloning them to look like that."
Based in Shoreditch, one of London's trendiest areas and the home to artists and designers - the pair say they get all of their inspiration from the streets. However, designing outfits on such a macro scale is not without its problems.
Fabrics suitable for humans are rarely appropriate for dolls, dwarfing them. But this doesn't stop the dolls from wearing the most luxurious threads - the top-of-the-line range can be dressed in silks costing over 500 pounds a metre.
With limited numbers of each doll the competition between collectors to snap up their prize is fierce, few are keen to talk about their purchases and prices for the rarest dolls are always kept strictly confidential. The largest market for the Sybarites is in the US. However, they are also popular in the Far East and Russia.
