Mannequins have been important to the retail industry for centuries now. It makes sense too, and a mannequin is the most organic way to display clothes. Whilst the detail of how mannequins are made, and what they are made out of changes, their purpose remains the same: to display clothes in an appropriate, organic way.
These days, the mannequin is highly sophisticated. You can get models that are made from a wide range of materials, from Perspex to wood. This means that whilst mannequins might share the same general look, they are diverse enough to suit various kinds of decor: modern, traditional, vintage.
In a vintage setting wooden female mannequins can be uses to great effect. As well as clothes having a vintage look, so too do wooden mannequins. There’s no reason why your shop fittings can’t all pull together to create an atmosphere, in fact using mannequins is a very effective way of doing so.
In more modern stores, a plastic mannequin can be used to great effect. Mannequins can be very modern looking, especially when they are minimalist, black or white. They can of course look a bit like automatons (one need only think of the classic Doctor Who episode “Mannequin Mania”) and so are well suited to a modern, even futuristic aesthetic.
If you want your mannequin to come alive then the key is to position them to reflect natural, human poses. Then, they can be used highly effectively to create shop displays, and to display clothes in exciting, organic ways.
