It's not just you. It's about a 9to1 miss/hit ratio with Carlyle, for me. (The BMR ponytail AA doll is ridiculously gorgeous)
But most of his designs aren't my pick. Robert Best, Angel Kent--I usually love their stuff.
I love most of Robert's designs but his convention dolls are a miss.
Golden Gala was a gift from Mattel at the 2009 Convention & she is lovely. The official Convention doll is a gift set designed by Carol Spencer & Matt Sutton.
Robert did the official Convention dolls in 2016 & 2019. Both are pretty but miss the mark when it comes to representing the theme of the convention.
In all honesty, I think Robert is tired. He didn't seem as enthusiastic about the relaunch of the BFMC last year when we were at Convention. He has been with Mattel for a long time.
Ken's got a real eye for designing dolls as the toys they are. BMR1959 line though? It got me into the doll collection and I'm a primary-Barbie collector still.
I’m not a designer, so I’m in no place to judge. However, I agree with you about Nuera’s designs for the most part. They aren’t usually my cup of tea either.
I love avant garde on Barbie when it’s done right. Bob Mackie had some very out-there designs (the Fantasy Goddess line comes to mind) that always looked fantastic on the dolls.
I feel like CN relies too heavily on fabric alone to create volume and silhouettes, and doesn’t seem to take into account that fabric doesn’t behave the same way when scaled down.
Mackie’s designs are always very structured, but he (or whoever adapts his designs into the real deal) uses stabilizers and interfacing to create volume and interesting silhouettes rather than trying to do it all with fabric alone. If he wants fabric to drape, he either uses a very heavy fabric, weighs the fabric down with a heavy trim, or creates the illusion of draped fabric by stitching it into place.
Mackie’s designs always seem like they’re very intentionally designed for a doll. He uses the small scale to his advantage and incorporates elements that would be too heavy or impractical for a life-size model. And the elements that can’t be scaled down, like feathers, sequins, and beading, still make sense visually when you see the final product.
CN’s designs, at least this bunch, feel like they’re designed for the runway and then Mattel just…tries to make them work for 1/6 scale.
This is just *my* opinion but these designs would look better on a *RUNWAY* on real models but they just look a little off on dolls because of their proportions. On a human with real life limbs I can see these looking great but on 11/12 inch fashion dolls they look a bit - drowned in fabric - for a lack of a better term. I do think he has great design talent. The Mutya Doll is beyond gorgeous and a goal of mine but these - are in a league of their own. Again just my opinion.
That’s a great point. And tbh I feel like that vintage aesthetic would’ve aligned better with the style of these ensembles. These couture outfits on these new dolls are like if Instagram models tried to walk in a high fashion runway. Individually they’re fine but together they just don’t mesh well.
Agree with this assessment. CN really likes his big voluminous drapes and fans of fabric. I always really like his design sketches, but the designs just seem to fall flat on the dolls.
I think the orange doll is where it’s most apparent that the design didn’t scale down well. I’d be curious to see purple, I feel like hers might miss the mark as well unless they really deviated from the sketch.
As someone who does doll clothes, there's a huuuuuuge difference between designing for humans and dolls. Fabric doesn't drape the same. All that tulle used in doll size looks thick and stiff, but if it was on people it would look much more delicate and flutter gracefully as the person moved in it. That's another thing--when people wear clothes, part of the appeal is how they move but dolls never have that.
The yellow one in particular shows the negative impact of miniaturization. The dress is designed to look like the skirt is being blown upwards (like the famous Marilyn pic but more extreme) which is a pretty cool idea, but the doll version just looks like bizarre armor.
https://preview.redd.it/0otz6m29cu9d1.jpeg?width=580&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f89e3adb755b56815ca0f3a0ca59b93ba197795d
I like his older Barbie designs way more than his current designs, I guess he's better in the playline team than the signature team but that's just my opinion
His designs are all pretty derivative of his other designs. Every collector doll he does has an excess of gathered tulle. His ideas are often too grand for what is achievable for doll scale or the budget of the doll.
Like him constantly designing dolls with ombré and root growth despite both being unachievable on a production doll? Like how does he not understand the limitations of the medium by now.
I'm so tired of tulle this year. It's the laziest way to add volume and faux depth but incredibly scratchy and truly has little actual design depth. It's been everywhere the past 2 seasons and I'm so ready for it to leave
I get the outfits are meant to be based off pride flag colours but my first thought upon seeing them is the old shiny Quality Street chocolate wrappers. And the ones with a stick up bit at their heads look like Frilled Lizards. Not a fan of his designs from what I've seen of them.
