Walk via any department store, and you will pass countless mannequins modeling the most recent fashions. When we've come to take these visual display staples for granted, mannequins have a rich and storied past that dates as far back as ancient Egypt. Searching at how mannequins have evolved by way of the years, we can see that they have reflected not only the perfect of how we must look, but how we should really live. No wonder historians, retailers, and fashion school students alike have been fascinated by these lifelike figures for so lengthy.
Ancient and medieval times. When King Tutankhamen's tomb was opened in 1922, one of the treasures discovered was a lifelike torso believed to be the world's first dress form. Indeed, the mannequin continued its functional role as a dress form via the centuries. Lifelike facsimiles of kings and queens were created so that tailors and dressmakers could create clothes without getting to bore the monarchs with endless fittings, or worse, threatening their modesty by touching their bodies.
French aristocracy. In the 18th century, France was deemed the fashion capital, and "fashion dolls" were made to show off the French fashion design to the globe. These early mannequins, which represented the ideal of courtly fashion, ranged from about twelve inches to life size. They had been sent abroad so people today could see what the French had been wearing and copy the styles. Marie Antoinette was known to send dolls to her mothers and sisters in Austria so they were kept up to date with what was in vogue at Versailles.
The Industrial Revolution and window shopping. Mannequins produced a large leap forward with the development of electrically-lit streets and big, glass-pane windows. All of a sudden, strolling along avenues and seeking at the fantasy worlds displayed in retail store windows became a favorite pastime. The initial mannequins created for this purpose had been made of wax and wood. They were highly heavy, weighing among 200 and 300 pounds, with iron-reinforced legs so they would remain upright. With glass eyes, false teeth, and real hair, the mannequins adopted the feminine ideal of substantial bosoms and tiny waists, in conditions of genteel living, like giving a toast at a dinner party. The art of fashion merchandising was born.
Hollywood influence. Till the '20s, mannequins had wooden expressions, which is why they were called "dummies." In the silent film age, even so, there was far more focus on the face than the body. With the popularity of Hollywood movies, mannequins acquired a lot more realistic attributes and animated facial expressions that mirrored those of well-known stars like Mary Pickford and Rudolph Valentino. To complement their movie star looks, they had been displayed in aspirational, make-believe scenarios like having cocktails at the country club.
The Gaba Girls. In the '30s, mannequins began to be produced with plaster, decreasing their weight to about twenty-5 pounds. And thanks to a former soap sculptor named Lester Gaba, they reached a new level of realism. His lifelike figures had been dubbed "The Gaba Girls," the most famous of which was named Cynthia. Gaba envisioned Cynthia as the ultimate New York socialite, and the mannequin became a pop culture sensation. He took her to nightclubs and the opera, and Cartier and Tiffany even lent her jewels.
Globe War II. With the arrival of the second World War, life changed, and so did mannequins. Mannequins resembling carefree consumers had been replaced by critical, no-nonsense ones. But when the troops returned, mannequins performed the public service of encouraging the public to be content once again. The female mannequins wore radiant smiles, even though the male ones had been relaxed and comfortable both displayed domestic, suburban bliss.
Fiberglass and plastics. By the '50s, mannequins moved away from brittle, breakable plaster to rugged fiberglass and plastic. Considering that manufacturing and sculpting had not yet been refined, the new mannequins had been much less realistic and took on an abstract excellent. They in fact celebrated surrealism, with sprayed-on hair styles and anatomical inaccuracies. The mannequin had become pop art.
The women's revolution. When women's roles started altering in the '60s, mannequins depicted the shift. On 1 hand, there were the housewife (or aspiring housewife) mannequins with bouffants and hopeful gazes. At the other extreme was the active, assertive woman, posing casually and confidently. The decade also gave us the Mod appear - skinny, leggy figures epitomized by the Twiggy mannequin.
Real life. The '70s saw the introduction of Black, Asian, and Latino mannequins, reflecting the growing ethnic mix in the country. Also mirroring the turbulent decade, mannequins began getting facial expressions of pain, be concerned, and strain. In the 80s, the country got "physical," and mannequins followed suit, taking on running and leaping poses.
Contemporary day. When it comes to mannequins these days, the old rules are out, and anything goes. Mannequins are several colors, crystal clear, headless, backless, and any form of abstraction. In reality, the realistic figures of previous decades now appear decidedly creepy. There is no "perfect" form, almost certainly simply because there is no longer a consensus on an ideal vision of beauty.
Though we know that fashion style and mannequins have been forever intertwined, it is fascinating to see how much these "dummies" have shown us as about civilization, history, and culture.
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