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2013 Fairytale Designer Collection

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2013 Fairytale Designer Collection
I agree, I think Disney got the edition sizes the wrong way round for the two sets, not to mention the unjustified increase in price for something that was more common due to the higher edition size. That and the overall design for the princess and villain dolls were not that much different. It will be interesting to see what stance disney takes this year with both price and edition size as I think these are two factors that will greatly affect the demand for the next line of dolls.
 


I can't agree more (and with any more frequently) that any specially designed Disney Princess dolls need higher edition numbers. The choice to have varied edition sizes for the Designer Princess dolls seemed odd to me from the get-go. Remember that Disney does not really price their items based on the edition size of the item, but by what they think it is worth when it is made. But as much as my wallet hated the $20 price hike for the Designer Villains, I actually think all of the Designer dolls are worth that price point. However, what makes the Designer Villain gowns a step above the Designer Princess gowns is the better variation in fabric choices (velvet, pleather, faux fur, sequined fabric, and lace) and colors for all six characters; whereas the Designer Princess gowns are predominantly mostly-satin gowns with simple, plain dress skirts (with a few exceptions, of course). I really like almost all of the 16 Designer outfits, except for the failed Designer Aurora gown and the fabric choice for Designer Pocahontas' gown. I hated fighting tooth-an-nail for the Designer Princess dolls. The ease of the Designer Villains release was so much better. I just hope that the Disney Store keeps in mind that the Princess franchise has a bigger customer base than the Villains.
 

i didn't think about that, I guess if you put it that way the actual detail they put into the dresses does in a way justify the price increase but I still think that by increasing the quantity released it will reduce the value people will put on the dolls. Which was made evident when they decreased the dolls to more than half of what they originally sold for, just so they would sell out. Which is t a good sign.

By the look of things they just had a little stock left they wanted to get rid of so would have sold them at cost or even made a loss which they would have recovered from the initial sales when the dolls were priced at the $80 mark.
 
I agree with Shivatopia that the villains had much better construction and materials in their gowns. I also think their make-up was superior in application and relation to each character. They also had those lovely new face molds. To me they were worth a little extra, if they gave that same care to a princess line I would happily pay a bit more. The villains were popular and are lovely, I think it really just came down to the extremely increased edition size, maybe if it had been 10,000 for each instead of 13,000 it would have been more of a success.

All in all, I just really hope that the "designer series" isn't over! Those who got all the princesses may want it that way, but for those of us who fought and got nothing until later (and 2-3 times the org. price on eBay) it would be really nice to have a share at getting a special doll or two at retail!
 

That was the point I was making as well. I think when you put it that way about how much more detail and effort they put into the dolls it did make sense that they increased the price. But in my opinion to increase the price and at the same time increase the quantity released just makes Disney look over ambitious and yes I do agree that the price of the doll should be increased due to the difference in time and effort on the villains compared to the princesses but I don't think a price hike of around $20 was justified enough especially as most people mentioned the characters were not nearly as popular as the princesses thus resulting in Disney decreasing the price by more than half just to sell out the dolls.

Also whilst I strongly believe that the next line will be the princesses again or will involve the princesses I highly doubt it will be another designer line if they were to do the princesses again. Disney have released a lot of Limited Edition material in the past and I have never seen them re-release another item due to demand. I've seen them release similar items but never the same and I think disney is smart enough to know if they were to release the designer dolls again this would come with a lot of backlash.
1) the value people will have in collecting this dolls would significantly decrease due to the fact that it is no longer unique, and I am not necessarily talking about monetary value here.
2) it would be so unoriginal that people would get upset that it took all year for Disney to come up with something and what they do come up with is the same thing as before but a different look
3) releasing a revised set of the designer princesses would be releasing an item that would canibalise the old set which never works for limited edition items because you cannot tag it as a limited edition and then release a similar one later.

dont get me wrong i would love to buy these dolls at retail and I did manage to get the villains, in fact I paid the full $80 price tag for them as to the opposed recent $30 price tag. But I had to complete my entire princess set on the 2nd hand market and even I think that releasing another designer princess set would be a big mistake by Disney that would result in them shooting themselves in the foot and killing the designer line. Like I have said time and time again if they were to release another princess line the only way it could work from a marketing perspective would be for them to release as a new line and not a designer line.
 