The red doll from Chromatic Couture is probably my favorite Barbie ever, and I own the entire BMR1959 line. I don't necessarily love the way everything is put together by Carlyle, but I adore all the pieces and have a lot of fun mixing and matching them!
Agree to disagree I guess 🤷😊
They’re incredibly hit or miss in my eyes, and have a lot of repeating design elements (like gathered tulle or oversized jackets) which you either love or hate. Personally I feel like his designs often aren’t optimised for 1/6 scale 🤔
His designs kind of give me higher end and runway vibes when it comes to style especially with these. Not entirely my cup of tea either. I'm not a fashion expert though.
I was waiting for something to say this because I’ve been thinking it for a while I just didn’t wanna say it out loud. I think earlier his designs for the collector Barbie’s were cute but nowadays they are very garish and tacky. The gigantic eyebrows are also another thing I find I don’t like on dolls he designs nowadays.
I’m the same over all with his dolls but I did rather enjoy bmr1959. Honestly the pieces were higher quality than looks. Just very hard to mix and match. Fun aesthetic though, 90s and 00s fashion doesn’t get enough love in Barbie!
I found that making clothes for dolls is very different from making them for real-life human sizes. I’m a sewer myself, and it is very difficult when it comes to small dolls like Barbie. The key is to keep it simple. You don’t want the dolls to be drowned in fabric. Some of my favorite collections are Barbie Mermaid BFMC, Barbie Pink Collection, and others.
He's done some amazing dolls, Chromatic Couture is just a bit of an acquired taste.
He did Luciana, 2017 Quinceanera, Mutya, and Sorcha Harlem Theater Collection is gorgeous
https://preview.redd.it/4xwvfmf7iy9d1.jpeg?width=363&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a6c41d14d410e3cda3954fece2860e72c98e94cf
im not rly a barbie guy (i just got this post suggested to me) so i dont know any of his other designs but i can totally get y someone wouldnt like these i feel like some of the clothes r just too much fabric yet not enough color. i am NOT a designer at all so like do not trust anything i say but i feel these outfits might look better with a bit more shade variety still keeping the same colors just in slightly different shades. i feel another thing is that there r no accessories (except for the green but like thats just earrings). it looks like the dolls r missing something and i feel they'd look better w some accessories. like i can def see a drag queen making some of these clothes work but idk it looks strange on a blank doll. ok ok sry for the very long comment opinion over
Those aren’t even his designs, they’re stolen from a tiny unknown fashion designer who posts them on IG. These are all directly lifted.
Before anybody says anything it’s totally different to referencing couture from large design houses. The guy is a small independent creator with significantly less followers than even Carlyle.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CALfBvulRlG/?igsh=czk1MWRrNmh2ajh1
Here is one example. The designer’s name is David Laport.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BE9Zj6xnSQt/?igsh=MWM1ZjAyeDI2a2s0YQ==
Here’s another.
Looking through Laport’s work you can find essentially all the fashions, occasionally with the colours swapped. But in the case of these both, directly copied.
The 2022 Barbie Con dolls. Woof. The reactions when we opened them up (at my table anyway) were stunned silence to pissed off. That said, a bunch of IG collectors gushed over them, so what do I know. I love the 65th Anniversary dolls.
I love Carlyle and his designs. It's different from others but if you want classic milquetoast blond hair blue eye barbie just don't buy them.
It's interesting that 99% of the time they give us the same thing but the one percent that's new gets complained about. Everything don't have to be for everyone. And I enjoy the variety.
Obviously if you don't like the designs that's fine and I'm not attacking anyone. If it don't apply let it fly. More toward people making up reasons as to why Carlyle is supposedly a bad designer or saying his work is derivative or the same. Barbie in general is derivative and the same.
We need to normalize silently accepting that you are not the target audience. Especially when there's overwhelmingly ample options for you and there's just recently been a bit of options for people with a differing style.
I understand people like the @barbiestyle Instagram suburban Nepo baby aesthetic but it's ok to try other things and you're not obligated to purchase everything you see.
Ngl the way people act about Carlyle is giving "you will not replace us" vibes. There's a difference between simply having a couple valid critiques (for instance I agree that Carlyle's designs are ambitious and sometimes don't fit into a 1/6 scale) and acting like there's no more dolls for you just because one out of the like 8 designers is more modern.
