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Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products and Leading French Designer, Corrine Cobson, Partner on Exclusive Mother and Daughter Dora the Explorer Apparel Line

Posted on: Wednesday, 25 June 2008, 18:02 CDT

LONDON, NEW YORK, PARIS, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products (NVCP) and Corinne Cobson, one of France's most renowned designers, today unveiled 'Dora par Corinne Cobson', an exclusive apparel line for mothers and daughters inspired by Nickelodeon's hit pre-school property, Dora the Explorer. 'Dora par Corinne Cobson' features trendy, fashion-forward items especially designed to equip pre-schoolers and their Mums for an overnight adventure away from home. The designer kit comprises a vanity case, toiletry bag and mother/daughter socks and night-shirts.

The wholly original design, conceived by Ms. Cobson, is a beautiful blend of pretty pink and the season's hottest black and gold colour palette, incorporating the outline of Dora's face as a subtle and elegant motif splashed across each item. Ms. Cobson and Laurent Taieb, Vice President, NVCP France, collaborated with Nickelodeon licensees, TV Mania (night shirts), Alpa (case and bag) and Benjamin (socks), to realise her vision of creating a concept that captures the excitement and thrill of a childhood sleepover and a shared experience for Mums and daughters alike.

'My two daughters, like millions of little girls around the world, absolutely adore Dora the Explorer,' said Ms. Cobson. 'Dora embodies their burgeoning sense of adventure and learning and is the prefect friend to take along on a night away from home. I wanted to create a line that combines a little girl's desire for independence with the reassuring presence of their Mum. The concept is my idea of a little girl's sleepover 'survival' kit with which she can explore the world and enjoy new adventures in chic, rock 'n' roll style.'

A limited edition of 'Dora par Corinne Cobson', a is currently available at the Corinne Cobson boutique in Paris, with a full line expected to launch at retail across France in Winter 2009.

Since launching in 2000, Dora the Explorer has become a truly global phenomenon, embraced by kids and parents alike. All around the world millions of little girls can be heard squealing 'we did it, we did it' with delight over and over again, and no where is this more true than in France where Dora remains the number one pre-school property with sales of more than 4.5 million books last year alone. Parents recognised quickly the unique combination of Dora's play-to-learn philosophy, problem-solving, bilingual and educational attributes, while for kids she simply reflects their love of learning and their sense of adventure and exploration. It is this trust and deep connection which drives Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products to constantly seek out ways of creating fresh, new, innovative products which extends the Dora the Explorer experience.

'Dora par Corinne Cobson is a totally unique concept that perfectly incorporates the philosophy behind Dora the Explorer with the creativity and vision of one of France's leading fashion houses,' commented Jean-Philippe Randisi, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Europe, Canada and Latin America, NVCP. 'Ms. Cobson, known for her irreverent, urban yet elegant clothes, draws on her expert eye for detail and design adding a completely new dimension to our Dora product lines which aim to extend and more deeply connect our viewers experience to the shows they love.'

Dora the Explorer premiered in France in 2004 and can be seen on Nickelodeon France, TFI and Tiji.

Dora the Explorer is a play-along, animated adventure series starring Dora, a seven-year-old bilingual heroine whose adventures take place in an imaginative, tropical world filled with jungles, beaches and rainforests. Dora explores her world just as preschoolers do everyday, and the show is designed to actively engage its audience in an interactive quest using a variety of learning techniques.

In every episode, Dora and her best friend Boots invite the audience to participate in an exciting adventure, where each step of their journey features a problem or puzzle that Dora and the audience must think their way through in order to solve the next problem. Dora is proudly bilingual and uses her language skills to communicate with her friends to overcome obstacles and reach her goals. In each episode, Dora teaches a new foreign word or phrase to the viewers and then asks them to use it to solve a problem and forge ahead. Ultimately, Dora and Boots triumph, and the story always ends with a "We Did It!" anthem.

Dora the Explorer was created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh and Eric Weiner. Gifford and Walsh serve as executive producers on the series.

Dora the Explorer is the highest-rated preschool show on commercial TV in the US and is syndicated to 135 markets, in 25 languages.

About Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products:

Nickelodeon is the most widely distributed kids' network in the world and the only multimedia entertainment brand dedicated exclusively to them. First launched in the US in 1979, Nickelodeon today consists of 43 channels, 21 branded programme blocks, in 152 territories and 23 languages, with 12 mobile TV channels, 71 online properties plus TurboNick, Nickelodeon's broadband video service, in Australia, Brasil, Germany, Holland, Mexico, the US and UK. In January 2007, Nickelodeon US launched Nicktropolis, a virtual community 3D playground, where kids can play and connect safely with their Nicktropolis friends. For more information, see: http://www.nickelodeon.com/.

Owned by global multimedia entertainment company Viacom, Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products is now firmly established as the third biggest entertainment licensing company in the world. With major strengths in animation, pre-school, student and youth oriented licenses, Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products is dedicated to exploiting the licensing and merchandising rights in some of the world's most powerful TV and entertainment brands including Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., MTV, Comedy Central, Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants, Rugrats, Beavis and Butthead, Blue's Clues, Charlotte's Web, Danny Phantom, Jimmy Neutron, Ren and Stimpy, Rocket Power, and the Wild Thornberrys.

About Corinne Cobson:

Corinne Cobson fell in love with fashion from a very young age and it wasn't long before she launched her own brand: Corinne Cobson. Her first show expressed her personality; nonconformist, instinctive, with a pinch of humour and a hint of elegance.

Nurtured by journalists, Corinne joined the circle of the CREATEURS de MODE and placed her mark. Corinne Cobson has created bestsellers that transcend time such as her little black dress, satin jeans and leather jacket, all of which are 'must-haves'. Corinne has also created lines for high quality French brands, Cacharel, Monoprix, Alain Mikli, Variance and l'Oreal.

Corinne's involvement in the exhibition 'Espace de l'Art concret a Mouans-Sartoux', alongside artists such as Carl Andre, Buren and Torrini, expanded her creativity and fostered her entrepreneurial bent. Her imagination is fed by all forms of creation, chiefly photography and cinema, and that is why, with her husband Tanguy Loysance, himself a photographer, she decided to produce short programmes, creating 'some fashion choreography' with her clothes.

In 2007 she returned to her primary values of rock, urban night-time fashion, and unveiling a 'black total look' collection at once affirming the dual personality of a woman: male and female.

Corinne Cobson's ready-to-wear collection is also enhanced with accessories, bags, shoes, belts and jewels and her unique universe is beautifully reflected in her new boutique at 66 rue Charlot in Paris. Set within a theatrical set, the objects of other great designers find a natural home: a Bauhaus sofa, a Jean Prouve table, rails and mirrors by Marc Berhier, suspensions by Jasper Morrisson and art books. It is here that Corinne hosts exhibitions, one-man shows, readings by writers, in a modern and tranquil ambience, soft and humorous where it is simply good to be.

Nickelodeon; Viacom Consumer Products

CONTACT: AnneMarie Kane of MTV Networks International, New York,+1-212-846-4733, annemarie.kane@mtvn.com, or Kelly Todd of MTV NetworksInternational, London, +44-207-478-6516, todd.kelly@mtvne.com; or MaggieGeoffroy-Dechaume, of Corinne Cobson, Paris, +33-1-42-71-26-21, mvgd@neuf.fr

Web site: http://www.nickelodeon.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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