And now for something completely different! Today I'm going to share the wacky world of Catwalk Kitties with you! This is a discontinued brand of anthropomorphic play dolls that was introduced in 2005 by the Hong Kong-based company, Lanard.
The Catwalk Kitties were not very popular in their time, judging by the fact that they were released in 2005 and discontinued in 2006. I'm interested in the Kitties because there's speculation online that these fashion felines might have been Mattel's inspiration for Monster High, which debuted a few years later in 2010. However, Mattel explored cat fashion themselves back in 2003 when they released the Lounge Kitties--a group of Barbie dolls clad in cat suits. Regardless of who was inspired by whom, there have been some fascinating animal-themed play dolls in the past few decades. In this review I'll focus mainly on the Catwalk Kitties, but I'll also do short comparisons to a Monster High cat and a Lounge Kitties doll--and I'll throw in a little Pinkie Cooper to keep the dog lovers happy.
Before I get started, I want to acknowledge two good friends and their roles in this review. First of all, even though I mentioned the Catwalk Kitties briefly in my Pinkie Cooper review, I never would have remembered them if it wasn't for Katrina. She sent me an excited message through Patreon when she found one of these dolls on eBay, and that's what got the ball of yarn rolling. I also want to thank Darcy, who suggested that I review something vintage and strange. What could be more vintage and strange than a big-headed fashion cat from 2006? Also, Darcy loves cats more than anyone I know, so--Darc et al., this one's for you:
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| Catwalk Kitties Sienna, by Lanard ($114 on the secondary market). |