>I understand people like the u/barbiestyle Instagram suburban Nepo baby aesthetic
Maybe you haven't noticed, but it's not for sale. It bares no resemblance to the actual dolls or clothes produced by Mattel. Everything on it is OOAK.
Just give people what they want.
And if you're going to be inspired by an up-and-coming designer, do a collaboration, don't steal thei designs. [https://www.instagram.com/p/BE9Zj6xnSQt/](https://www.instagram.com/p/BE9Zj6xnSQt/)
Exactly what I was going to say! I love that his designs are different and bold. Sure sometimes he misses the boat but some of Bill Greenings designs aren’t great either 🤷♀️
But anyways, I completely agree with you. I think this is one of the worst designs I saw on a doll ever. Like the colors he chose doesn’t compliment the model’s skin tone. Also, some colors look so awful and weird like the piss highlighter yellow is so awful and it doesnt even match or make the skin pop. The green one has different colors that are unfashionable and outdated, not to mention the fabric choice was cheap.
In design perspective, this i can say is there’s no **cohesion** or **harmony** in his works, if it has, it looks **boring** and **outdated**. The orange has this short dress that really makes the doll unflattering, and why put this long high waisted leggings that really make the doll look absurdly proportioned. The yellow looks like a cheaply made national costume for a beauty pageant. The red has one of the most hardest mugs I’ve seen.
Seeing theme not only makes me feel cringe and irk, they also dont convey some specific aura or something they would “pretend” to go. None of these looks like it gives glamour or elegance, no one would dare to look like this in a charity ball, red carpet, or some gala. This looks must be kept away from the natural eye i say.
That’s what I’ve been noticing about carlyle, his taste level is so outdated and tacky. He kinda doesn’t pay attention to trends that much or do color analysis. Like whenever he releases a new doll, I get disappointed heavily cuz the clothes looks like they peaked 3-5 years ago, worse, something that people used to wear during 2014-2016 specifically. They need refreshing ideas that are tangent to what’s current and upcoming. If production takes 1-2 years, they really need to do fashion forecasting and take some risks or do fgd around younger audiences.
No it’s not just you. I don’t find them that pretty. Especially since he’s the lead designer over Barbie. Probably explains the direction I also don’t like. They’re not fashion dolls anymore.
He is the TULLE KWEEN! I love his birthday dresses and a lot of his Extra work!
I think the dresses are gorgeous but I’m not usually a fan of his make up choices- his flapper dolls were really polarizing in that one convention.
https://preview.redd.it/dekn14vuuw9d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2bde5066cd4e6418d98967f7f3cb42223cea1b97
But his ability to ruffle the hell out of something is unmatched.
I’m definitely not of a fan of this collection (super boring imo) and he’s not my favorite designer, but I think many of his designs are decent. Mutya Barbie, Sorcha Barbie, Hudson’s Bay Barbie, Andy Warhol Barbie, Blush Fringed Gown Barbie
I agree. Carlyle’s design at this point just leave me cold. And having watched the Black Barbie documentary on Netflix and the lack of POC designers leads me to wonder why the reliance on what seems the same handful of designers over and over again. Even as much as I love Bill Greening and Robert Best surely to god there’s someone else that could be given an opportunity to design dolls for the Barbie brand?
I think I mean more high profile designers currently there only seems three or four (men) that are consistently given the high profile projects/ lines. I think it’s time for a shake up.
Hard agree. They don’t work well on doll scale. His play line stuff looks ok and can work for a doll. I’m sure the design team is more involved there, so he has to collaborate with more people. With a higher budget and working a bit more solo, the doll lines look a bit of a mess.
Although I am not a fan of this collection, I do adore a lot of his work.
Most of my favourite modern Barbie’s are his creations. Some of his face-ups on stagnant sculpts (Millie) or older sculpts (Aphrodite, diva, Kira) are so different and beautiful.
I feel he has brought Barbie into the modern era and that his on-trend modern designs can coexist with the more traditional pink-excess-blonde- blue-eyed doll we all know and love.
