Bandai America Incorporated's newest girls fashion design activity, Harumika, is now considered one of the hard-to-find toys for the holidays due to its immense popularity. The innovative dress-form fashion doll, already a huge phenomenon in Japan, lets girls 'style their imagination' and easily design attire with colorful fabrics and fashion accessories - all with no sewing required. New for this holiday season, Harumika has been one of the hottest toys of the season.
"When we first saw Harumika, we knew it would be a hit among fashionistas everywhere," said Richard Barry, Divisional Merchandise Manager, Toys"R"Us. "The Runway Showstopper Set provides a unique fashion element and online play pattern, making it one of the must-have items on kids' wish lists this holiday season."
Always on the cutting edge of technology and trends, Bandai is catering to the trend that 73% of tween girls (ages 6-11) have used a website/search engine in the last month, according to the Experian Simmons Spring 2009 Kids Study. Harumika's website provides girls the opportunity to take their offline play to a safe online community to show off their creations through virtual fashion boutiques, look books, and runway challenges. The Harumika Runway Showstopper Set is even sold with a USB camera and tripod stand, so photos can immediately be uploaded.
To create "ready to wear" looks, all girls have to do is chose a swatch of the exclusive Harumika fabric, style it by wrapping the fabric around the dress form, then secure the look using the stylus design tool with the patent-pending Style Lock System on the back of the dress form.
"Tween girls are reaching a phase where they are expanding their fashion play options beyond just doll play. They are becoming more trend conscious and fashion forward," said Reyne Rice, Toy Trend Expert. "Yet parents don't have the funds to continually buy the latest and trendiest clothes. This is why we're seeing such success with fashion toys like Harumika where girls can still engage their imagination and express their inner "Fashionista" style without breaking their parent's pocketbooks."
Harumika's line includes a variety of fashion-forward fabrics to allow girls to create their own fashion collection.
• Harumika Style Starter Sets - includes dress form, stylus tool, fabric swatches, fashion accessories, and fashion stickers; six fashion themes to choose from
• Harumika Style Accents Sets - includes three fabric swatches and a charm bracelet; eight fashion themes to choose from
• Harumika Super Style Accents - includes six fabric swatches and a charm bracelet with two charms; three fashion themes to choose from
• Harumika Designer Dress Form Sets - includes two uniquely decorated dress forms, stylus tool, fabric swatches, fashion accessories, and fashion stickers; three design themes to choose from
• Harumika Fashion Show & Go Sets - includes dress form, stylus tool, formal dress length fabric swatches, fashion accessories, fashion stickers, a fashion tote bag and a sparkling beaded handle that can be worn as a bracelet; three design themes to choose from
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