Disney Forever Enchanted Prom Collection 2013

Disney Consumer Products and Ashdon, Inc. recently announced the launch of its Disney Forever Enchanted collection, a new line of prom dresses inspired by the personalities and stories of each Disney Princess character.

Disney Consumer Products and Ashdon, Inc. recently announced the launch of its Disney Forever Enchanted collection, a new line of prom dresses inspired by the personalities and stories of each Disney Princess character. Every prom season, a new collection inspired by a different Disney Princess story will roll out beginning with Snow White.

Launching at retail in time for the 2013 prom season, the debut collection pulls from different aspects of the 1937 Disney animated classic film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and captures its essence through rich treatments and a variety of silhouettes and fabrics. With seven design themes and 75 style options, Disney Forever Enchanted offers a stunning array of possibilities and choices for Prom goers.

“Launching our new Disney Forever Enchanted collection with a Snow White-inspired line seemed only fitting, since she was Disney’s first princess,” said Ashdon CEO, Nick Yeh. “The dresses are fun to wear yet elegant, and offer young women a way to realize their own fairytale inspired dreams.”
Dresses from the first line feature chiffons, satins, tulles, taffetas and prints, many elegantly embellished with accents of sparkling crystal and exquisite embroidery. To truly capture the story of Snow White depicted in the film, the seven design themes range from sweet and demure to dramatic and intense, from the color red of the poisoned apple to prints inspired by the flora and fauna found in the woods.

“Drawing inspiration from the many elements comprising each Disney Princess story, Ashdon’s creative team has created a beautiful collection that offers young women a fresh perspective on these classic characters and stories,” said Robert Oberschelp, Director, Disney Consumer Products.
 

The Disney Forever Enchanted prom collection will be available at specialty and formal wear retailers across the US and Canada.

The Disney “Forever Enchanted” prom collection will be available in stores and online at http://ashdonbrands.com/disney-forever-enchanted.html in January 2013. With the promise of exquisite quality and beauty that Disney and Ashdon Brands are known for, every young woman will most certainly feel as special as the princess after which the collection was inspired when she sets out on her own fairytale adventure.

The Seven Snow White Inspired Themes in the Disney “Forever Enchanted” Collection: 

• The Fairest: prom dresses for the fairest of them all – sweet & demure
• Mirror Mirror: prom dresses reflecting beauty & vanity
• In the Woods: prom dresses with florals & prints
• Red Delicious: prom dresses based on Snow White’s demise & the forbidden red apple
• Short & Sassy: prom dresses for the adventurous ones – fun & flirty
• Simply Wicked: prom dresses inspired by the Queen – rebellious & charming
• True Diva: prom dresses based on Snow White’s repose & her happily ever after ending

Mickey Mouse Watches at Disney Parks

posted on November 29th, 2010 at the Official Disney Parks Blog by Steven Miller, Merchandise Communications Manager

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Do you remember your first Disney watch? I do. It was a Mickey Mouse watch that had a blue nylon band. I must have been about four or five when I received it, and I still have it today. Disney watches have quite a history. In 1933, Timex (then the Waterbury Clock Company), produced the very first Mickey Mouse clocks and watches under an exclusive license from Disney. Mickey Mouse timepieces were introduced to the public at the Chicago World’s Fair in June 1933 and quickly became a hit with fans of the little mouse. Some of those early watches are wonderful collectors’ items today (show of hands – do you have one?). I am excited to share that Disney Theme Park Merchandise has partnered with Timex to create a new “Timex for Disney” collection. I spoke with Lindsay Voigt, product developer for timepieces, about this collection coming to Disney Parks (and on-line) in December.

“I’ve been working on this partnership since January 2010,” explained Lindsay. “Timex watches are well-known and well-made with both classic and trendy designs. It seemed like a perfect fit to introduce this collection to the Disney Parks.”

Of the several different watch styles that will be introduced, I find it challenging to pick my favorite. I like the Modern Easy Reader style pictured at the top of this article as it reminds me of that watch I had as a kid. The T-Series Chronographs are pictured next. I like their simplistic style with a nice contemporary Mickey Mouse accent. Lindsay told me about her favorites.

“I have a difficult time selecting just one design,” said Lindsay. “Each design has elements and details that make the watch unique. If I had to pick one, I like the gold classic digital watch. It reminds me of the kind of watch that my grandfather and father had.”

Artwork for these watches was created by artists from Disney Design Group. Some of Lindsay’s inspiration came from classic Mickey Mouse designs to some recent urban inspired graphics seen in other merchandise categories like the “Oh Mickey!” program.

“I also like the Modern Original Camper designs,” continued Lindsay. “The nylon bands are sportier than the Modern Easy Reader design. I’m happy that we are offering a variety of designs. Being the developer for timepieces, I like pairing great watches with my outfits. Now I have lots of choices.”

To launch the “Timex for Disney” collection, we are holding two special events. In Florida, an event will be held at the World of Disney Store on December 4. In California, we will hold an event on December 11 in the Fortuosity Shop at Disneyland park. At both events, there will be a representative from Timex to discuss the new watches and answer questions. We will also be offering these watches on our Disney Parks On-Line Store.

Merchandise for the 30th Anniversary of Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort

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“We loved the warm colors and illustrations found in [the Epcot Center book],” explained John. “In the past five years, we have designed many vintage Epcot items. For the 30th anniversary, we wanted something different – a retro but contemporary feeling, something we call ‘today’s vintage.’ That soft cover book really helped us achieve that look.”