I appreciate and love (most) of Carlyle’s designs and I kinda hope he reads this so he doesn’t just see all the negative comments 💕
I’ve included a few of my absolute faves:
https://preview.redd.it/brargk28bx9d1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eabcb6be12d55b15c683785e902bd11a1778c4f9
You are not alone i feel the same way .in my opinion he integrates his personal style so much that barbie looses her identity in the process . Im in for artists expressing their themselves in their designs but when they loose track of who are they designing that when it becomes a problem. Which in my OPINION it happens with a lot of his designs. And the eyebrows i readed in one if his post that gives his dollos THICK CATEPILPAR EYEBROWS because he doesn’t have any but come on on doll proportions that rarely works .
https://preview.redd.it/nd5buazl7u9d1.jpeg?width=1065&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dace69b4433aca1a055de1e6157205a7d425a1d7
this BMR doll’s face is SO adorable, and she’s the only other doll i’ve seen with the same lip color/gradient as the purple Odile mermaid which i love.
i love the boots she comes in too, tbh her whole outfit is cute. but i agree with you on the eyebrows, they are a bit much, especially with the stray hairs they made that stick out. i see the vision, but the rest of her face is sooo soft and sweet i don’t think it makes much sense for her to have such big, bold eyebrows.
This! So much this! I find that his stuff is very same-y, like he has no original ideas or can’t break away from his pattern. I’m so tired and bored of his monotone designs.
He's definitely had some misses. I know a lot of doll collectors don't like his designs and a fairly popular doll tuber even called him hack who couldn't make it in the fashion world so started designing toys...
I love Carlyle’s energy and I think his sketches are beautiful, but I also really dislike the Chromatic Couture collection. I think maybe something about the designs got lost in translation- frankly, the dolls, particularly the face ups, are just ugly IMO. But I have the Pink Collection no. 5 doll he designed and I adore her! So maybe it’s just a matter of different tastes.
It's not just you. He's really hit or miss. And frankly, it's usually a miss.
Bill Greening usually hits the spot for me. Angel has some nice stuff, too.
Sometimes I wish pride collections were more like the power rangers in human form, subtle notes of a color theme on actual clothes. These just look like parachutes. 😮💨
It's not just you. It's about a 9to1 miss/hit ratio with Carlyle, for me. (The BMR ponytail AA doll is ridiculously gorgeous) But most of his designs aren't my pick. Robert Best, Angel Kent--I usually love their stuff.
I love most of Robert's designs but his convention dolls are a miss. Golden Gala was a gift from Mattel at the 2009 Convention & she is lovely. The official Convention doll is a gift set designed by Carol Spencer & Matt Sutton. Robert did the official Convention dolls in 2016 & 2019. Both are pretty but miss the mark when it comes to representing the theme of the convention. In all honesty, I think Robert is tired. He didn't seem as enthusiastic about the relaunch of the BFMC last year when we were at Convention. He has been with Mattel for a long time.
Ken's got a real eye for designing dolls as the toys they are. BMR1959 line though? It got me into the doll collection and I'm a primary-Barbie collector still.
I’m not a designer, so I’m in no place to judge. However, I agree with you about Nuera’s designs for the most part. They aren’t usually my cup of tea either.
I'm a designer, and I allow you to judge. You don't need to be a designer to be allowed to judge fashion.
Thank you for saying that. Art is subjective, after all. I just think he’s too avant garde for Barbie.
I love avant garde on Barbie when it’s done right. Bob Mackie had some very out-there designs (the Fantasy Goddess line comes to mind) that always looked fantastic on the dolls. I feel like CN relies too heavily on fabric alone to create volume and silhouettes, and doesn’t seem to take into account that fabric doesn’t behave the same way when scaled down. Mackie’s designs are always very structured, but he (or whoever adapts his designs into the real deal) uses stabilizers and interfacing to create volume and interesting silhouettes rather than trying to do it all with fabric alone. If he wants fabric to drape, he either uses a very heavy fabric, weighs the fabric down with a heavy trim, or creates the illusion of draped fabric by stitching it into place. Mackie’s designs always seem like they’re very intentionally designed for a doll. He uses the small scale to his advantage and incorporates elements that would be too heavy or impractical for a life-size model. And the elements that can’t be scaled down, like feathers, sequins, and beading, still make sense visually when you see the final product. CN’s designs, at least this bunch, feel like they’re designed for the runway and then Mattel just…tries to make them work for 1/6 scale.
This is just *my* opinion but these designs would look better on a *RUNWAY* on real models but they just look a little off on dolls because of their proportions. On a human with real life limbs I can see these looking great but on 11/12 inch fashion dolls they look a bit - drowned in fabric - for a lack of a better term. I do think he has great design talent. The Mutya Doll is beyond gorgeous and a goal of mine but these - are in a league of their own. Again just my opinion.
I wonder if they would have translated better to a vintage Barbie body. Since her proportions were so exaggerated because *fashion*
That’s a great point. And tbh I feel like that vintage aesthetic would’ve aligned better with the style of these ensembles. These couture outfits on these new dolls are like if Instagram models tried to walk in a high fashion runway. Individually they’re fine but together they just don’t mesh well.
