A Ten's Tenth

 Seldom will Dolldom engage in expressing absolutes, as we accept that the appreciation of beauty, doll related or otherwise, will be subjective. But today's entry celebrating the tenth anniversary of the introduction of Séverine by Julian S. Kalinowski goes there. 

Séverine, introduced in 2015, is for us a ten, not only for the beauty inherent in the labor of making a doll by hand, but also for the impact that her appearance had in making a rarity of fashion doll history accesible to many, for Séverine is Kalinowski's take on the very elusive Caprice, a French beauty produced from 1966 to 1970.

Kalinwoski did not just copy Caprice but rather reinterpreted the sculpt in hard plastic and proceeded to hand paint each face and hand coif each head individually and without replicating a prototype look, making each Séverine doll a one-of-a-kind creation. In so doing, Kalinowski spawned a mind-boggling array of countenances that took the dollector on dazzling journeys of character study. Who were these coded-as-women Séverine dolls? As varied as the looks were, the essential vibe of Séverine was that of a woman with a little (or perhaps a lot of) experience, a feeling that was invariably transmitted through the dolls' eyes. Yet in Kalinowski's hands, under-eye circles were never a sign of distress but a glamorous flaunting of their travails.

Séverine was also the first Kalinowski creation without a molded shoe so each doll was presented wearing a made-to-measure pump in black, white, or glittery transparent. Séverine's sartorial statement was richly varied with original designs by the ultra-talented LizRetros, Sylvia Campbell, Tania Lawrence, Rosina Haskell, Brian Blythe, and Juliet Wharton. 

In retrospect, Séverine may be Kalinowski's chef d'oeuvre, for in her the dollector not only got a OOAK handmade doll but also a three-dimensional miniature painting. A real tour de force! 

Let's celebrate Séverine once again! 

Les déesses du spectacle: Aliocha by Bestiare Doll

When does a doll, that object so readily boxed into the realm of plaything or decoration, break free to transform our perception and interpretation of their presence? Effigies of the human form have accompanied humanity for millennia with roles ranging from funerary to commercial, yet one idea may be expressed without fear of it being fallacious: dolls are an essential expression of our human desire for transcendence, for the doll will not only outlive us (will they be sorrowful after our departure?) but the doll will present to those after us an idea of our aspirations, of our fears, and of our attachment to sensorial pleasure.

Jeanphilippe Primeau, the talent behind Bestiaire Doll,  is an exemplary creator whose dolls defy categorization as their powerfully generous presences magically transform, like goddesses, to connect with us viewers at that exact place where we exist emotionally and intellectually. Dolldom is honored, once again (our first collab was Chuchu in April 2022), to be able to showcase the most recent creation of Primeau, the exquisite Aliocha.

A painter as well as a sculptor, Primeau expresses his ideas using different mediums, and dolls become another canvas for him in which paint combines with resin, vintage fabric, mohair wool, beads, gold foil, and feathers in an overflowing creative stream. Aliocha is, like all of Primeau's dolls, a 100% handmade object that will gladly play with the dollector as well as exist as an elevated aesthetic expression in a room or a museum.

Dolldom and Primeau sat down for an interview right after the completion of photography to discuss his creative process. Primeau also shared diptychs of his inspirations with the transporting photography of Montreal-based photographer Jogn the Alien.

Dolldom: What ignited your process for the creation of this stupendously opulent line of Aliocha?

Primeau: Actually, it wasn't supposed to be a line nor a collection. It's just that I ended up making one after the other and they kind of fit well together.

Dolldom: Who came first?

Primeau: The first was the Rainbow Girl, I was weirdly inspired by a scene in the movie Grease 2 where the characters sing in a talent show and they each wear outfits representing the months. I liked that it was a bit cabaret, campy and crafty. And I wanted to do something inspired by that. I wanted this Aliocha to be Rococo, very soft, and pastel. I was seeing in my head the rainbow hat with all the beads, and the doll representing the sky. The photo of Rainbow Girl is by me. 

Dolldom: Her blue energy captivated us, the rainbow being such an integral symbol of diversity. And then?

Primeau: Star Girl was inspired by Bauhaus ballet. My aim was to transform the shape of the doll as a star and make her part of that star, with the little hat and big shoulders. And the curtains drape with the tassels just like at a theater for a play or a ballet.

Dolldom: The construction of the jacket is awe-inducing. Your IQ must be off the roof! What inspired the third?

Primeau: Moon Girl was inspired by old 1920s and 1930s costumes. I wanted to place on the doll in a moon cut-out and keep the design simple.

Dolldom: She is a stunning presence emitting a glow all her own! What about your fourth doll?

Primeau: For Sun Girl, I was inspired by Louis XIV and his depiction as the Sun King, on a stylistic point of view, something very Versailles, Rococo, with a n abundance of gold and warm tones. I wanted for a long time to do my own version of this classic outfit. There are many differences in my version, like the corset, the Elizabethan collar, and the stockings. I wanted to do it with a contemporary twist, while making sure to add at least the iconic sun hat, handmade with hand sculpted rays and ostrich feathers.

Dolldom: Outstanding! Thank you, Jeanphilippe, for having colaborated with Dolldom once again! For more information on Aliocha and all Primeau's creations make sure to follow Bestiaire Doll and his Instagram feed.