Randall Craig's RTW line offers fashion "for the more refined taste."

By Jill Jackson

If oodles of “bling,” “shabby chic,” or 6-inch killer heels are your ideas of what the well-dressed 1/6-scale fashion doll should wear, you may have missed (or dismissed) the recent revival of cultural classics by savvy young designer Randall Craig. If so, this is your opportunity to take a moment and give them a well-deserved, closer look.

The very name—Randall Craig RTW (Ready to Wear)—provides insight to Randall’s basic fashion philosophy. Clothing, it declares, should be wearable. Notwithstanding the fact that his creations are manufactured for 11-1/2-inch, uncomplaining vinyl Barbie-type dolls, Randall does not take the opportunity to inflict every fashion faux pas at his disposal. Leaving the currently popular theatrical and fantasy fashions to others, Randall devotes his time and talent to what he describes as “a line of clothing for the more refined taste.” His collection asserts that women’s attire should be well designed, well constructed, stylish, and versatile enough to be worn for almost any occasion.

“I can’t remember a time in which I didn’t love creating clothing,” recalls Randall. His devotion to dolls was apparent from the time he was a young boy growing up in New Mexico, where he learned to appreciate them through the extensive collections owned by his aunt and grandmother. Though barely old enough to hold a needle and thread, Randall was inspired by these dolls to hand-sew clothing for his own dolls, mostly Barbies. “By the time I was about 5 or 6 years old, I got my first sewing machine.”

At first Randall made only doll clothing. “New Mexico didn’t have much of a fashion industry,” he explains, “so dolls were my way of relating to the fashion world. When I was a teenager, I started doing full-scale clothing for friends.” In 2000, Randall moved to Florida to continue his pursuit of a degree in fashion design at the International Fine Arts College.

“It was never my intention to end up in the doll business. That was an accident, sort of. As part of my college courses, I had the opportunity to work with well-known names such as Perry Ellis and Petit Pois, and on fashion shows for Saks, Vogue, and Sonia Rykeil. It gave me an appreciation of expensive fabrics and good design. After I graduated,” he continues, “I designed my own line of men’s trendy tops under the label Choic. My dolls were pretty well neglected during most of that time. I wanted to buy clothes to redress them, but after becoming familiar with really high-end clothing, I would look at the mass-manufactured doll fashions available on the market and think, ‘Would it kill them to put in a lining or use a natural fiber?’ I searched everywhere for clothing to suit my taste, but at that time I couldn’t come up with anything.”

The unfruitful searches led Randall to make a few outfits for one of his dolls. “I took some photos of my designs and showed them to some friends online. They wanted to buy them,” he recalls, “so I sold them and made more. Each week I would make more styles and sell them online. At one point, under the label Randall Craig Couture, my fashions were selling for over $150 each. I saw there really was a demand for high-quality, high-fashion doll clothing.” That’s when Randall decided to start Randall Craig RTW, his manufactured line of doll clothing.

The first RTW line appeared in stores in early 2004. It consisted of four ensembles: “Glamour,” “Riviera,” “Sweater Chic,” and “Polk-a-dots ‘N Pearls,” and the line sold out almost immediately. “Soon after,” Randall adds, “I had to close the men’s line because I just didn’t have time for both.”

What started as a collection of four fashions quickly blossomed into a full line of fashions, separates, jewelry, and accessories for the 11- to 12-inch adult fashion doll. “I am very proud of the products we produce,” says Randall. “It is some of the best quality in the industry. We are finally giving collectors of 1/6 scale dolls a number of upscale options for redressing.”

“With each collection, I try to add more detailing and/or more accessories to the line,” he continues. “The new collection has some interesting features, such as the custom embroidery on ‘Royal Sophistication,’ the hinged belt with ‘She’s Got the Look,’ and the delicate crochet work on the neckline of ‘For the Love of Lace.’ Although my sense of style (and the Randall Craig RTW look) is really quite simple,” he concludes, “I try to add a lot of custom details that you don’t see anywhere else.”

Asked what he envisions for the future of Randall Craig RTW, the young designer says, “I am hoping to add 1/6 scale home décor to the line and introduce clothing for other ‘nonfashion’ dolls. And, since everyone always asks, although there are no specific plans at the moment, I would love to produce a doll one day.”

Whatever Randall Craig decides to do in the future, this entrepreneurial artist with an eye for style will continue to create doll fashions for “those with a more refined taste.”

For more information on Randall Craig RTW, visit www.randallcraigrtw.com.