BABELLE history


Babelle is the World’s first Toonmodel created by the Dutch artist Roland Maas. The concept 'toonmodel’ comes from 'cartoon model', a virtual character which can be booked as it was a real flesh and blood model. With the launch of Babelle, the term 'toonmodel' was mentioned for the first time.


2001 - The first Babelle sketch appeared in 2001 and drew the attention of an editor of the Dutch fashionmagazine LINK. That’s where Babelles career started.
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2002 - LINK magazine booked Babelle which became her first editorial. From that time on Babelle became the face for their trendeditorials twice a year until 2009.
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2004 - Hallmark launched the first Babelle diary for 2005. Originally Babelle was named 'Baboes' in the Netherlands. Since that time a licence programm has been developedLater that year her name 'Baboes' was changed to 'Babelle'.
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2005 - Babelle became more and more famous.  The toonmodel concept drew the  attention of both girly magazines and high profile fashion/design magazines. Both wanted to know all about this unique creature.


2007 - An interview which appeared in an appendix for several Dutch newspapers led to an online Babelle design contest. Participants had to design an outfit for Babelle. A month later the Talentscouting became a permanent monthly section of her site, the idea to start a platform for young fashion talents was born.


2008 - While appreciated by young talents, Babelle became more alive when the progressive Belgian fashion designer Romy Smits asked Babelle to model for her exclusive creations. Babelle presented Romy’s design in a short movie,  launched at the London Fashion Week.  Later the film was published in the Future Tence section at Nick Knight' s Showstudio.com

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2008 - Babelle was booked to star the Reyberg brochure for their 2009 swimwear collection

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2009 - Babelle's first notebook-line by Jandaia was released in Brazil.


2010 - The second Back-to-school line Brazil became reality and Babellissimo, the official online talentscouting was released online in October.


2011 - While Babelle became more and more popular and many young fans discovered Babellissimo, the Babelle license required a lot of attention and commercial (& technical) developments to compeat with the market. Maas fell his role as creative and performing artist was gradually changed to moneymaking and visionary businessman.


2012 - The lack of an assisting - matching and congenial - business agent has ultimately led to the enevitable and sore decision to release Babelle. Finally Maas had choosen to work in his studio and do what he can do best: creating art.

 

Besides an extensive and impressive Babelle portfolio there is still a lot of inspiration to revitalize the original Babelle concept as virtual model.