✽ Blythe Official Website
✽ Kenner Blythe History & Prototypes by Yatabazah
✽ The Kenner Blythe Guide
✽ Wikipedia Page
✽ Blythe history ✽
Blythe was originally designed by Allison Katzman. In 1972, Blythe was manufactured by the Kenner company. Her bountiful hair could be brushed and braided, and with the simple pull of a string, her eye color would change. Initially marketed to young girls, Blythe failed to become popular, as the sensibilities of girls in the 70's were unfortunately unprepared for Blythe's strange and mysterious charm. The doll was produced for only one year before being retired.
She was also sold in Japan under the name Mahou no Hitomi Ai-Ai Chan (pronounced eye-eye). These dolls are extremely rare; they were licensed by TOMY. They came in different boxes with a different assortment of dresses. Because the Kenner Blythes and Ai-Ai Chans are extremely hard to tell apart, it is hard to know if a vintage Blythe is Kenner or TOMY without the box or clothing.
Fast-forward to the year 1999: the muse and model of photographer Gina Garan, Blythe accompanied her everywhere. Garan was introduced to Junko Wong by Jeffrey Fulvimari, and upon seeing Garan's work, Wong knew that Blythe would be a hit in Japan. Blythe made her comeback as the star of a commercial for the department store Parco. Because Kenner was acquired by Tonka, which was then acquired by Hasbro in 1991, all intellectual property of Blythe belongs to Hasbro. Cross World Connections and Takara were given license to manufacture Neo-Blythe dolls, and CWC to this day handles the creative production of Blythe. Neo-Blythe dolls were manufactured by Takara until 2021, when Good Smile Company took over.
In 2000, Gina Garan's photographs of her Kenner Blythes were published in a book titled This is Blythe. (She would later run a forum by the same name; when the domain ownership lapsed, it was acquired by scammers.)
Ashton-Drake Galleries also produced a series of Blythes; replicas of the original Kenner dolls down to the clothing and boxes, they were produced from 2005 til 2008. The initial release was not particularly popular due to the greenish tint of the skin.
I highly recommend checking out the resources in the links! I'm particularly fond of Yatabazah's page. The layout is very unique and fun to scroll through.
She was also sold in Japan under the name Mahou no Hitomi Ai-Ai Chan (pronounced eye-eye). These dolls are extremely rare; they were licensed by TOMY. They came in different boxes with a different assortment of dresses. Because the Kenner Blythes and Ai-Ai Chans are extremely hard to tell apart, it is hard to know if a vintage Blythe is Kenner or TOMY without the box or clothing.
Fast-forward to the year 1999: the muse and model of photographer Gina Garan, Blythe accompanied her everywhere. Garan was introduced to Junko Wong by Jeffrey Fulvimari, and upon seeing Garan's work, Wong knew that Blythe would be a hit in Japan. Blythe made her comeback as the star of a commercial for the department store Parco. Because Kenner was acquired by Tonka, which was then acquired by Hasbro in 1991, all intellectual property of Blythe belongs to Hasbro. Cross World Connections and Takara were given license to manufacture Neo-Blythe dolls, and CWC to this day handles the creative production of Blythe. Neo-Blythe dolls were manufactured by Takara until 2021, when Good Smile Company took over.
In 2000, Gina Garan's photographs of her Kenner Blythes were published in a book titled This is Blythe. (She would later run a forum by the same name; when the domain ownership lapsed, it was acquired by scammers.)
Ashton-Drake Galleries also produced a series of Blythes; replicas of the original Kenner dolls down to the clothing and boxes, they were produced from 2005 til 2008. The initial release was not particularly popular due to the greenish tint of the skin.
I highly recommend checking out the resources in the links! I'm particularly fond of Yatabazah's page. The layout is very unique and fun to scroll through.
