DCON Highlights, Part 1

1. Ron English x 3D Retro Orion McGrin: 

Ron English continued to expand his "Grin" universe with this extraterrestrial-themed art toy, Orion McGrin. Orion features a chubby, greenish, toad-like alien body with legs and arms too thin to fully support its sybaritic form. As always with Ron English, he offers us social critique, waltzing with capitalism in his toys. This alien is so impeccably human—and in the hands of Ron English, this is no compliment—that it feels warm yet disheartening. Perhaps the maestro picked up on the nostalgic tone of many other space-inspired toys released at DCON, pulling us back to Earth: there are no celestial worlds or inconceivable races out there; the only kind awaiting us on Orion is someone like us: imperfect, erring, cheeky, grinny. The recognizable McDonald’s colorway amplifies this mundane yet profound message.

2. Kidrobot x Tristan Eaton Crown Jewels: 

Tristan Eaton, the inventor of the Dunny platform, once again collaborated with Kidrobot to pay homage to his primary brainchild. Among several astonishing designs in the anniversary collection is Crown Jewels, a sophisticated and meaningful tribute to this immortal form. Taking the most recognizable shape of the Dunny—its head—the artist divided it into two parts. The design is a combination of features that are opposite by nature: laconic versus overwhelmingly excessive, colourless versus vivid and shiny. This duality not only highlights what has captivated spectators about the Dunny shape over the past twenty years but also serves as a trope shaping the nature of designer toys as an art form. Let’s celebrate such insightfulness.

3. Robbi x Sket One:

It is universally acknowledged that rabbits are not a novelty in the designer toy industry; our previous subject, along with Smorkin’ Labbit, has left an indelible mark. However, a brand-new player, Robbi, has been methodically seeking its place in the limelight. Robbi combines the sweetness of a rabbit with nostalgic overtones of space exploration. Now, as part of its ascension, Robbi offered its form to one of the most prolific and recognizable artists in the art toy world—Sket One. This recognition of a pioneer in the industry—the artist who has customised Dunny, TEQ63, and Bearbricks—is a milestone for the lapin moon-rover. Sket One, as a truly pop-art-inspired artist, juggles his well-known patterns. This time he chose (unexpectedly, not a condiment-themed one) a “Vortex” pattern, featuring a bright, colourful combination of strokes, lines, brush touches.

As DesignerCon offered quite a few notable releases, we decided to divide this text into two parts. Please stay tuned for the second part!