Work on the style guide began in December 2011 at the request of the Disney Pins team. Pins have been a big part of previous Epcot anniversaries and they will play a part in October. The image above contains a few of my favorites, including a reversible lanyard, a few mystery pins and a pin that looks like it’s from an early 1980s video game (oh, why can’t “Epcot Center – The Game” be real?!).

There will also be a jumbo pin that uses the soft cover book image in the packaging. In addition to pins, look for a few softline items including a T-shirt that uses the “21st Century Continues” artwork as seen in the first image.

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In recent years, Mary has developed theme park logo merchandise for Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot. She recently kicked off the 30th anniversary a little early by releasing new items under the “Epcot 82” banner.

This fall, Mary will introduce four new shirts and a mesh baseball cap. The artwork was created using the style guide originally made for pins. I love the shirt in the lead image as it reminds me of the attraction poster and a shirt I once owned as a child. (The colors in this shirt are amazing.)

Speaking of pins, we recently received several final samples, including the Passholder-exclusive limited edition and open edition pins.



Above are the “toothpick holder” set that has logos from some of my everyones favorite Future World pavilions, including Horizons.

Stay tuned for additional details about the release of these items as we get closer to October 1.

4th of July

The Disney Villains Designer Collection

"Designed and crafted to capture the essence of evil at its best, the Villains Designer Collection re-imagines the stylish wickedness of classic Disney Villains." 

Introducing the Disney Villains Designer Collection dolls…

  

Maleficent                                                         Cruella de Vil

  

Evil Queen                                                     Queen of Hearts

  

Ursula                                                           Mother Gothel

There are 13,000 of each of the six dolls, and every villain doll will come with a Certificate of Authenticity.

Beginning in September, the dolls will be available in select stores in North America and Europe. These original “bad girls” of Disney will also be available online on http://disneystore.com, http://disneystore.co.uk, http://disneystore.fr and http://disneystore.de. Each doll will be available for $79.50 US/$87.50 CAN/£50/€65.

An online-exclusive set including all six dolls will be available for pre-order on Monday, August 20th. This will be the only opportunity to guarantee a purchase of all six dolls. The entire set will be delivered on or shortly after Monday, October 15.

And there's more! Here is a glimpse of the complete Disney Villains Designer Collection coming soon, featuring delightfully chic beauty, apparel, and home products.

Inside the Disney Villains Designer Collection Artwork

Designer Steve Thompson is one of the main creative masterminds behind the designs of the six villains in the new Designer Collection..

Steve Thompson’s career with The Walt Disney Company began at age 19. While attending CalArts, Disney Consumer Products offered him a job as a Senior Character Artist. He jumped at the opportunity and moved up in the company, eventually spending 10 years working for Disney Feature Animation and Disney Toon Studios as a Clean-up Artist and Character Designer. He currently works as a Principal Designer for Disney Store North America, where he has been since 2005.

Steve Thompson at Disney Store's Fahion Night Out Event in 2011 with the Disney Princess Designer Collection.

This is an excerpt about the Disney Villains Designer Collection from Steve’s personal blog, where he posts awesome examples of his work and inspiration.

So excited about finally being able to talk about these! It’s the second outing for myself and fellow designer Sang Plumlee for the Disney Store’s “Designer Collection” series, whom I was lucky enough to work with on the princess designer series as well.   

Six dolls in all, the villains were a whole different challenge than the princesses. The princesses were inspired by fashion illustrations from the 50’s and 60’s. The villains were inspired by something all together different. I wanted them to be more modern. So, I looked at art, architecture, texture, theatrical costumes and of course fashion by some of today’s more avant-garde designers. These villains are “inspired” by the film characters through a designer’s eye. We didn’t want to just take a doll and put it in a fancy dress. We wanted them to look like a fashion sketch come to life. I wanted to capture the essence and attitude of each character, but represent them in an unexpected way. For example, Maleficent in the film is very angular in design. So, I keep that same feeling with the structure of her dress. Also, since in the story she becomes a dragon, so we used a leather-like fabric and the lower half of her bodice looks like scales. Even the dresses are storytelling! There will be much more info to come, but for now I hope you like our new girls.

New and Not-So-New Dooney & Bourke Merchandise

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Mark your calendars for July 14, as Disney will be releasing two new collections at TrendD in the Downtown Disney Marketplace at Walt Disney World Resort.

Ian Ray, creative director for Dooney & Bourke, and Disney Design Group artist Susan Foy will join Disney for this special event. 

“We are excited to add these new collections to our popular Dooney & Bourke line,” said Laura. “We are releasing a retro print for Walt Disney World Resort and a pattern featuring Disney character charms. The response from guests continues to amaze me, so I’m hopeful people will like these fun, new designs.”

 - Laura Caszatt, Product Developer for accessories

Like the retro print for Disneyland Resort, the artwork for the Walt Disney World Resort pattern was created by Susan Foy. 

 

There will be a variety of styles released for the retro print including a new tassel bag, satchel, cross-body letter carrier, barrel bag, wristlet and, my favorite, the tablet case. Retails will range from $85-$285 depending on style.

The charm pattern, designed by artist Courtney Williams, will be made with a black and a white background. The black background pattern will see a pocket tote, satchel, wristlet and tablet case; while the white background will have a letter carrier, wristlet and barrel bag.

Finally, Laura shared something in development – a nylon version of the classic sketch print. She said that a frequently requested backpack will be released, along with a satchel, letter carrier and pocket satchel. At time of press, Laura was hoping to have the nylon items available for the release party, but she cautioned they may arrive afterward.

TrenD will open at 9:30 a.m. on July 14. The meet and greet opportunity with Ian and Susan will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. I hope to see you there!

O T H E R   C O L L E C T I O N S

These are the Dooney & Bourke themed after the Disney Princess!