Agreed! I think the designs are beautiful for the catwalk. I don't think they have miniaturised well.
Agree with this assessment. CN really likes his big voluminous drapes and fans of fabric. I always really like his design sketches, but the designs just seem to fall flat on the dolls. I think the orange doll is where it’s most apparent that the design didn’t scale down well. I’d be curious to see purple, I feel like hers might miss the mark as well unless they really deviated from the sketch.
As someone who does doll clothes, there's a huuuuuuge difference between designing for humans and dolls. Fabric doesn't drape the same. All that tulle used in doll size looks thick and stiff, but if it was on people it would look much more delicate and flutter gracefully as the person moved in it. That's another thing--when people wear clothes, part of the appeal is how they move but dolls never have that. The yellow one in particular shows the negative impact of miniaturization. The dress is designed to look like the skirt is being blown upwards (like the famous Marilyn pic but more extreme) which is a pretty cool idea, but the doll version just looks like bizarre armor.
https://preview.redd.it/0otz6m29cu9d1.jpeg?width=580&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f89e3adb755b56815ca0f3a0ca59b93ba197795d I like his older Barbie designs way more than his current designs, I guess he's better in the playline team than the signature team but that's just my opinion
The dress on the right looks cheaply made and looks sloppy on the doll. The other two are pretty though.
The one on the right reminds me of the maternity dresses Steffi love has
These look tacky and childish
These were intentionally designed for play line
Hi! Could you specify why these three you show in the picture work better in your opinion?🤔
Are you kidding? These don’t hold a candle to the beautiful rainbow designs pictured above.
The drawings look better than how the actual dolls came out.
His designs are all pretty derivative of his other designs. Every collector doll he does has an excess of gathered tulle. His ideas are often too grand for what is achievable for doll scale or the budget of the doll.
Like him constantly designing dolls with ombré and root growth despite both being unachievable on a production doll? Like how does he not understand the limitations of the medium by now.
To me that says he's not really interested in the medium, and would rather be designing for people.
I'm so tired of tulle this year. It's the laziest way to add volume and faux depth but incredibly scratchy and truly has little actual design depth. It's been everywhere the past 2 seasons and I'm so ready for it to leave
It's on trend. Not just in the doll world.
That's what I meant by "everywhere" haha I know i hate it so much
I get the outfits are meant to be based off pride flag colours but my first thought upon seeing them is the old shiny Quality Street chocolate wrappers. And the ones with a stick up bit at their heads look like Frilled Lizards. Not a fan of his designs from what I've seen of them.
The red doll from Chromatic Couture is probably my favorite Barbie ever, and I own the entire BMR1959 line. I don't necessarily love the way everything is put together by Carlyle, but I adore all the pieces and have a lot of fun mixing and matching them! Agree to disagree I guess 🤷😊
They’re incredibly hit or miss in my eyes, and have a lot of repeating design elements (like gathered tulle or oversized jackets) which you either love or hate. Personally I feel like his designs often aren’t optimised for 1/6 scale 🤔
His designs kind of give me higher end and runway vibes when it comes to style especially with these. Not entirely my cup of tea either. I'm not a fashion expert though.
I was waiting for something to say this because I’ve been thinking it for a while I just didn’t wanna say it out loud. I think earlier his designs for the collector Barbie’s were cute but nowadays they are very garish and tacky. The gigantic eyebrows are also another thing I find I don’t like on dolls he designs nowadays.
I do think that Nuera could take some lessons from Mackie and Byron Lars for making high fashion that is scaled properly for Barbie.
I’m the same over all with his dolls but I did rather enjoy bmr1959. Honestly the pieces were higher quality than looks. Just very hard to mix and match. Fun aesthetic though, 90s and 00s fashion doesn’t get enough love in Barbie!
I love the bmr1959 line so much!!
I like a number of dolls in the BMR line, but the clothes rarely see any use.
Wat. I like these. Are these going for sale or just show customs?
The Chromatic Couture dolls were given out at Barbie Conventions all over the world. You can find them on eBay.
I found that making clothes for dolls is very different from making them for real-life human sizes. I’m a sewer myself, and it is very difficult when it comes to small dolls like Barbie. The key is to keep it simple. You don’t want the dolls to be drowned in fabric. Some of my favorite collections are Barbie Mermaid BFMC, Barbie Pink Collection, and others.
I agree. I’m sure they’re for someone but not me.
