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Tyler Wentworth is one of the most interesting and well-received fashion dolls to be produced in the last few years. Tyler Wentworth was created by well-known doll designer Robert Tonner, and is produced by his Robert Tonner Doll Company.
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend Robert Tonner's seminar about Tyler Wentworth. The seminar was a rare opportunity to learn all about the design and production process brought Tyler to the market, as well as a chance to hear about some upcoming exciting plans for the Tyler line.
Finally: Tyler Wentworth
Part one in this series of article explains the process that Robert Tonner went through with the creation of several fashion dolls before he was ready to create his ultimate fashion doll.
After Julia, the vinyl 16" fashion doll that Tonner produced for The Georgetown Collection, Tonner felt he was ready to finally produce HIS fashion doll made by HIS doll company. He says that he was "neurotic, obsessed about the sculpt" for this fashion doll. He wanted a vinyl head on a hard plastic body--and it was important to Tonner to use injected mold pieces so the head could turn side to side AND up and down. He wanted the arms to go OUT as well as up and down, and he wanted a bendable knee so the doll could sit. All this would make the doll highly poseable and give it great playability.
Other things that Tonner wanted his fashion doll to have included a womanly body with a nipped-in waist (so she could wear layers of clothing in scale--without a nipped-in waist, a fashion doll would seem "bulky" and out of proportion once dressed. This is one of the reasons for Barbie's exaggerated proportions). Tonner also wanted a doll with her hands and feet in good proportion, and one with realistic hips. He also wanted the doll to have a model-like feel.
For the story/history of the doll, he wanted her to be a fashion designer.
Of course, after the sculpting and design of the doll were completed, there was the very important issue of what to NAME the doll! First names that were considered in the first round of naming at the Robert Tonner Doll Company included Claire, Kit, Haley, Margo, LuLu, and Natalie. Last names considered included Connell, Donnell, Granville, Sebastian, and Wentworth.
For the second round of names, some were thrown out and others were added. For first names, under consideration were Claire, Nicky, Bridget, Blaine, Emma, Perry Hudson, Jamie, Madison, Tyler and a few others. Last names included Sebastiani, Wentworth, and Laurence.
One
name that was QUITE seriously in the running up until the end was "Perry
Laurence" Tyler was VERY close to being called Perry Laurence.
"Tyler Wentworth" was suggested to Tonner by a staff member, and he
initially said NO. But, after considering it for awhile, he decided it WAS the
right name for the doll, so Tyler Wentworth was "born."
Clothing, Accessories, Patterns....
As most fashion doll collectors already know, Tonner has succeeded spectacularly with Tonner Wentworth! The doll has the perfect proportions for showing off beautifully miniaturized fashions. She is a true PLAY doll, and she has outstanding clothing and accessories. She is very poseable.
Being a fashion doll, of course, clothing is KEY to Tyler, and Tyler's fans have not been disappointed. Tonner has concentrated on using only the finest in fabrics--linen, cashmere, silk and mohair have all already been used in Tyler's outfits. Tonner looks for proper fabric all over the world for Tyler's outfits--Europe and Asia. Tonner has created clothing for many of Tyler's occasions--work, ball gowns, cocktail dresses, sleep wear, business suits, resort wear. Again, this was part of Tonner's dream for a fashion doll, and something that his earlier American Models lacked.
Tyler's fashions are very "real clothes" NOT cutting edge. Just like vintage Barbie and other vintage fashion dolls, the clothes for Tyler are real clothes shrunk down. "Charlotte Johnson, who designed for Barbie, was brilliant about doing that." said Tonner.
Tyler's fashions are developed by Tonner first doing quick, inspirational sketches, which start with shapes, etc. After the quick sketches, come formal sketches that are sent to a pattern maker. For outfit fabrics, he must be careful to NOT use a fabric that won't hang right. Tonner has discovered that structured pieces work best. Its hard to do a bias ruffle properly that will hang correctly on a doll.
As part of Tonner's story (and, essential for her accessories) Tonner had to pick an industry magazine that Tonner would read. Tonner decided that the magazine on Tyler's fashion world would be "Fashion Design Weekly" (they couldn't use the REAL 7th Avenue's Women's Wear Daily). A miniaturized copy of "FDW" can be found in the outfit Wake Up Call. Additionally, Tonner's team knew one of Tyler's accessories would have to be a Design Portfolio.
He wanted patterns for Tyler (again, part of the playability of the doll) , and he worked with the Simplicity company on producing three Tyler pattern sets. The first printing of 9,000 patterns sold out immediately! Simplicity may put the Tyler patterns into the Simplicity catalog. Tonner may even get to do some full-size versions of patterns of the Tyler clothing for real women (the Tyler fashions translate beautifully into real-sized fashions, as the fashion show illustrates)
First-Generation Tyler
As many collectors know, Tyler was supposed to be introduced in 1999, but was delayed. There were some design issues that held the doll up. There was an initial size-problem with the head that had to be addressed before the doll was released (head was too small and had to be enlarged after the prototype. This called for a chemical process where you blow vinyl up.) It took months to get the head JUST right, which was a big part of the delay in releasing the doll in 1999. Also, Tonner wanted a rooted part so you could take Tyler's ponytails down. First 5000 dolls had NO part. Also, the first 3,000 to 5,000 Tylers have lighter makeup and non-painted scalps (I know everyone is going to run and get their Tyler's now to see if the scalps are painted....turns out that MY first Tyler is one of the non-painted scalp ones!) So, this type of Tyler can be considered a "First Generation" Tyler. In 2000, all of the design issues were resolved, and Tonner shipped 15,000 Tylers in the first part of 2000.
New Tyler Items and Items Possibly Coming Soon
One new accessory for Tyler that is highly anticipated is a drafting table for Tyler! Eventually, there might even be a Rolling Rack for outfits will be produced, like the ones that are used on 7th Avenue!
Tonner promises some more additions to Tyler's family, like the very popular Esme. Esme has had a great response. Esme's story is that she was discovered by Tyler in a bookstore. She was a pre-med student, and Tyler was so taken with her look that she had her in the next fashion show. Esme wears Tyler's designs and will have her own clothes (the dolls can share clothes, of course). Several Esmes have been produced. The latest doll in the family is the "Sydney Chase" doll, the owner of Chase Modeling Agency. Tonner has thought about a male counterpart, but the male dolls don't sell as well, and are costly to develop. There are some preliminary talk on possible relatives, such as a little sister with a different body type. An Asian doll has also been recently announced.
One thing that collectors have been requesting has been numbered dolls and clothing. Almost all limited edition dolls from other manufacturers have the number of the edition on the doll, and the same with limited clothing from manufacturers such as Ashton Drake. Although there has been talk of numbering the Tyler dolls and clothing, so far, no numbered items have surfaced.
As
for other news, there
is a Tyler Wentworth club in the works. There
are initial plans to possibly do hat, purse and shoe accessory paks.
Finally, an all-Tyler convention is a possibility for the future. Next page >
The Live-Model Tyler Fashion Show > Page 1, 2, 3 Previous
Page > The History of the Robert Tonner Doll Company
and Pre-Tyler > Page 1, 2, 3
Back to the Doll Collecting Main Page
©Denise Van Patten 2000
All Rights Reserved.
