What dolls do you consider iconic & why?

When I think about iconic dolls the first ones that pop into my hear are the F-1 (Four Sisters) from Volks and all their original characters.

Also, Unoas, DoD, CP... Sapphira from B&G.
Pretty much old sculpts haha!

 

After reading and nodding to a lot of these, the ones I consider iconic are the ones I recognise easily so maybe Fairyland Chloe or 5th Motif Venitu

 

Sorry for the

I'm very new to resins and BJD in general, but one doll sticks out in my mind: Dollfie Dream Yukino (later released as blank head DDH-03).
Her large, sensitive eyes and softly parted lips are still appealing today.

I'd even say she is more iconic than DDH01 precisely because 01 is always seen with its features sanded away.

 

Lady Oscar is iconic
Napidoll rodgebell - I could have sworn everybody had this one
DIM Lorina
Switch soseo I guess
Dust of dolls Rozheln(?)
Supia Rosie
I think fairyland the first feeple 65 Angela, the pirate outfit was iconic too.

 

I still can't believe DollZone Anson/Moment are from 2011.

 

Enchanted Doll by Marina Bychkova was very influential in the community. Many other BJD artists and companies were inspired by her ethereal aesthetic. When there was a resin release for her ED, many people tried to get on the waitlist. On the occasion, her dolls come on the secondary market, and when they do, they tend to trade very quickly.

 

When I think of iconic dolls, I think Fairyland Celine! I have seen her pop up on more doll tags across various sites than any other company / sculpt. I don't have any Fairyland dolls myself, but I always love seeing pictures.

 

i consider pipos cheshire cat iconic because of how famous and well sold it is

 

As someone who has been in the community since around 2015....
- Fairyland Chloe, for sure. Just from the sheer amount of people who had her.
- Fairyland Shiwoo as well!
- Pipos Cheshire Cat, like the person above me said! I also think Cheese Mouse is VERY iconic.
- Pukifee Pongpong
- Angel of Dream Mu Yanzi. Perhaps a bit infamous, but my girlfriend really likes her.
- Anything DollChateau, especially the centaurs!
- AlchemicLabo's stuff. I'm not super familiar with Unoa and friends, but I know they're super popular and unique.
- Dollzone's Little Flower. I remember the design blowing me away when I first saw it.
- And of course, Volks' Four Sisters sculpt. She was the prototype!

 

My thoughts and list, too -- to which I'll add Elfdoll! Soah and Monaeme sisters

 

DOD: Sha & Shall (THE most iconic BJDs ever created! In my opinion, of course.) / Petsha
Luts: Delf Isabella

These were also the first BJDs ever shown to me SO many years before I could finally join the hobby for real.
Maybe that's why they're so iconic to me.

 

To me "iconic" means the start of a trend, not just a doll I really liked (I actually ironically don't really like a lot of the iconic dolls, though I often do like the results that follow one doll defining a new aesthetic). I fell out of the hobby in 2016-ish, so I don't know of any iconic dolls from that era. But prior to 2016 (not necessarily in order, and not necessarily when they were first released since they didn't always immediately gain steam):

• Volks Four Sisters (which of course started the idea of a modern Asian ball jointed doll). Lots of dolls to this day, from many different brands, follow this aesthetic.
• Luts/Cerberus Project El and Lishe - Created a slightly more realistic (more defined mouths and lips) but still heavily stylized look that many companies share today
• Lati Yellow (whole line) kind of defined the sub 20 cm market for a long time
• Dollshe Bermann and Hound - introduced the more mature/elegant BJD
• Unoas - as mentioned, the first mature mini, spawned the mature, more realistic-proportioned mini size
  
• Pipos Baha - the very successful anthro doll (I don't know if it was the first)
  
• Soom Dia (very frequently hybridized into male dolls) and eventually, Sard (the beginning of the fantasy craze)
• Iplehouse Akando and Jessica (the first more Western-styled asthetic BJD with more realistic proportions). The very first of the "Uncle" body, which Soom later had more success popularizing (but Iplehouse was no slouch either).
• Doll Chateau Bella and Alberta - after the craze of realism, they were the first to blow up for the weird and highly stylized proportions look, even more extreme than Dollshe, with almost macabre styling choices.
  
• Cerisedolls Manon and Ombre - Kind of defined/summed up the "artist doll" aesthetic for quite some time. More stylized than eerie compared to Doll Chateau

Oh, hold on, I think I do know one iconic doll from after 2016!

• Puyoo Kumako (whole line) - restarted the cute anime resin doll craze!

 

I tend to think of ‘iconic’ as something that is so memorable that it stands the test of time and is often revolutionary in that it paves the way for others. There are so many dolls and companies that have achieved this it’s hard to narrow it down plus although I’ve been in the hobby for about 15/16 years I’ve never been hardcore so loads of dolls/companies I just won’t know.

Volks obviously as they’re at the root of it all even if they’ve never been my thing.
DoD for having such a distinct style
The old Dollshe boys as they were at the start of the more realistic movement
Dollstown girls especially Soph and Elysia for having such strong character filled sculpts that aren’t idealised or conventionally beautiful
Unoa for starting a faceplate revolution
Bimong Dandelion for being such an iconic very realistic sculpt way ahead of its time
Zaoll girls for a unique look that has never changed and still holds its own
Supia Rosy again as one of the early more realistic sculpts that is still as popular as ever
Iplehouse for having the guts to begin making more ethnically diverse sculpts
Luts/Fairyland for helping to bring BJD dolls to the masses
Soom for their venture outside of normality making dolls with creature based or fantasy parts
Dollzone for lifting Chinese companies out of the ‘cheap, basic and ugly’ reputation they had until that point
Doll Chateau for being daring with their extreme stylisation and sculpting and dipping a toe into the world of dark and twisted
Lati for popularising the 1/8 size
Fairyland for taking tinies to a whole new level with the Pukipuki line and for making changing hands, feet and faces so much easier!

Ugh, my mind has gone blank……I know there are far more who deserve credit for making this hobby into what it is today so huge round of applause for all the trailblazers past and present!

 

I don't like many Volks sculpts in general but F-16 is always so striking. It's instantly recognizable.