IT'S NOT THAT SERIOUS, JUST LAUGH.
Paris is all about fashion, runways and catwalks. And where there is fashion, there are designers. We met this wonderful designer of celebrity rag dolls, which will bring some fun to your wardrobe and also give it a purpose.
IN-CORRECT : Please, tell us about your brand and yourself ?
LUDOVICA VIRGA : My name is Ludovica and i am the designer of the ''Mua Mua Dolls''. It all started as a joke when i was in Bali. I was on the beach when a woman approached me and asked me to buy those ''crochet bikini'' which i really hate. Instead of bikinies i asked her to make some rag dolls. So she made some little monsters for me. Then in 2009, i was invited to a ''Chanel'' fashion show by my best friend Laetitia Crahay who happens to be a designer of ''Maison Michel'' they do the jewellery for ''Chanel''. Imagine, the invitation came with a lot of gifts from them, i felt like Cinderella. So, to say thank you i made two dolls, one of Laetitia and one of Karl Lagerfeld, who loved it so much that i thought i should start business with it. So i did.
Last year Karl bought about 2000 dolls. This year i called him to inform him of the charity projects we had for little children and he bought about 5000 dolls ! He actually sells them in his Pop-art store.
IN-CORRECT : What should we expect from you ?
LUDOVICA VIRGA : Well , i am making dolls of people i admire and i am big fan of. In the likes of  Anna Wintour, Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Serge Gainsbourg and Karl of course.
IN-CORRECT : No italian names ?
LUDOVICA VIRGA : : Oh yes, of course. We've got Miuccia Prada, Donatella Versace. Check out her doll, it's amazing.
IN-CORRECT : I see she is wearing Versace dress too
LUDOVICA VIRGA: Yes and the tan and long hair. I am a big fan.
IN-CORRECT : How do you define your product and people who would buy it ?
LUDOVICA VIRGA : People who see the funny side of life. People within the fashion industry could be very serious sometimes we should all just laugh about it and have fun.
IN-CORRECT : Do you think the fashion industry is way too serious nowadays ?
LUDOVICA VIRGA : Don't get it wrong. I am an absolute fashion lover, a total fashion victim. I love Chanel and i'd kill for Azzedine Alaia's dress. I think it is more about to show off than fashion itself.
IN-CORRECT : Because at the end of the day, it's just clothes, right ?
LUDOVICA VIRGA : Because at the end of the season it's just trash ( laughs). This art wasn't meant to last, by the end of the season you dont want to wear it anymore : 5-6 times is too much already.
IN-CORRECT : Lets talk about your charity aspects. What made you want to be involved ?
LUDOVICA VIRGA : We started off from scratch, on a beach in Bali. Then we met Karl Lagerfeld and the rest is history. It was recession, people didnt have jobs and we gave them something to do. We made them make fashion dolls. For instance, my art director is a '' Japanese Illustrations'' graduate. With the money we made from our dolls, we sent her to Japan to learn Japanese.
I visited Sumbawa island, where i found people collecting seaweed for 20$ a month. We taught the women there to make our dolls and they now make enough money to send their children to school. We also started this funny thing with the Look Book. We asked few It-girls from Milan and Paris to take pictures for our cause and for every picture taken we would pay one year school support of a child from Sumbawa. The child gets a picture of its god mother and the other way round.Â
IN-CORRECT : Where are you based ?
LUDOVICA VIRGA : I live in my suitcase ( laughs). I travel a lot. I visit Paris all the time and i love New York. I went to Africa for Christmas. But my product comes from Bali. I am international.Â
IN-CORRECT : What is the people's reaction on the dolls ?
LUDOVICA VIRGA : I really thought people will get tired of it but it is exactly the opposite. Positive reactions except for Lady Gaga, who asked us to stop making her doll.Â
LUDOVICA VIRGA : Well she didn't, her lawyers did !
Make sure to visit :Â http://www.muamuadolls.com/