With the rise and growth of the fashion industry in the early 20th century, there was a growing need to showcase clothing and attract consumers.
Traditional displays were no longer sufficient to meet this need and mannequins began to be used to display garments. The original mannequins were probably made of wood or plastic, were simple in form, and were mainly used to show the silhouette and cut of garments. One of the most famous examples is the Abraham & Straus flagship shop in New York in the mid-1980s.
As technology advanced and manufacturing techniques developed, so did the materials and processes used to produce mannequins. Modern mannequins are often made from advanced materials such as fiberglass, silicone, and plastic and are more elaborate, providing more realistic contours and details of the human body.
Indeed, to this day, mannequins are still the focus of ‘visual merchandising’ in offline brick-and-mortar shops. According to the NPD Group, 42% of customers believe that mannequins influence their purchasing decisions, second only to friends and family.
The more popular online shopping becomes, the more brick-and-mortar shops need to find new ways to create a fun in-store atmosphere and engage customers through a better offline experience. Mannequins are visually appealing and retailers will see them as an extension of their brand. Mannequins are visually appealing. They show what clothes, accessories, and products look like and give customers a better idea of the style, fit, and silhouette of the products. By displaying items in realistic human form, the mannequins catch the eye of customers and inspire them to buy.
Doug Hope, founder of GlobalShop, the world’s largest retail installation trade show, said: “Retailers spend $2 billion a year on visual merchandise such as mannequins.
The growth in demand for mannequins began in large shopping centers with an emphasis on lifestyle. Their expansive windows have always needed a lot of ‘protagonists’ to fill them out, and Target, for example, has begun to include more and more mannequins in its displays in recent years, hoping to emphasize its greater sense of style than competitors such as Walmart.
Many individual shop owners are also emphasizing the role of mannequins in shop refurbishments and upgrades. Sara Jane Martini, the owner of a US clothing shop, has insight into this. “Assuming a mannequin costs $200, a larger shop might need 12 mannequins. That’s second only to the cost of fixtures in the shop, but it’s worth it.”
The key to making mannequins ‘value for money’ for customers as ‘visual appeal’ and ‘brand extensions’ is to stay sharp and up to date with market demand. The key to this business is to be sensitive and flexible to market demand and customer needs. The logic is simple: if you hire salespeople for the Gap, the requirements will be different from those of Gucci. The same goes for mannequins.
When designing a new collection, the client’s requirements, target audience, and basic dimensions are just the beginning; Richenmannequin collects a large collection of brand-toned human bodies and shapes for reference, and experienced sculptors iterate in 3D software. Once we have achieved a satisfactory result, we create a prototype. We will start by creating a small prototype for the client. In the meantime, before sculpting the model, we can discuss and modify the shape until we reach an agreement with the brand.
Most brands require customization and the size and body type requirements of the mannequin may vary from country to country. For example, the Asian market tends to be thinner and slimmer and we will reduce the size by 10cm. In contrast, the market in Western countries prefers a toned, muscular body.
We also develop many original mannequins each year to supply the market according to market trends. If you don’t have the budget to develop your own mannequins, you may be able to find a suitable mannequin for your brand in our extensive product catalog. Of course, we will also make professional recommendations for you.
In recent years, there has also been a trend in the fashion industry towards “natural beauty”, which is reflected in the mannequin. Initially, the most common size for female models in shopping malls was 1.8 meters tall, with a 34B bust, 61-64 cm waist, and 91 cm hips. Since 2011, however, people are no longer looking for ‘perfection’. Orders for plus-size window models have increased by 16 percent.
But there are still many people, even in the industry, who don’t know the difference between a mannequin and a different body type. Most customers think they are all the same, and even people in the buying department ask: “Why don’t you buy the cheaper one?” Despite this frustration, Richenmannequin continues to invest in research and development.
Richenmannequin： A mannequin R&D Factory
View more mannequins → richenmannequin.com/product/
