The Disney Designer Collection Midnight Masquerade – Fashionably Late doll line debuted this weekend at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. This series of 12-inch collector’s dolls first made its debut at the 2019 D23 Expo with a collection of heroines and royal couples, followed by a Disney Villains collection in 2020. Four years later, the party is still rolling with this third release. Two heroes from the first wave (Belle and Rapunzel) are joined by their villains in this release (Gaston and Mother Gothel), while two villains from the second wave (The Evil Queen and Ursula) meet their foes after the stroke of midnight (Snow White and Ariel). One more royal couple (Aladdin and Jasmine) are joined by the rest of the Tremaine residence (Anastasia and Drizella), with Lady Tremaine and Cinderella already at the ball. And arriving late for a very important date are distinguished guests from Wonderland, Alice and the Queen of Hearts. I had the honor of getting to speak with two of the Disney Artists behind this new collection, J Fuchs and Steve Thompson, while at D23 to get more insight into this latest release.
(Disney)
Alex: Congratulations on the launch of the third wave of the Disney Designer Collection Midnight Masquerade doll series. It seems rare to get more than two waves out of this type of series. Was this a dream come true? Were you already thinking about all of the characters you wanted to invite to the party?
J Fuchs: The characters are the ones that really drove this collection because we wanted to finish off some of the characters we'd done in the previous collections. With this set, we wanted to finish off our heroes and villains Masquerade series that we've done before. So we went back and looked at all of the characters that didn't already have a counterpart, like Snow White for the Evil Queen and Gaston to go with Belle. And then we threw in some more unusual characters, like the stepsisters, because you can't have a masquerade ball without the whole Cinderella family. Aladdin and Jasmine are favorites, too, as are the Queen of Hearts and Alice. It was really driven by wanting to finish off this series on a high note.
Alex: One of the reasons this series has been so popular is the unique masquerade mask that comes with each doll. My favorite in this wave is the stepsisters, who use frames for their faces so as to not cover up their “beauty.” Do these accessories stray from your usual assignment of creating collector’s dolls?
J Fuchs: Yes. It's super fun to get to design the little accessories because you can pull in so many fun details from the movies and do cute little creative things. But I'm also not super skilled at drawing those kinds of things, so it's stressful for me.
Steve Thompson: The winner for this collection for me is the frames for the stepsisters. Of course, they don't want to hide their face, they're amazing. When we do the new characters for the series, I get to work with the sculptor to make sure we're capturing the likeness and making sure they also work as dolls. That's its own fun challenge, but seeing them come to life is always super exciting.
Alex: Speaking of sculpting, Disney occasionally redoes the face sculpts for these characters. Aurora received a refresh for her introduction in the first wave of Midnight Masquerade, for example. Does that create new opportunities in the collector space?
Steve Thompson: Yeah, sometimes it's just tweaking the expression a little bit, but there is a time period where we like to look at them again. Hopefully, we're always stepping up our game and trying to make things better, and keep it fresh. Sometimes we'll pull out an old sculpt and be like, “Wow, this is really ready for an update.” As we all grow and learn, hopefully, we're just getting better. It's always an opportunity to improve from where we've been and try to put our best foot forward all the time.
Alex: The detailing on these collector dolls is always exquisite, and you kind of need to study them to be able to take in everything. My favorite is the chest hair on Gaston. What's a subtle detail that you hope collectors notice when they get these?
J Fuchs: The chest hair was definitely my favorite detail. There's also a little Beast medallion on Gaston with a broken horn on his cape tie. I think it's a super fun little thing. I designed that.