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I still believe Couples is just a cover-up. If they said it was a surprise and are just putting it out there, isn't that bad for business? We could go so many ways here, the princes themselves but done to a good degree and desirable! A second line of villainesses with Tremaine, Yzma, Morgana (Helga is too good to be true), Narissa, Medusa and Mim. Or hell, Helga would probably be thrown in there anyways to make 7. (a lucky number.) Drizella would be bonus points. Heroines is a strong one and the most likely to be a surprise truly! Heroes would go great with Heroines as an after/next year type thing. Male Villains would rock and be a second likely surprise. Considering there are more male vilains, I can see various Male villain lines but The major ones are Gaston, Frollo, Jafar, Clayton, Sykes, Percival McLeah, Shan-Yu, Captain Hook and I realize he wasn't a villain but the Huntsman would probably be thrown in there for some reason. He just had the look LOL. The Big Bad Wolf and Shere Khan with Kaa would be toughies but if they did Ursula, they are viable!
 
Someone quoted here on DPF on a thread that when the designer/artist for the Designer Villains and Designer Princess collections that her said that this year there would not be a "Designer" line, but that is totally a "he-said" undocumented, un-provable source. The D23 Expo will most likely have a lot of new merchandise revealed, and not necessarily for Princesses or Villains. Disney has accumulated several other huge franchises recently, so I would not be surprised if they also get featured at the Expo (re: Lucasfilms).

I agre with Polaris that the previous doll designs for the Designer Princess and Designer Villains collection will probably never be released again for all the reasons Polaris gave. As numbered edition dolls, they just will not make more of them, even as a couples set. To do so, would undermine the previously released collections. Now that said, the label "Designer" can be attached to anything as long as it makes up a cohesive collection: Designer Wedding, Designer Swimwear (totally unlikely with Disney), Designer Victorian, Designer 1920s... you get the idea.

My biggest wish is always that if whatever they release is something that I like, that it won't be a three-ring-circus nightmare to get them. For my collecting style, I personally don't care how many of that item is out there, because at the end of the day for me, it's all about obtaining pretty things that I like. However, I do know that worldwide quantity makes a world of difference to a lot of collectors, so that is definitely something that Disney needs to consider when developing these items. The Designer Princess collection followed the latter collecting method in its more exclusiveness, whereas the Designer Villains collection appeals more to my collecting style in that there were definitely more than enough to go around. It's tough!
 
I doubt Disney would do a second villainess line especially with characters like Mim, Meudsa, Morgana and Helga. Nobody knows who they are and if dolls of mega popular characters such as Ursula, Cruella and Gothel took this long to sell out dolls of Madame Medusa and Helga would be on the website for 2 years lol. Aside form Lady Tremaine they already have done the most well known/popular female villains. I would love a designer Medusa, Yzma and Mim but I don't see it happening. Disney seems to forget/ignore these characters existence.

Heroines would be awesome and the most likely case but they would probably be very limited edition. I would love a designer Megara, Esmeralda and Alice. Male villains would be cool to but Disney would stick to more popular/well known characters like Captain Hook, Jafar, Gaston, Dr. Facilier and Hades. Maybe Frollo.
 
OH MY GOD! SHIVATOPIA! HOW COULD YOU!? I ADORE the Victorian era! I know you were just listing it as an example, but...could you imagine?! Oh that would be so glorious! I would want one of every doll released! Now my mind is all aflutter with glorious ideas.
I also had a slight horrible thought...you know how they recently released a "Princess Quinceanera" collection? It was literally a bunch of corsets attached to hoop skirts that were just COATED in rolls of frilly fabric. I saw that and thought, "Oh good Lord...most all the princesses are around that age...this will eventually be the next designer line. Wah wah waaaahwahwahwahwah." :/
Just another random thought that my friend said she would love. Grid Princesses. (Princesses in gowns/outfits from the Tron world.) Twould be fun.
 
LordTremaine, I'm with you. I hope they randomly make a Designer Tremaine (it was dumb to leave her out due to the fact that there was a 17" released around the same time. *cough cough* Did they forget about Gothel and the Queen of Hearts?) :facepalm: And Yzma...WHY IS SHE ALWAYS EXCLUDED?!?! I LOVE HER!!
And...designer Step Sisters.
That is all.
...
...no it's not...
...
WE SHOULD WRITE A LETTER!
 
