The shop named MINIDOLL has 60,000 followers, and in the past 30 days, it has gained 20,000 favorites. Its main products are cotton dolls, including popular IPs such as the domestic animated IPs “Strange Tales from China,” “Blessing of the Gods,” and “Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation.” Currently, the best-selling product in the store is the cotton doll shoes, with a monthly sales volume of over 1,000; the best-selling figure is the officially licensed merchandise of “Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation,” with a monthly sales volume of 72. In addition, the original doll clothes and plush keychains designed by the in-house designers are also very popular.
In recent years, influenced by popular historical costume dramas, many young people have developed a strong interest in traditional clothing culture. She designed an adorable historical-style cartoon character to endorse the Hanfu origami diagram. She played the role of Cheng Caiyu, the smart and steady eldest daughter of the Changfeng Escort Agency, in the new mainland historical martial arts drama “New Bodyguards: The Jadeite Doll.” However, to be honest, the little sister is not really suitable for historical dramas. At Fengqige, how can you take a different set of historical costume photos for your child? Bring your child to Fengqige Historical Costume Photography Studio and give them a journey through time! Imagine your child dressed in historical costume.
In March 2023, online sales of various IP derivatives have shown signs of recovery. According to data from the Tmall list and Taobao's Divine Shop list, Pop Mart's IPs dominated the top of the blind box hot sales list; figures derived from games like Genshin Impact and Arknights remained popular; veteran comic derivative shops retained their top positions; sales of Hanfu, Lolita, and cotton dolls were considerable. Today, we will analyze the sales data of cultural and creative derivatives and trendy toys in March in detail.
Ten Light Years was founded in January 2020 and is one of the emerging brands of domestic girls' trend toys and derivative specialty stores. Starting from the “pit” (Hanfu, Lolita fashion, JK skirts) favored by young people, Ten Light Years is committed to integrating leading and high-quality original trend toy fashion design brands and IP resources to create a multi-cultural offline trend toy experience space. Products cover pit clothing and related accessories, trendy toys, etc., and have launched own-brand products such as cotton dolls.
However, if you want to find cheaper options, you can look for second-hand dolls on Taobao or in the doll forums. Some dolls may have minor flaws, but you can try it out. Xiaxue is not a series of SD dolls; the historical costume worn by it is a doll dress made by “Sand Kitten,” etc., and the doll itself is a BJD. SD dolls are a brand within BJD dolls. If you want to buy a BJD, it is possible in mainland China, where there are many doll clubs, such as ASDZ, etc. If you must have an “SD doll,” unfortunately, there are none in mainland China, but you can find Japanese agents online. Also, the clothes of SD dolls are not the kind of historical costumes shown in the picture. This is just a display of doll clothes. “Xiaxue” is not a series of SD dolls; it is a doll dress. What is the price range of a set of ordinary Hanfu?
Grandma is already in her seventies, and all her sweaters and vests are knitted by her own dexterous hands. When I was in kindergarten, I always pestered Grandma to make me a cloth doll. One afternoon, the two of us sat on the kang, and Grandma took a piece of flowered cloth and a large ball of cotton and started making it. It was quite difficult to sew, accidentally sewing the head square or the legs to the waist, but for Grandma, it wasn't difficult at all. She finished sewing it in no time, with tiny stitches and sewn very carefully. Finally, she left a small opening, stuffed it full with cotton balls, and then had my sister draw eyebrows, eyes, and mouth. In less than an hour, a chubby, round, and cute little cloth doll appeared before my eyes. I jumped off the kang, hugging the cloth doll to show my friends. Seeing me jump around happily, Grandma smiled contentedly.
“Although the process was very hard, seeing the effect of the doll coming alive gave me a sense of great accomplishment, feeling that the doll exists in its own world.” Li Li told Nanfang Metropolis Daily that participating in this fashion show gave her the direct feeling that cotton dolls have a strong inclusiveness. She feels that cotton dolls are more about healing, like childhood playmates, and can enter into their own world with the doll. “I think we all need such a place where we can immerse ourselves without worries.”
This year can be called the breakout year for cotton dolls. Throughout the year, the search volume for “cotton dolls” on e-commerce platforms reached eight times that of the same period last year. Although cotton dolls are still a niche thing in the entire subculture field, although their overall sales are not the highest, their explosive growth momentum is the strongest. From a regional perspective, Shanghai ranks among the top cities in terms of purchasing cotton dolls, becoming the most concentrated place for cotton dolls. Cities such as Guangzhou, Beijing, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, etc., follow closely behind.
When asked why they decided to host this cotton doll fashion show, Taobao staff said that even the smallest interest groups can be seen on Taobao. Holding such an event gives these interested, talented, and passionate young people more opportunities to showcase themselves. Many cotton doll enthusiasts eventually become cotton doll merchants on Taobao. At the same time, they hope to use this opportunity to let more people understand cotton dolls and understand what young people like, using a cotton doll as a small window to understand contemporary young people. “Playing together with young people is the best respect and support for them.”
Online, e-commerce platforms have become the main battlefield for Hanfu merchants. Statistics show that the Hanfu market size on Taobao exceeded 2 billion yuan in 2019, maintaining an annual growth rate of about 50%. While many people are just preparing to get to know traditional Hanfu, Taobao merchants have already begun promoting new styles of Hanfu such as home Hanfu and sports Hanfu, and some merchants even specialize in selling Hanfu for pets. Similarly, on Weidian, there are merchants who make Hanfu for cotton dolls, and there is even a specialized circle of Hanfu makeup artists.