Lost Face, or the Evolution of Mannequins from Realism to Primitiveness

It is hard to imagine a modern clothing store without mannequins. These silent guardians of fashion are very diverse today, but at the same time they rarely surprise with sophistication and realism. It was not always so - mannequins can be considered an excellent example of how design changes from exact copying to outright primitiveness. Let's see how mannequins have changed over time and how they have reached their current depressing appearance.

The first mannequins appeared in Ancient Egypt. Their only purpose was to preserve the shape of clothing, so they looked like a wooden block, vaguely resembling a human figure, or a wire frame with a hanger at the top. Indifference to the appearance of mannequins persisted until the second half of the 19th century, until everyone suddenly decided that they should be as similar to living people as possible.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, the production of mannequins was a creative process. Copies of people were made from plaster, wood and even porcelain. There was no specific standard or fashion for mannequins and each workshop created as best it could.

But in the 20s, everything changed - the production of mannequins turned into an entire industry, which had its own directions and certain canons.

In the 20s and 30s, mannequins were made to look as much like people as possible, while strictly adhering to the body types and faces that were fashionable at the time.

Some of the wooden or papier-mâché figures were so realistic that people came to the shops to look at them rather than at the latest fashion items of the season.

In the 50-60s, the trend of the beginning of the century was preserved, except that hairstyles and makeup changed a little. In addition, it is easy to notice that post-war mannequins are not so uniform. Manufacturers tried to diversify their products with different series, and in addition, they gave the mannequins different poses, often quite relaxed.

At the same time, figures with joints that could change the position of arms, legs and even the head began to be in demand. Incidentally, it was part of such a dummy that helped a biker from England return to action after an injury.

The most expensive mannequins of the mid-20th century looked very much like real people. They had hair, often natural, very expressive eyes and sensual lips. Good mannequins cost a lot, but stores did not skimp on purchasing such inventory - the figures could serve for decades if they were not beaten or dropped.

They produced realistic mannequins, but the country lagged somewhat behind the West in this area, as, indeed, in many others.

Soviet figures of men and women were made of plaster and did not differ in the variety of body types and facial types.

Several types of brunettes and blondes of both sexes were produced, frighteningly clumsy children of different ages, infants in assortment and some respectable, fit old men.

A real renaissance of the "mannequin business" took place in the country with the fall of the Iron Curtain. Factories and cooperatives producing mannequins quickly adapted to the Western style and began to offer consumers very decent models.

The 90s were the heyday of this production in the CIS countries, and the mannequins of those years are easily recognizable by the variety of hairstyles and makeup, face types and builds.

But in the 2000s, beautiful, "human" mannequins went out of fashion. A new concept was adopted, which stated that the figure on which the clothes are displayed is secondary and should not distract the consumer. So mannequins first appeared with barely defined facial features, and then without them at all.

In recent years, mannequins that bear little resemblance to people have become fashionable - the most advanced in this direction are companies producing equipment for displaying underwear.

Figures with disproportionately long limbs and implausible shapes have become trends among sellers of branded goods.

There are legends in the world of mannequins. Perhaps the most famous is the story of Cynthia, the brainchild of American sculptor Lester Gab, who worked in the 20s and 30s of the last century. The master created Cynthia in 1932 for a photo shoot in one of the fashionable stores, but the mannequin turned out so beautiful that the author could not part with it.

Gaba was inseparable from Cynthia and traveled with her all over the world. The sculptor changed her hairstyles and makeup, did her manicures and ordered expensive dresses and fur coats. Others began to treat the mannequin as a living girl too - Cynthia received thousands of letters from fans all over the world, poems and entire clothing collections were dedicated to her.

With the advent of television, Cynthia even had her own TV show, which ran until 1953. Later, in the 60s, Lester Gaba cowardly betrayed his brainchild, saying in an interview with the New York Times: “Cynthia never made any sense to me.” Nevertheless, thanks to this copy of the girl, he entered the history of world art, albeit as a very controversial figure.