![Durero---Maniquí-20181002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Durero---Maniqu%C3%AD-20181002.jpg)
A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a
doll
A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...
, often articulated, used by
artists
An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, the ...
,
tailors
A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.
History
Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
,
dressmakers
A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and gown, evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua (clothing), mantua-makers, and are also known as a mod ...
,
window dressers
A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent materi ...
and others, especially to display or fit
clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
and show off different
fabrics
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
and textiles. Previously, the English term referred to human models and muses (a meaning which it still retains in French and other European languages); the meaning as a dummy dating from the start of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Life-sized mannequins with simulated
airway
The respiratory tract is the subdivision of the respiratory system involved with the process of respiration in mammals. The respiratory tract is lined with respiratory epithelium as respiratory mucosa.
Air is breathed in through the nose to th ...
s are used in the teaching of
first aid
First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...
,
CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...
, and advanced airway management skills such as
tracheal intubation
Tracheal intubation, usually simply referred to as intubation, is the placement of a flexible plastic catheter, tube into the vertebrate trachea, trachea (windpipe) to maintain an open airway or to serve as a conduit through which to administer ce ...
. During the 1950s, mannequins were used in
nuclear tests
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...
to help show the effects of nuclear weapons on humans. Also referred to as mannequins are the human figures used in
computer simulation
Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be dete ...
to model the behavior of the human body.
''Mannequin'' comes from the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
word ', which had acquired the meaning "an artist's jointed model", which in turn came from the
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
word ', meaning "little man, figurine", referring to late Middle Ages practice in Flanders whereby public display of even women's clothes was performed by male pages (boys). Fashion shops in Paris ordered dolls in reed from Flemish merchants. Flanders was in logistics the easiest region to import dolls in reed from, as transport on the rivers Schelde and Oise provide easy routes from Flanders to Paris. As the Flemish wrote '' for 'little man' on their invoices, the Parisians pronounced this as 'mannequen', hence shifted to 'mannequin'. A mannequin is thus masculine, not feminine.
History
Shop mannequins are derived from
dress form
A dress form is a three-dimensional model of the torso used for fitting clothing that is being designed or sewed. When making a piece of clothing, it can be put on the dress form so one can see the fit and drape of the garment as it would appe ...
s used by fashion houses for dress making. The use of mannequins originated in the 15th century, when miniature "
milliners' mannequins" were used to demonstrate fashions for customers.
[Steele, Valerie (ed.). ''Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion''. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. p. 377] Full-scale,
wicker
Wicker is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as 5,000 years ago. It was first documented in ancient Egypt using pliable plant material, but in modern times it is made from any pliable, easily woven material. ...
work mannequins came into use in the mid-18th century.
Wirework mannequins were manufactured in Paris from 1835.
![Indian mannequin2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Indian_mannequin2.jpg)
Shop display
The first female mannequins, made of
papier-mâché
upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti
upright=1.3, Papier-mâché Catrinas, traditional figures for day of the dead celebrations in Mexico
Papier-mâché (, ; , literally "chewed paper") is a composite material consisting of p ...
, were made in France in the mid-19th century.
Mannequins were later made of wax to produce a more lifelike appearance. In the 1920s, wax was supplanted by a more durable composite made with plaster.
[Steele, Valerie (ed.). ''Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion''. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. p. 379]
Modern day mannequins are made from a variety of materials, the primary ones being
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
and
plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...
. The fiberglass mannequins are usually more expensive than the plastic ones, tend to be not as durable, but are significantly more realistic. Plastic mannequins, on the other hand, are a relatively new innovation in the mannequin field and are built to withstand the hustle of customer foot traffic usually witnessed in the store they are placed in.
[The Mannequin Guide](_blank)
an
The Ultimate Visual Guide to Choosing the Right Mannequin
by The Shop Company
Mannequins are used primarily by retail stores as in-store displays or window decoration. However, many online sellers also use them to display their products for their product photos (as opposed to using a live model).
While the classic female mannequin has a smaller to average breast size, manufacturers are now selling “sexy/busty mannequins” and “voluptuous female mannequins” with 40DDs and
Barbie doll
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.
...
-sized waists.
[Dr. Ted Eisenberg and Joyce K. Eisenberg, ‘’The Scoop on Breasts: A Plastic Surgeon Busts the Myths,’’ Incompra Press, 2012, ]
Use by artists
Historically, artists have often used articulated mannequins, sometimes known as ''lay figures'', as an aid in drawing draped figures. The advantage of this is that clothing or drapery arranged on a mannequin may be kept immobile for far longer than would be possible by using a living model.
Medical education
Anatomical model
An anatomical model is a three-dimensional representation of human or animal anatomy, used for medical and biological education.
Model specs
The model may show the anatomy partially dissected, or have removable parts allowing the student to rem ...
s such as ivory manikins were used by doctors in the 17th-century to study medical anatomy and as a teaching aid for pregnancy and childbirth. Each figure could be opened up to reveal internal organs and sometimes fetuses. There are only 180 known surviving ancient medical manikins worldwide.