I was actually thinking, as many of you suggested, a similar line, not a direct re-release. I wouldn't like that either after paying $250 for my Ariel on eBay. :facepalm:

I would like them to keep attaching the "designer" label to collector dolls sets if they are as well made as the first two. Mostly I just love the display boxes, I would buy that style in bulk and do all my dolls in them if I could.
 
I agree with most of you guys on the gowns being better here since there were more layers and much more volume. In sales, they are alike in the following ways. Ariel-Maleficent, Gothel-Cinderella (over-flows ahoy me and my nephew's favorites), Ursula-Rapunzel, Evil Queen-Belle, Pocahontas-Cruella and Tiana-Queen of Hearts.
 
So, get this: I checked my facebook messages and then saw a comment that was on my feed. It was left on a page that I follow for any doll info that doesn't pop up here. (And now, if it is real, I'm popping it up here...anywho...) Someone left this on the page:
[h=5]"Disney store told me today got confirmed for a designer characters collection, including a few as Alice Tink and the cinderella stepsisters set!"[/h]I am not holding my breath. It sounds too random and good to be true. Honestly, at this point, I imagine that the cm's are being asked so often what the next set is that they could just be messing with us now. Hell, if I were there, I'd look someone dead in the eyes and say "It's Designer Sidekicks" and just walk away. Don't get me wrong, I would buy 3 of the 4 characters mentioned above...but I dunno...make of it what you will, but I'm just letting you know what the latest rumor of an "update" is that I've heard.
 

That's very interesting. I do think the Cinderella stepsisters threw me off balance because they sound kind of random, but having Alice, Tink, etc. (if it were true) would seem to line up with a Designer Heroines line. All I know is IF they do do Designer Heroines, I'm only interested in Vanellope so MAKE IT HAPPEN! lol
 
If it's anything like last year we could be getting a hint at some point soon. I'm not sure when the Designer Princesses were revealed but I remember there were pictures of the art Before the D23 convention. Designer step-sisters would be fun, but that would be SO annoying they didn't do Lady Tremaine then!

I still can picture the characters like Alice and Tink, possibly Merida (although after her whole make-over issue I don't know.)

My breath is officially held!
 
Not saying anything here nor there, but this is rather interesting:



Posted by Steve Thompson on his art blog. Quite obviously the style, yet again everything he draws is. Not to mention she is not in anything that would allude to a designer outfit. But perhaps he is dropping hints?

I don't know what to believe any more! Haha. I will just await the official announcement.
 
That is definitely a hint somehow, but as much as I would like to think it's a Designer hint, I think all his art just looks like that lol That being said, COME ON DESIGNER SET WITH VANELLOPE! Alice too since if they just made Alice I could collect Designer 7 princesses of heart from Kingdom Hearts (Alice, Belle, Jasmine, Snow White, Aurora, Cinderella, and then Kairi who will never be made sadly).

EDIT: Also, why does it say "open space" in between her arms and the ribbon on her back? The only reason I can think of that being there is so that if it were made into a pin or something, the pin would have an open space there. That being said, I think that art of Alice is quite plain to be made into a doll or a pin, it isn't really Designer or anything, it's just normal Alice
 
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This is when assuming becomes legit. Maybe it's designer kids! Lilo, Wendy, Alice, Jenny, Penny, Eilonwy and Vanellope.

Wow, that would be interesting...but the problem is...Merida. She's GOING to be included somehow. If Disney can classify her as a kid for this...THEY WILL. Also, I realized right now that my dream would be a Designer Kairi from Kingdom Hearts She is a kid, she is an unofficial Disney heroine, and she is darn popular too, but among video game fans >_< Oh well, I can dream.
 
Merida as a little kid BWAHAHAH! If they included Kairi,, it would be a good start due to Kindgom Hearts finally receving their due. It has always been an amazing series, I feel MANY hurdles and curveballs being thrown at us with this one.
 

Yes it's just to point out for production purposes when art is colored where the blank spaces are, but I don't think you'd do it on just a regular sketch. So it was probably art that almost got produced.

I didn't think this art was a hint before, but I guess it could be.
 
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