David Escobedo Combines a Fantasy Backstory With Classic Designs
The blockbuster success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie proves that the film-going public can’t get enough of cinematic backdrops and shapely plastic protagonists. It’s not a surprise to collectors who have known for decades that their dolls are every inch the stars and that their costumes and accessories would be right at home on a film set.
Doll aficionados have always recognized that the dressing and re-dressing of their vinyl playthings is akin to a Hollywood wardrobe manager organizing screen tests and deciding if the leading ladies and men are ready for their close-ups. Doll artist David Escobedo is particularly aware of the connections between vintage movie glamour, the power of a compelling fantasy backstory, and the allure of dolls as human surrogates and stand-ins.
“Yes, I do turn to the Old Hollywood designers, as well as famous clothing designers that even Hollywood turned to in order to render movie magic,” Escobedo said. “I like my dolls to portray an aura of high class. Like most collectors, I like my dolls to represent the life I feel is an ideal of a bygone time. I don’t focus on the social issues of those years — prejudice, ageism, classism, or the patriarchy. I want just the beautiful clothes that were made in this era.”
Escobedo, the creative force behind D.A.E. Originals, is immersed in the make-believe world of opulence, luxury, and stunning sophistication. His company’s tagline fittingly declares, “Extravagance in Doll Design,” and the Arizona businessman follows that proclamation every time he sits down to dream up another costuming ensemble or doll set.
“My dolls represent costumes that I know I could never wear or could never afford — true haute couture. Heaven knows how much I spend in clothing my dolls as opposed to what I spend on my own clothes,” Escobedo said.
During his childhood, Escobedo was fascinated by dolls, and he gleefully played with them and, more importantly, sewed for them. Acknowledged as a “child prodigy” when it came to designing and making clothes for his own dolls, Escobedo was soon fulfilling orders from his friends’ parents who wanted him to custom-make outfits for their children’s Barbies and Sasha dolls. He said, “D.A.E. started as a company with my mother’s help when I was 10 years old. It is the initials for David Aaron Escobedo, and my mother helped me to come up with this name.” Escobedo’s commitment to bringing dolls to life via their fashion choices and overall styling has not faded since his youthful, playful days. It has only intensified over the ensuing decades.
One of the reasons why the dolls he makes seem so vibrant and alive is that they are created to resemble department-store fashion mannequins that spring to life when the doors close for the night. This belief that dolls have a secret after-hours existence is nothing new for the artist. “As a kid, I grew up with dolls as playthings and also created them in cloth or in porcelain. I always felt that my dolls came to life when I was asleep at night,” he said. It is not surprising, then, to learn that the 1987 romance-comedy Mannequin is one of his favorite films, and the Twilight Zone episode “The After Hours” figures as his primary influence. Both of these stories center around nighttime at a store, and not every department is silent.
Escobedo’s fictional department store, Diamonds, is an homage to the palace-like stores that well-to-do patrons would frequent in pre-World War II America and beyond (before the advent of websites and internet purchasing). It is a testament to the large, cavernous stores that customers always migrated to when they wanted to buy a cocktail dress for a significant soirée or a gown for a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. Ladies and gentlemen headed to these “cathedrals of commerce,” and they bought clothing that transported them to other worlds and other opportunities. “My fictional Diamonds store is where my miniquins live. It’s where they see and feel what the shoppers experience, and it’s where they act out those emotions at night.” For Escobedo, it is a merging of magic, historically accurate wardrobes, and wish fulfillment.
“The department store is a way to make fabulous fashions from those eras and the great designers who were both French and Americans. I am a true Dior fan! As the Depression rolled along, the 1930s had movie-time chic; the 1940s had the war and the New Look; the 1950s was American know-how, sportswear, and prosperity. The 1960s was great fashion with a lot of social and economic changes. Through it all, we humans have thrived, and my dolls will do the same!” Escobedo said.
Currently, the three main miniquins are Vivian and Viola (16 inches) and Monty (17 inches). Vivian and Monty, who appear with different hair colors at different times, are fated to be sweethearts. They have learned how to love by witnessing the hopeful clients who come to Diamonds for their dream-come-true wedding attire and other milestone ensembles. They have learned about empathy and heartbreak when customers come to the store with sorrow on their minds and tragedy in their souls. It is a very dramatic and engaging origin story, which Escobedo and his former life partner, Brian, conjured up. It was fleshed out by their friend Kathleen Rowell. Viola is a sophisticated African American miniquin with the aura of Lena Horne or Dorothy Dandridge.
These three miniquins are the vehicles whereby Escobedo can drape his imagination and his ambitions. “They are blank canvases that I can wrap my dreams around, reinterpret from season to season, and keep in perfect condition. I’ll always renovate and reinvent when necessary,” he said. To this end, he is currently working on smaller, 12-inch versions of the dolls.
For 2024 and 2025, Escobedo plans to revisit his couture roots and design mini garments and accessories that hail from the 1930s to the early 1970s. He said, “I will re-introduce my Metamorphosis line of dolls and clothes. This new line debuted 20 years ago but never went into production. We’re looking into re-launching this modern and futuristic line with the original dolls, as well as new characters. I can’t wait to show everybody what I’ve been working on.”
D.A.E. Originals