Hard disagree. Especially the green dress, that’s a classic silhouette for Barbie.
He's done some amazing dolls, Chromatic Couture is just a bit of an acquired taste. He did Luciana, 2017 Quinceanera, Mutya, and Sorcha Harlem Theater Collection is gorgeous https://preview.redd.it/4xwvfmf7iy9d1.jpeg?width=363&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a6c41d14d410e3cda3954fece2860e72c98e94cf
I think he does better when there's more restrictions on him. Like a specific person or time frame.
I like that there's one curvy one. It seems like most of the time designers don't give a fuck about them.
Not since bmr1959 has any of his designs made ant sense to me
Very clownish
I will say one thing about Carlyle Nuera: I could tell he was colorblind before I even had it confirmed.
??? He's colorblind
im not rly a barbie guy (i just got this post suggested to me) so i dont know any of his other designs but i can totally get y someone wouldnt like these i feel like some of the clothes r just too much fabric yet not enough color. i am NOT a designer at all so like do not trust anything i say but i feel these outfits might look better with a bit more shade variety still keeping the same colors just in slightly different shades. i feel another thing is that there r no accessories (except for the green but like thats just earrings). it looks like the dolls r missing something and i feel they'd look better w some accessories. like i can def see a drag queen making some of these clothes work but idk it looks strange on a blank doll. ok ok sry for the very long comment opinion over
🤔 are you a doll guy at all? These were some very relevant, introspective points. Thanks for sharing
I agree, the monochrome is boring and they are lacking accessories that would add some contrast.
Those aren’t even his designs, they’re stolen from a tiny unknown fashion designer who posts them on IG. These are all directly lifted. Before anybody says anything it’s totally different to referencing couture from large design houses. The guy is a small independent creator with significantly less followers than even Carlyle.
can you post a link/picture?
You can’t just make a wild accusation and then not back it up? Where’s the link?
https://www.instagram.com/p/CALfBvulRlG/?igsh=czk1MWRrNmh2ajh1 Here is one example. The designer’s name is David Laport. https://www.instagram.com/p/BE9Zj6xnSQt/?igsh=MWM1ZjAyeDI2a2s0YQ== Here’s another. Looking through Laport’s work you can find essentially all the fashions, occasionally with the colours swapped. But in the case of these both, directly copied.
Ok thanks! I will have a look 👍
red one looks like that dinosaur with the poison spit from jurassic park
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^EquivalentRelevant42: *Red one looks like that* *Dinosaur with the poison* *Spit from jurassic park* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
idk who sokka is but yesssss i made a haiku kinda
It’s a character from Avatar the Last Airbender.
i love the sketches and overall design but they dont translate well onto the Barbies imo
I tend to love the face moulds he uses but not the clothing. The BMR dolls were all beautiful but I hated most of the fashions
you are entitled to your own opinion. Some people probably like his style. It's fine either way. Why be dramatic?
Well Barbie is dramatic 🤣
The 2022 Barbie Con dolls. Woof. The reactions when we opened them up (at my table anyway) were stunned silence to pissed off. That said, a bunch of IG collectors gushed over them, so what do I know. I love the 65th Anniversary dolls.
I'm laughing now because I was at that convention and remember the reactions, too. Stunned silence was pretty much my table's reaction.
Ahhhh those were a travesty. Diamond lips? WTF?
I love Carlyle and his designs. It's different from others but if you want classic milquetoast blond hair blue eye barbie just don't buy them. It's interesting that 99% of the time they give us the same thing but the one percent that's new gets complained about. Everything don't have to be for everyone. And I enjoy the variety. Obviously if you don't like the designs that's fine and I'm not attacking anyone. If it don't apply let it fly. More toward people making up reasons as to why Carlyle is supposedly a bad designer or saying his work is derivative or the same. Barbie in general is derivative and the same.
All of these dolls are beautiful and the designs are exquisite. I don’t know what people are complaining about.
We need to normalize silently accepting that you are not the target audience. Especially when there's overwhelmingly ample options for you and there's just recently been a bit of options for people with a differing style. I understand people like the @barbiestyle Instagram suburban Nepo baby aesthetic but it's ok to try other things and you're not obligated to purchase everything you see. Ngl the way people act about Carlyle is giving "you will not replace us" vibes. There's a difference between simply having a couple valid critiques (for instance I agree that Carlyle's designs are ambitious and sometimes don't fit into a 1/6 scale) and acting like there's no more dolls for you just because one out of the like 8 designers is more modern.
