‘Polly Pocket’ creator Chris Wiggs dead at 74 after secret cancer battle

It was the “it” toy of the 90s, with kids around the world clambering to get one – but its creator has died after a secret cancer battle.

Chris Wiggs, the inventor of Polly Pocket, died peacefully on June 20 at his home in France surrounded by love and family. He was 74.

Wiggs had been recently diagnosed with a rare form of neurological cancer, the New York Post, said.

The East London native dreamt up the portable dreamhouse in 1983, while in New York on business.

The idea for the intricate mini world — home to a tiny doll figurine — sat in the back of his mind until he returned home, where he headed straight to his basement workshop to bring the concept to life for his beloved daughter, Kate, using a repurposed makeup compact.

“I’m trying to remember the first moment he handed over the compact and I think it would have just been very ordinary. ‘Oh, I made this. Here you go,’” said Kate. “Because he was always making stuff, it was the most natural thing in the world.”

‘Polly Pocket’ creator Chris Wiggs has tragically died age 74 after a secret battle with cancer. Picture: Supplied

It wasn’t until 1989 that the self-enclosed playscape hit the market, after Kate had grown up and tucked Polly away in her toy chest for good. Wiggs rediscovered the compact and asked himself if it could be something more than a fond memory.

That simple question set what would become known as Polly Pocket — and one of Mattel’s most profitable properties — in motion.

While the diminutive diva may have been second banana to Barbie in Mattel’s mind, by 1994, sales had reached $180 million (about $269 million Australian dollars) worldwide.

In line with demand, the number of individual compact designs increased from 17 in 1989 to 26 by 1994.

Before the toy’s relaunch in 2018, Mattel cited that more than 10 million compacts had been sold throughout Polly’s years on store shelves, which doesn’t include the many iterations the brand experienced in its nearly three decades.

But Wiggs never allowed success to affect him or his children, even going so far as to dodge reporters to maintain his obscurity. It wasn’t until much later in life that he realised the impact he had on the world and, more importantly, countless young minds.

“The first time I saw a fully packaged, ready-to-go Polly Pocket … it was an odd experience,” said Kate.

“It was kind of knowing what the package contained, the potential of what it contained for all these imaginary worlds for the kids, but also I just felt really proud of my dad.”

The popular compact toy hit the market in 1989. Picture: eBay

It was a huge success, earning about $269 million Australian dollars worldwide in its first 5 years. Picture: Supplied

In October 1993 in the New York Times’ article “In Itty-Bitty Toys, Mega-Mega-Profits,” industry analyst Sean McGowan told Carol Lawson, “If you reduce the scale of a product, you can get a bigger environment in a small space and can have many more items.”

He shared with her: “That is the whole mystique of … Polly Pocket — wonderfully complex environments in a small space.”

And that play pattern has stood the test of time. As Gen Xers grew up and started having children of their own, they sought to re-create Polly’s secrets and surprises they loved.

There’s also demand on the secondary market, too. Complete sets, either loose or brand new in packaging, continue to sell for much more than they retailed on store shelves.

‘So darn cute’

You could say the seeds were planted for Polly six years before Wiggs invented her. A graduate of London’s Central School of Art and Design, he and his business partner Chris Taylor started Origin Products, an industrial design service and toy inventing company, in 1977.

By 1982, the duo decided to focus fully on fun, resulting in the Orb-It in 1982, Rubik’s Clock in 1988 and M.A.N.T.A. Force and Oh Penny! in 1987, among others.

Wiggs had made the original Polly Pocket for his daughter Kate in a hollowed-out makeup compact. Picture: Supplied

These products experienced modest success, but one-inch-tall Polly Pocket became Origin’s breadwinner — and one of the most iconic toys to ever come out of the United Kingdom.

The phrase “cute as a button” adorning a pin, given to him by a receptionist on a visit to Madball-maker AmToy, started Wiggs’ wheels turning. Soon after, he purchased the now-fabled compact, hollowed it out and spray-painted it yellow.

The founder of Bluebird Toys, Torquil Norman, saw the doll’s potential from the moment he laid eyes on the prototype. He just had one suggestion: Instead of the wooden figure featuring a fixed waist, he wanted her to be able to bend, which required a hinged waist.

Thanks to Norman, Polly found her way to the United States, Japan and everywhere in between. From the get-go, he envisioned her as an international brand, securing distribution deals with Japan’s Bandai and Mattel almost immediately after Polly was introduced in the UK.

For Lynn Rosenblum, former director of marketing at Mattel and assistant professor of toy design and toy historian at Otis College of Art & Design, working on the brand holds a special place in her career.

“I think we all knew Polly Pocket was a small doll brand but was very special. Many small dolls came and went,” she told the New York Post.

“The Polly Pocket toys were easy to package, the commercial was good, the price was right and the character was so darn cute.”

After being axed in 2012, the toy returned in 2018 following a makeover from, Mattel. Picture: Supplied

Polly’s legacy

Kate said, “Although [Polly Pocket] went on to be this kind of interstellar hit, the work of a toy designer, as he always explained it, was not to have one precious thing but to keep it rolling.”

In 1998, Mattel decided it was time to give Polly a major makeover. Fashion Polly!, 3.5 inches tall — complete with Barbie’s arched feet — hit store shelves in 1999 with stretchy rubber clothing. It was a major departure from Polly’s original play pattern, but ultimately found resonance with children.

Wiggs maintained the rights to Polly Pocket even after Mattel purchased Bluebird Toys in 1998. After selling the Polly Pocket Group to Mattel in 2007, he dedicated his time to his first love — music, sharing much of it on SoundCloud.

He also enjoyed the company of a tight-knit community of friends who shared his passion for design, creativity and engineering.

Until Polly Pocket disappeared from the market in 2012, she went through many transformations trying to find her footing in a competitive industry. Her scale fluctuated, but the interchangeable fashions stayed the same.

Polly on the big screen

Mattel relaunched Polly in 2018 on the micro and macro scales and gave the brand something it was missing — an animated series. Along with the kid-friendly offerings, the toy company took nostalgia into account and created the Keepsake Collection, releasing never-before-seen compacts and updated re-creations.

Two years before Barbie hit the big screen, Mattel announced that Polly would get the same theatrical treatment.

Lena Dunham is set to direct, with Lily Collins playing the role of Polly. And like the Barbie movie, it seems it’s going to take its time to film.

Dunham last provided an update in October 2022, revealing that she was finishing her second draft of the script.

Tributes for Chris Wiggs pour in

Many have rushed to pay their respects to the “legend” toy maker, with many sharing fond memories of Polly Pocket from their childhood.

“I had a few of these, the one I loved the most was the star that was a small carnival with the ferris wheel,” one shared on X, formerly Twitter.

“RIP legend,” another read.

This article originally appeared on The New York Post and was reproduced with permission