Mel Odom recently announced the retirement of his doll creation Gene Marshall, and others in her universe, after 15 years of production. Her last hurrah will take place in a special event next year.
Gene was primarily responsible for the resurgence of interest in fashion dolls in the mid-1990s. Barbie's ( in the shop we called her Barfie) popularity had taken a dive, and the fashion-doll market was ripe for the taking. In stepped Mel Odom and Gene. The fashion-doll world hasn't been the same since.
Gene was unique in her storyline, the quality of the doll herself, and the quality and design of her fashions. Based on Hollywood glamour-girls such as Rita Hayworth, Gene sparked the imaginations of doll collectors everywhere and brought fun and creativity back to doll collecting.
I remember the halcyon days of Gene's popularity at the shop. For retailers, she was a godsend, bringing new customers and new energy into the store. We had Gene parties, giving away hundreds of Gene hatboxes and tiny Christmas tree ornaments. We even celebrated her birthday with cake and sparkling cider. The introduction of a new character was always exciting.
Before we knew it, Gene's 5th anniversary came along. While Ashton-Drake produced the dolls and fashions, Gallery Marketing Group distributed them, and it was Gallery Marketing we dealt with. Her 5th anniversary, I think, started the decline in her popularity. We were allocated the number of dolls we could buy, and also the number/choice of fashions. We were given no options, we had to either buy the whole package or get none at all. That left us, along with other retailers, short on some of the dolls. We just could not get enough of those dolls that year. Same goes for a few of the outfits. But many of the outfits, we were forced to buy way, way too many of. We had a few of those dang outfits until the year we closed the store. Literally. You could not give those things away.
Gallery Marketing Group, despite the pleas of many retailers, refused to change its policies for that year. Many stores were stuck with outfits and dolls they couldn't sell, and consequently, bills they couldn't pay. The next year, fewer stores carried Gene, and the numbers continued to decline each year thereafter. Never easy to begin with, Gallery Marketing became harder and harder to deal with. Overwhelmed by dolls and outfits, collectors gradually lost interest in Gene, or began collecting other fashion dolls. Eventually Jason Wu and Integrity Toys began working with Mel to re-invent Gene and her world, but Gene never regained the widespread popularity she'd once had.
Through it all, Mel Odom remained a gracious and kind person who was truly humbled and awed by Gene's popularity and the enthusiasm of her many fans. I wish him well in his future endeavors. Thank you, Mel Odom, for giving us the gift that was Gene Marshall. She opened the door to a whole new world of doll collecting, passion and creativity. We are still enjoying those gifts today.
Gene was what got me back into doll collecting as an adult! I have very fond feelings for her.
I did wonder what the heck happened with the popularity though - I know the outfits (and dolls) did decrease in value so much that, as you say, you couldn't give them away. It's a shame. I don't collect as an investment or to make a profit, but I hate to have something in my collection devalue so much. It's interesting to hear a little bit about Gallery Marketing Group - it's a shame the marketing couldn't have been smarter.
Hi Kathy
What a lovely tribute. Without Gene, I would not have the friends I do today, including you.
Without Gene, my world would be very small.
Without Gene, I would not have been able to stretch myself as an artist and designer giving me the freedom to work at home... Try new things. Challenge myself. Gene started a 10 year at-home business for me. I was very fortunate to get in on the 16" fashion doll world when I did. It's sad that the market will no longer bear my hand beaded gowns that sold for over $600.00 But it was grand while it did.
I was not aware of AD's treatment of doll stores. But now knowing that, some blanks have been filled. As we have learned from other doll manufacturers, customer service is EVERYTHING. You Kathy, were/are the epitomy of customer service.
Again, thanks for the lovely tribute. It brought me down memory lane and reinforced the things that I am grateful for.
Deb Simpson
This is so sad. Gene was a formidable force that ruffled even Barbie's feathers. Bringing back the glamour of Hollywood with a solid character, storyline and fabulous line of dresses was Gene's equity.
Now just like all of the luminaries of the Golden Era of Hollywood, Gene is relegated to a vision in merchandising, iconic and ethereal. I hope this star doesn't fade away.
While I haven't collected anything Gene in years & years, it's still sad to hear of her passing. She was the one to open the world of the 16" fashion dolls & I well remember the anniversary events & all the little special gifts.
She was in fact, the doll directly responsible for the formation of our fashion doll club. At her 5th anniversary a number of us decided that it would be great to get together on a monthly basis & just play dolls. The regular doll clubs around the area weren't really interested in fashion dolls so we started a little group with about 10 members & met each month at Borders cafe.
A couple years down the line some BJDs started creeping in & after posting our meeting times on DoA & ZoZ, there was a huge influx of people. I never imagined there were so many BJD collectors in our Pittsburgh area. Just recently we moved our meeting space from Border's cafe to the party room at Denny's & we completely fill that. There are still some fashion dolls present along with BJDs & it's such a fun night out. But without that Gene event, the club would never have materialised.
So even with only my Daughter of the Nile Gene left, I have to thank her for her inspiration which has lead to so many dolly friends over the years.
I never liked dolls when I was a child, but I always loved the old movies. so it was surprising to be walking through an upscale toy store in town and actually STOP short and stare with my mouth open, like a little kid in a .... well, a toy store .... at a vision of a doll in a grey circle skirt and short jacket- and those oh-so-lovely 1940's style shoes! I fell in love that day with Gene and her whole cast of friends- and foe. At one time, I had almost all of the regular line dolls and outfits- and many of the convention dolls and outfits, too.
Sadly, the only one I still have is the beautiful Estrellita Gene and she is in a high-rent shelf of my "specials" curio. My daughter still has one of my Daughter of the Nile Gene (repaint) and she is not even a doll collector.
I fell in love with the evil Madra and all her gloriously over-the-top fashions and my husband even noticed lovely Violet Waters (he never pays any attention to the dolls at all!)
Thanks, Kathy, for the little walk down memory lane. Too bad the marketing brought down this fantastic cast of characters.
I can remember as a preteen going to the doll sections of FAO Schwartz in Boston and wanting a Gene doll. Those days are long over and I still think that they are very nice looking for fashion dolls. I'm not into Fashion dolls and honestly have never been....but I will admit that Gene has always impressed me. (Maybe its the 1940s thing?)