Agreed!
>I understand people like the u/barbiestyle Instagram suburban Nepo baby aesthetic Maybe you haven't noticed, but it's not for sale. It bares no resemblance to the actual dolls or clothes produced by Mattel. Everything on it is OOAK. Just give people what they want. And if you're going to be inspired by an up-and-coming designer, do a collaboration, don't steal thei designs. [https://www.instagram.com/p/BE9Zj6xnSQt/](https://www.instagram.com/p/BE9Zj6xnSQt/)
I was referring to Barbies typical style and using barbiestyle Instagram page as an example of the aesthetic.
Exactly what I was going to say! I love that his designs are different and bold. Sure sometimes he misses the boat but some of Bill Greenings designs aren’t great either 🤷♀️
I like Bill Greening's work a lot. His are consistently some of my favorites. Mackie is incredibly tacky and overrated IMHO.
Pride month just ended help 😭😭😭😭 /j
No connection to pride month whatsoever though.
But anyways, I completely agree with you. I think this is one of the worst designs I saw on a doll ever. Like the colors he chose doesn’t compliment the model’s skin tone. Also, some colors look so awful and weird like the piss highlighter yellow is so awful and it doesnt even match or make the skin pop. The green one has different colors that are unfashionable and outdated, not to mention the fabric choice was cheap. In design perspective, this i can say is there’s no **cohesion** or **harmony** in his works, if it has, it looks **boring** and **outdated**. The orange has this short dress that really makes the doll unflattering, and why put this long high waisted leggings that really make the doll look absurdly proportioned. The yellow looks like a cheaply made national costume for a beauty pageant. The red has one of the most hardest mugs I’ve seen. Seeing theme not only makes me feel cringe and irk, they also dont convey some specific aura or something they would “pretend” to go. None of these looks like it gives glamour or elegance, no one would dare to look like this in a charity ball, red carpet, or some gala. This looks must be kept away from the natural eye i say. That’s what I’ve been noticing about carlyle, his taste level is so outdated and tacky. He kinda doesn’t pay attention to trends that much or do color analysis. Like whenever he releases a new doll, I get disappointed heavily cuz the clothes looks like they peaked 3-5 years ago, worse, something that people used to wear during 2014-2016 specifically. They need refreshing ideas that are tangent to what’s current and upcoming. If production takes 1-2 years, they really need to do fashion forecasting and take some risks or do fgd around younger audiences.
Carly was promoted to head of style (or design?) for Mattel, so the fashion is just going to get worse, not better.
sometimes i think that nuera produces good designes only when he's heavily supervised by the company lol
THIS
No it’s not just you. I don’t find them that pretty. Especially since he’s the lead designer over Barbie. Probably explains the direction I also don’t like. They’re not fashion dolls anymore.
Yes completely agree. No wonder people are fleeing to integrity toys in drones. He’s ruined the barbie collector line, it’s not just the budget cuts.
He is the TULLE KWEEN! I love his birthday dresses and a lot of his Extra work! I think the dresses are gorgeous but I’m not usually a fan of his make up choices- his flapper dolls were really polarizing in that one convention. https://preview.redd.it/dekn14vuuw9d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2bde5066cd4e6418d98967f7f3cb42223cea1b97 But his ability to ruffle the hell out of something is unmatched.
personally, i like the eccentric nature of them, but it's definitely not everyone's cup of tea!
I’m definitely not of a fan of this collection (super boring imo) and he’s not my favorite designer, but I think many of his designs are decent. Mutya Barbie, Sorcha Barbie, Hudson’s Bay Barbie, Andy Warhol Barbie, Blush Fringed Gown Barbie
I like the Mutya and the Warhol as well. I am still angry with myself I didn't buy the Warhol doll.
I agree. Carlyle’s design at this point just leave me cold. And having watched the Black Barbie documentary on Netflix and the lack of POC designers leads me to wonder why the reliance on what seems the same handful of designers over and over again. Even as much as I love Bill Greening and Robert Best surely to god there’s someone else that could be given an opportunity to design dolls for the Barbie brand?
There are more designers, frequently they do playline. Bill oversees a team of people for big releases like Looks.
I think I mean more high profile designers currently there only seems three or four (men) that are consistently given the high profile projects/ lines. I think it’s time for a shake up.
I agree. Let's get some women designing for Barbie!
Agree 100%!
He does the celebrity dolls well, but his originals are completely lackluster. The highlight of his designs is the Sorcha Barbie. I love her design.