Steve Thompson: There's storytelling behind all of it. J does amazing designs and gets caught up in all the details and what the accessories could be. We partner together early on because then it's my job to come up with how to interpret it as artwork. Besides capturing the sculpting and working with that, I'll jump in early on with art that's inspiring me and put together a mood board. Luckily, this is kind of the third iteration of this one, but we don't want to always stay exactly where we've been. J's always upping the dress design and what we can do, and what we can get away with. I need an art style that feels different for each collection, but with this one, it's like, how do I keep it looking fresh but still familiar? Because it is a continuation this time around. It's always fun to bring the designs to life. When I start to draw, I don't know what this fabric is going to be, I don't know what the silhouette's going to be. If it's a really rough sketch, we’re going back and forth. Luckily, we don't sit too far away from each other. I'm like, “How does this drape?” And then J’s like, “I don't know yet.” So I'm like, “I think I have a solution for it. What do you think about this?” And they’ll be like, “Oh yeah, that works. Maybe I'll try to make sure that's in the final doll.” Even though they're kind of two separate things between the sculpting, that's a crossover point for us. Just making sure I'm translating the beautiful design and helping create this world of artwork that these characters live in. It helps tell the full story. It's not a doll existing without the art; it's not the art without a doll. It's something that was set with our first [Disney Designer Doll Collection] back in 2009. People expect it, and we love surprising them each time with our individual contributions and how they come together to tell the full story.
Alex: The varying fabric types for all the soft goods in this collection really stand out. Do you have any idea how many types of fabric went into this wave?
J Fuchs: No. It's getting harder and harder to use different materials as our safety standards get higher. But I like to try and find some different weird fabrics, weird finishes, always looking for new stuff that we can do.
Steve Thompson: The sequin one for the stepsisters, I hadn't seen that before, but it looks so good. Sometimes I'm working on something and I'm not quite sure if it's what we're going to end up with, but I love the surprises.
Alex: For the most part, the characters in this line lean into the colors we associate with them from their films, with the exception of Snow White. Was there a particular reason this doll avoids her traditional blue, red, and yellow dress colors?
J Fuchs: This one was designed by my teammate Harmony, so I was just the doll mentor, big sister, and spirit guide. But she really wanted her to feel delicate like she's just coming out of the forest and has these super delicate florals in her embroidery design and her little owl mask. She wanted her to feel really ethereal. Snow White is nice because she's so classic and so iconic that we can really get away with changing her outfit more than some other characters.
Alex: I'm sure a lot of conversations were had about which characters do and don't get to come for this Fashionably Late wave. Are there any that were left out that you wish could have made it into this release?
J Fuchs: I think everybody we wanted made it in. I can't think of anyone we missed.
Steve Thompson: The goal was to kind of finish off some other stories that needed another character. I love that we get Drizella and Anastasia and then Aladdin and Jasmine together. But even then, they're completing the Cinderella story. We wanted to do something else for it. I don't know who had the idea first to come up with them, but it was like, of course, they have to be there. It was logical the pairings that were going to happen because if we went totally rogue, it would have opened up a whole other story. But this was a nice little way to tie it in a bow.
Alex: This whole wave will be available to preorder together online starting Monday, August 12th, with individual dolls available later. As doll designers, I imagine you have the same space-saving problems that a lot of collectors have. Do you collect all of the items you make, or are you picky and choosy like some of us have to be?
Steve Thompson: I do, and it's a situation because I also do all the ornaments and the collectible figures. It takes up a lot of space. But we work so hard on this stuff, and I want to look back when I retire at some point, if I ever do, and be like, “Oh my God, look at what I helped be a part of.” Because, at the end of the day, we’re big Disney fans. I’m the biggest Disney fan ever. Even still, thirty years into my career, I can not believe this is what I get to do every day. I care so much. So if I need to find a little extra space, we’ll find a little extra space.
J Fuchs: I actually send some home to my mom, but I live in a real small place, and I'm kind of minimalist. I look at these dolls all day at work, so I don't need them around me at night.
Alex: For a final question, I’m one of those collectors who leaves everything in the box, but I know you design these dolls with a 360° view in mind. For collectors like me, are there details we miss by not unboxing them?
J Fuchs: I also do the packouts, so I try to be pretty cognizant of the people who keep them in the box. I don't think there's anything you're missing out on.
Alex: Awesome. I really appreciate your time and congratulations on the launch. I’m looking forward to adding a few of these to my collection, and I’m also eager to find out what’s next down the pike.
Steve Thompson: Yes, there is more, so stay tuned.
We will definitely be staying tuned. But for the time being, keep your eyes on DisneyStore.com on Monday, August 12th at 8:00 am PT, when the remaining inventory of the D23 event exclusive dolls are released online, along with the option to preorder the upcoming third wave of the Disney Designer Collection Midnight Masquerade series.
Disney Designer Collection Midnight Masquerade – Fashionably Late Pre-Order Links:
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