In Our Image - The Mannequin

A mannequin is a model of the human figure which is normally used to display clothing. The name (also spelled as 'manikin' or 'mannikin') is derived from the Dutch word 'manneken,' which means 'little men' - 'mannequin' is the French version. This term also applies to model figures used in the designing and making of clothing (called a lay figure), to anatomical models used in medical and scientific fields and is sometimes used to refer to living fashion models themselves.

What's a Mannequin?

A mannequin can represent the whole body or merely parts of it, like a head, bust, hands, feet, legs, arms, or torso. It can be articulated or not. It can include details such as hair, facial expressions, fingernails and/or toenails or lack them. It can be so realistic as to be virtually indistinguishable from a real person or can be a vague, stylized approximation of the human form, from child mannequins to adult mannequins, male mannequins, female mannequins, baby mannequins, and even animal mannequins.

The origins of the modern mannequin date back thousands of years. Its forerunners already existed in ancient Egypt, as Howard Carter's discovery of a wooden torso dating back to 1300 BC in Tutankhamen's tomb would seem to suggest. In the Middle Ages, nobles and aristocrats whose clothes had to be fitted to their exact measurements but who couldn't or wouldn't be bothered with waiting for a dressmaker or milliner had models of the themselves made so those could be used in their stead.

Mannequins in Modern Times

The modern use of mannequins as visual merchandising began with the switch to steel-framed buildings. This change, coupled with the ability to manufacture large sheets of flat glass and the invention of the sewing machine and the electric light, meant that storefronts suddenly acquired huge spaces in which their goods could be displayed. The first mannequins, made of wax, were gracing store window displays by the 1890s. The display was a novelty for the people of the time and passers-by stopped to look at them. This was the origin of the expression "window-shopping." Many a mannequin enticed shoppers to buy the clothes they wore, as the display gave the customer a good idea of how they would look in or with the product.

Today there are mannequins for many uses. Thanks to modern materials like fiberglass and plastics, display mannequins and dress mannequins are now only limited by the designer's creativity. Mannequins are also being used in other fields like crash test models and models designed to teach surgical procedures. There are even virtual mannequins used for a wide variety of purposes, from quick dress imaging to crowd control simulations.

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