Today I did a little deep dive into MIMO dolls! (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)
These dolls are very much a product of their time ⊹ ࣪ ˖
First released in late 2005-early 2006, this doll line took inspiration from Hong Kong's youth culture to introduce "MIMO". Featuring two main characters named Mimi and Momo who are good friends that each possesses very different and unique personalities.
Self-confident Mimi, aged fifteen, has long hair and is outspoken~
Her best friend Momo is a complementary opposite, being quiet and shy~
To provide consumers with a greater sense of intimacy with the main character’s personalities, Mimi and Momo were narratively placed in the settings of local Hong Kong areas like Mong Kok and Causeway Bay. ICQ language and a mixture of Cantonese and English were also used in the packaging and throughout MIMO's website diary entries for a better sense of emersion and world-building!
The MIMO doll range was a reflection of Hong Kong's youth culture and society, as it was in the early 2000’s. Additionally, external influences from Japanese and Korean pop culture, as well as western concepts, were included to Mimi and Momo’s preferences in music, language and fashion! Each MIMO pack included accessories related to the collection’s theme, including such things as mobile phones, cosmetics, and fashion accessories. Each pack also included a stand which could be used to display the figurine as well as provide a thematic street setting.
These dolls allowed consumers to express their individuality and imagination through mixing and matching Mimi and Momo's outfits. They also had a variety of different hairstyles and postures which were interchangeable between each MIMO doll!
I’ve managed to find a couple MIMO dolls online that I’m hoping will arrive without issue/).(\ Both dolls are Mimi, with one being from the 2006 Winter Festival series and the other being from the 2006 Beach series!♡ˎˊ˗
Unfortunately MIMO dolls are no longer mass produced today, with the company now being defunct and the last of their products being officially sold in June of this year. Such items are very interesting to me because they are very much a look back into a world that no longer exists. The older tech accessories each doll had, the references to social media platforms that no longer exist, and the overall style and fashion of the dolls all represent a period of time I used to live in not too long ago, but now seems so far away..
I hope to find more MIMO dolls to add to my collection going forward!
