City startup to launch India’s first fashion doll
Barbie dolls have been a part of every little girl’s collection. Now Kiyaa, India’s first fashion doll, would be the next in line. The doll is being launched by Hyderabad’s startup Shel Studio, a fashion studio. The dolls are designed to carry heart and soul of the nation.
Initially, the doll, Kiyaa, would be launched in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh; by 2016, the doll would go national with exclusive stores for the dolls and accessories
Barbie dolls have been a part of every little girl’s collection. Now Kiyaa, India’s first fashion doll, would be the next in line. The doll is being launched by Hyderabad’s startup Shel Studio, a fashion studio. The dolls are designed to carry heart and soul of the nation.
“Many children own Iranian Fulla; Korean Pullip, Chinese Sara or the American Barbie. We have an Indianised Barbie, but not a doll which can be claimed as our own,” said Hima Sailaja Theerdhala, director of Shel Studio, a VLSI design engineer turned a fashion designer-cum-entrepreneur.
“Kiyaa means cooing of the bird in Sanskrit. The doll has a realistic Indian face, features and contemporary teenager characteristics,” informed Sailaja, an ISB graduate who came up with the idea of the doll while participating in a doll dressing contest at an airport.
Kiyaa is positioned as a premium product. These would be formally launched into the Rs 75,000 crore worth Indian toy market. The toy industry in India is growing at an annual rate of 20 per cent.
Initially the product would be available in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Next year an entire portfolio comprising new dolls and accessories would be launched. In 2016, Kiyaa would go national with own stores that stock dolls, garments, fashion accessories and attached cafés.
