Who Are Those S-Girls?

Their names are Stella, Sable and Sylvain. And they are the newest creation by the master of the hand painted hard plastic doll - Mr. Julian S. Kalinowski. Following the smashing success of his now mythical Séverine doll, Mr. Kalinowski decided to enrich the formula with not one but three new face sculpts that share the same body. The S-Girls are not your run-of-the-mill fashion models and they come ready to challenge our preconceptions of beauty, age, and sexuality.

Mr. Kalinowski explains: “Stella is like a young, happy-go-lucky but unstable Liz Taylor. In her mid 20's. Thick, dark eyebrows, quite naive blue eyes. Always single, Stella can only really connect to gay men. She's an ingénue. A confused character, she is prone to bouts of depression and quite insecure. But she also can be a real laugh, the life and soul of the party. Then there’s Sable. She's Jean Harlow and Carol Baker. In her early 30's. She's glamour, both trashy and elegant. She likes the John Waters look with a good dollop of Mary Vivian Pierce. She's uncomplicated, Elsie from Chelsea. Goodbye Berlin. She's a healthy character who is very happy with her sexuality. She wears Biba, Ozzie Clarke, chiffon, silks, fur, and feathers. Finally, Sylvain! Early 40's. She's Alpha. She’s my idea of a jolie-laide doll. In Sylvain I'm seeing Marlene Dietrich, Anna Kavan, Greta Garbo, and Shari Lewis. Lots of Fassbinder style in her. She's single, perhaps asexual. Maybe she worked in the sex industry as a stripper at some point, but she doesn't like to be touched. Doesn't connect well to people. Needs sleeping pills.”

The new dolls are 1cm shorter than vintage Barbie and feature a brand new formulation of hard plastic with a resin feel that Mr. Kalinoswki compares to bisque. Many of the dolls will feature permanently set wigs such as wavy 1930s looks, side part bubbles, very curly styles, and Louise Brooks bobs with bangs. Like Séverine, the dolls’ hips are bigger than their bosoms. Their molded shoes and well-defined ankles pay tribute to bondage and fetish illustrator Eric Stanton.

Mr. Kalinowski sees this line as totally punk. He explains: “In an age of BJD's and all their sophistication, one could liken these wonderful dolls to the adult oriented rock of the 70's that featured long guitar solos and over-the-top production. The S-Girls, by contrast, are three chords banged out on a cheap electric guitar. Five basic points of movement. Back-to-basics simplicity. The Sex Pistols of the doll world.”

For more information about the S-Girls, contact Mr. Kalinowski.


Sylvain

Stella



Sable



Sylvain



Sable and Sylvain



Sable and Stella





Sylvain



Sylvain



Sable

Sylvain



Stella




Fashions by LizRetros, Debbie Farne Sang, Rosina Haskell, Tania Lawrence, Criscrash, Joshard, and Bruno Farfallo pour homme by Lu Bodaczny