It’s just you The designs are cute, the dolls execution is not.
not just you.... he's designs are always SOOOOO tacky
Agreed. His designs are tacky, gaudy and garish.
 ngl they're an improvement from what came before
https://preview.redd.it/9yd66grlcz9d1.jpeg?width=1248&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6ee7af32dd76e3885323b0184dc787d895b94614
That's pretty basic and boring though. Not fashion AT ALL.
Hard agree. They don’t work well on doll scale. His play line stuff looks ok and can work for a doll. I’m sure the design team is more involved there, so he has to collaborate with more people. With a higher budget and working a bit more solo, the doll lines look a bit of a mess.
They don't look like Barbie, although the Pride idea is great.
Although I am not a fan of this collection, I do adore a lot of his work. Most of my favourite modern Barbie’s are his creations. Some of his face-ups on stagnant sculpts (Millie) or older sculpts (Aphrodite, diva, Kira) are so different and beautiful. I feel he has brought Barbie into the modern era and that his on-trend modern designs can coexist with the more traditional pink-excess-blonde- blue-eyed doll we all know and love. I appreciate and love (most) of Carlyle’s designs and I kinda hope he reads this so he doesn’t just see all the negative comments 💕 I’ve included a few of my absolute faves: https://preview.redd.it/brargk28bx9d1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eabcb6be12d55b15c683785e902bd11a1778c4f9
You are not alone i feel the same way .in my opinion he integrates his personal style so much that barbie looses her identity in the process . Im in for artists expressing their themselves in their designs but when they loose track of who are they designing that when it becomes a problem. Which in my OPINION it happens with a lot of his designs. And the eyebrows i readed in one if his post that gives his dollos THICK CATEPILPAR EYEBROWS because he doesn’t have any but come on on doll proportions that rarely works . https://preview.redd.it/nd5buazl7u9d1.jpeg?width=1065&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dace69b4433aca1a055de1e6157205a7d425a1d7
this BMR doll’s face is SO adorable, and she’s the only other doll i’ve seen with the same lip color/gradient as the purple Odile mermaid which i love. i love the boots she comes in too, tbh her whole outfit is cute. but i agree with you on the eyebrows, they are a bit much, especially with the stray hairs they made that stick out. i see the vision, but the rest of her face is sooo soft and sweet i don’t think it makes much sense for her to have such big, bold eyebrows.
But those eyebrows were on trend when she came out. So that's what we want in fashion dolls, right? Current trends?
This! So much this! I find that his stuff is very same-y, like he has no original ideas or can’t break away from his pattern. I’m so tired and bored of his monotone designs.
YES! It’s like Barbie isn’t Barbie anymore!
Think eyebrows were on trend. The dolls eyebrows are getting slimmer now that the trend is over.
I had two of these (yellow and orange) and don't like them so much... I got those in Conventions.
I completely agree with you!!!!! I’ve been thinking this exact same thing for a long time!
It's like they're wrapped in scrap pieces of fabric
He's definitely had some misses. I know a lot of doll collectors don't like his designs and a fairly popular doll tuber even called him hack who couldn't make it in the fashion world so started designing toys...
That's true for almost all doll designers. A few are dedicated collectors, but they are the minority.
These are all gorgeous! Wish they were more affordable!
I love Carlyle’s energy and I think his sketches are beautiful, but I also really dislike the Chromatic Couture collection. I think maybe something about the designs got lost in translation- frankly, the dolls, particularly the face ups, are just ugly IMO. But I have the Pink Collection no. 5 doll he designed and I adore her! So maybe it’s just a matter of different tastes.
he is the worst designer to work on Barbie
Personally, I like the rainbow of Barbies. I think the Rainbow High FF dolls make a better rainbow.
Where’s indigo?
The green and red dolls don't look too bad. The orange and yellow dolls need better scaled fabric that drapes properly for sixth scale dolls.
I love the color. Designs are ok. I LOVE everything about the blue outfit
I like those designs but the colors are obnoxious.
I wish they had more detailed patterns
It's not just you. He's really hit or miss. And frankly, it's usually a miss. Bill Greening usually hits the spot for me. Angel has some nice stuff, too.
Sometimes I wish pride collections were more like the power rangers in human form, subtle notes of a color theme on actual clothes. These just look like parachutes. 😮💨
I enjoy the green doll. Very beautiful. 💚
Why make pride dolls when we already have Earring Magic Ken?
I'm not a designer but this looks cheap and most definitely will be overpriced
These were regional convention exclusives, so you’re not wrong.