A Tiny But Mighty Collector’s Piece
The Kelly Doll is a tiny, anthropomorphic take on the iconic Kelly bag.
Kelly Doll was originally designed as a way to commemorate the Millennium. The idea for it was sparked by a drawing of a sitting character sketched by Jean-Louis Dumas, the beloved former Executive Chairman of Hermès. Dumas is often credited with transforming the French fashion brand from stuffy to status symbol.
Kelly Doll is 16 cm by 12 cm by 6.5 cm with a turnlock for a nose, bendable sangle arms, feet, mouth, eyes and eyebrows. It embodies this fun new style Hermès adopted under Dumas. Even its double meaning name, which comes from the French Quelle Idole, meaning, “what an idol,” is playful.
When the original run was debuted in 2000, they became instant collector’s pieces. In response, Hermès began producing a limited run here and there to commemorate store openings. This included the SOGO department store, which opened in 2010 in Hong Kong, and various Hermès boutique openings - specifically those in Asia, where these cute bags are most popular. The SOGO models can be identified from the “Hermès at SOGO 2010” etched on the front.
Takashimaya Tokyo, a major Japanese department store, collaborated with Hermès in 2011 to create a cute 2D Kelly Doll bag charm in orange calf leather with a silver chain.
In 2021, a 3D Kelly Doll Charm debuted to rival the Kelly Twilly bag charm for the crown of cutest Hermès accessory. The Kelly Doll charm is slightly larger than the Kelly Twilly charm because of its feet, but still small enough to be the ideal bag accessory.
For collectors, some of the most sought-after Kelly Dolls are the one-of-a-kinds, such as the five designed for the 2015 Leather Forever exhibition in Singapore. Each of these elaborately decorated pieces was created for Singapore’s Golden Jubilee, one for each of its decades of independence.
The latest version to look out for is the Kelly Doll Picto, for Spring/ Summer 2022. This Kelly Doll has a pixelated design and wears a little backpack big enough to store your phone inside and has the practical addition of a shoulder strap. The Kelly Doll Picto is available in Epsom leather in two colorways: Mauve Sylvestre and Nata.
Kelly Dolls always have a high market value, however, the price varies significantly depending on the rarity of the piece and the materials used. These bags are collector’s pieces and can usually only be found on the resale market or ordered by VIPs directly from Hermès as a Special Order.
Kelly Dolls are available in a variety of colors and are generally made of Gulliver or Swift leather and finished with Palladium hardware. We’ve also seen Kelly Doll in exotics, including Alligator and Ombre Lizard.
Shop our collection of Kelly Doll bags and charms here.
