in the face. For instance, the Princess' eyes were very different, one bright, one sad, she had two distinctive smiles; her nose had two different sides to it. The next issue was to take a real face such as the Princess', which did not, when analyzed, conform to the universal rules of contemporary beauty, and give it the look of a Barbie product. What was interesting in creating the doll though, was the discovery that Princess Diana's proportions were very similar to Barbie's, her legs were the same length.

Working with Frederick was a lot of fun; we had the propensity to laugh until it hurt when things got tough. Frederick would fall to his knees with laughter. As you can imagine, there is immense responsibility attached to driving a high profile project such as this for the biggest toy manufacturer in the world. But we also knew where to draw the line and buckle down. Just when you think the sculpting is there, there would be more tweaking a detail that usually I found to be too masculine.You know, male sculptors tend to have a masculine take that really shows up on female subjects, especially in scale, particularly hands. I must have slender, feminine hands. I would throw some other detail out, and then we would have to start again! There were only two dolls cast, one waiting in the wings should the original break.

The process also involved sourcing the right person to create the jewels for the doll. Jewelers from Beverly Hills to La Jolla were invited to submit quotes for the job. Finding the right person to work in miniature scale was an ongoing difficulty and I went with the jeweler who was willing and able to work with my direction. I personally selected the 40 diamonds for the tiny platinum necklace and earrings. The fabrics for the fashions were sourced in London. It was imperative the folds falling from the gathered waist were in correct scale or the look of the dress would fail. The next issue was that I was aware this doll would be photographed a lot and that natural fiber, natural silk would be required. Too chemical a white would create flare in the pictures.I flew over specifically to purchase them. The scale of the doll demanded the finest woven silk organza and silk crepe.

The sample makers of the Mattel Design Center made my designs for the fashions. This is normal procedure at Mattel. Although I am trained in garment construction, there are organized capsules in the Design Center, each with a clearly delineated responsibility. A Designer will create a mood board, make a sketch of the doll, make a decision on fabrics and trims and hand a package over to the Production Designer. Development will take over face paint and hair design or any 3-D designs such as new shoes, or surface design, such as embroidery. When the sample fashions are made, they are returned to the designer who brings all the components together to present as a prototype for Executive Approval. Each doll begins as a sketch, moves on to prototype for approval, production sample, sometimes a market test- then manufacture.

Tiny little bones slotted through the front seams, as in real life, and decorated with tiny flowers supported the bodice of Ms.Taylor's dress. I'm sharing this with you now, but not many people know that Ms Taylor is wearing a strapless bra and matching cami-knickers under that dress.The bodice was constructed to subtly stand away from the body, so when viewed from above, this mysterious detail could be seen. It also provided a particular fullness of bust I wanted to achieve.

Face paint was carefully researched, as well as the best guy for the job to do it. The irregular shape of Ms Taylor's eyebrows, the actual shade of her make-up, the color of her eyes, all painstakingly recreated. In this instance, to retain the fine crafted quality of the doll, the gloves and embroidery detail were applied in paint. The design had been achieved on the wax,had been approved by both Ms.Taylor and (then CEO) Jill Barad, and would now be reproduced exactly on the doll.Any difference,especially on this scale, would stand out.The job would require the spirit and enthusiasm to re-work the design until it was right. The correct wig in size and color was researched.It had to be just the right shade of brown/black, the right length of curl to take cutting to capture Ms Taylor's hairstyle.The wrong size curl would result in the hair looking chopped. Of course, there was more to it than that, days wrapped in clear film..............

All who worked with me in the creation of this doll under my leadership put their hearts into the project. This doll would be scrutinized and my demands were high. Most of all, the intention was to sell for the highest price attainable at auction for the Children Affected by Aids Foundation. Ron Longsdorf, then Senior Vice President of Design & Development for Barbie Collectibles (who had just come on board from the Franklin Mint) described the doll as, 'An extraordinary portrayal of this icon of fashion, beauty, and humanity.