Today, medical
simulation
A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of Conceptual model, models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or proc ...
mannequins, models or related artefacts such as SimMan, the
Transparent Anatomical Manikin
The Transparent Anatomical Manikin (TAM) is a three-dimensional, transparent anatomical model of a human being, created for medical instructional purposes. TAM was created by designer Richard Rush in 1968. It consisted of a see-through reproduc ...
or
Harvey
Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit
* Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...
are widely used in
medical education
Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, including the initial training to become a physician (i.e., medical school and internship (medical), internship) and additional training thereafter (e.g., Re ...
.
These are sometimes also referred to as
virtual patient
The term virtual patient is used to describe interactive computer simulations used in health care education to train students on clinical processes such as making diagnoses and therapeutic decisions. Virtual patients attempt to combine modern tech ...
s. The term ''manikin'' refers exclusively to these types of models, though ''mannequin'' is often also used.
In
first aid
First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...
courses, manikins may be used to demonstrate methods of giving first aid (e.g.,
resuscitation
Resuscitation is the process of correcting physiological disorders (such as lack of breathing or heartbeat) in an acutely ill patient. It is an important part of intensive care medicine, anesthesiology, trauma surgery and emergency medicine. W ...
). Fire and coastguard services use mannequins to practice life-saving procedures. The mannequins have similar weight distribution to a human. Special obese mannequins and horse mannequins have also been made for similar purposes.
Over-reliance on mass-produced mannequins has been criticized for teaching medical students a hypothetical "average" that does not help them identify or understand the significant amount of
normal variation seen in the real world.
In popular culture
![Mall culture jakarta36](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Mall_culture_jakarta36.jpg)
Mannequins were a frequent motif in the works of many early 20th-century artists, notably the
metaphysical painters Giorgio de Chirico
Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( , ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian
artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the '' scuola metafisica'' art movement, which profoundly influ ...
,
Alberto Savinio
Alberto Savinio , born as Andrea Francesco Alberto de Chirico (25 August 1891 – 5 May 1952) was a Greek-Italian writer, painter, musician, journalist, essayist, playwright, set designer and composer. He was the younger brother of 'metaphysical ...
and
Carlo Carrà
Carlo Carrà (; February 11, 1881 – April 13, 1966) was an Italian painter and a leading figure of the Futurist movement that flourished in Italy during the beginning of the 20th century. In addition to his many paintings, he wrote a number ...
.
Shop windows displaying mannequins were a frequent photographic subject for
Eugène Atget
Eugène Atget (; 12 February 1857 – 4 August 1927) was a French ''flâneur'' and a pioneer of documentary photography, noted for his determination to document all of the architecture and street scenes of Paris before their disappearance to mod ...
.
Mannequins are a common theme in horror and science fiction. Mannequins can be disturbing (perhaps due in part to the
uncanny valley
In aesthetics, the uncanny valley ( ja, 不気味の谷 ''bukimi no tani'') is a hypothesized relation between an object's degree of resemblance to a human being and the emotional response to the object. The concept suggests that humanoid object ...
effect), especially when not fully assembled. ''
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...
'' episode "
The After Hours
"The After Hours" is episode thirty-four of the American television anthology series, ''The Twilight Zone''. It originally aired on June 10, 1960, on CBS.
Opening narration
The opening narration involves Marsha White riding an elevator to the n ...
" (1960) involves mannequins taking turns living in the real world as people. In the ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' serial ''
Spearhead from Space
''Spearhead from Space'' is the first serial of the seventh season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 3 to 24 January 1970. It was the first ''Doctor Who'' ...
'' (1970), an alien intelligence attempts to take over
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
with killer plastic mannequins called
Auton
The Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and adversaries of the Doctor. They were originally created by scriptwriter Robert Holmes for Jon Pertwee's first serial as the Doctor, ' ...
s. Mannequins come to life and attack the living in "The Trevi Collection" (episode 14 of the television series ''
Kolchak: The Night Stalker''). Abandoned nuclear test sites consisting of entire towns populated by mannequins appear in such films as ''
Kalifornia
''Kalifornia'' is a 1993 American road thriller film directed by Dominic Sena, in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny, and Michelle Forbes. The film tells the story of a journalist (Duchovny) ...
'' (1993), ''
Mulholland Falls
''Mulholland Falls'' is a 1996 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Lee Tamahori, written by Pete Dexter, and starring an ensemble cast featuring Nick Nolte, Jennifer Connelly, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Melanie ...
'' (1996), and the remake of ''
The Hills Have Eyes
''The Hills Have Eyes'' is an American horror franchise that consists of four horror films, as well as a graphic novel and merchandise. The first film was released in 1977, '' The Hills Have Eyes''; the series was rebooted in a 2006 remake. T ...
'' (2006).
The romantic comedy film ''
Mannequin
A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. Pr ...
'' (1987) is a story of a window dresser who falls in love with a mannequin that comes to life.
![Hybridlll](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Hybridlll.jpg)
The cast of the satirical Japanese television series ''
The Fuccons/Oh! Mikey'' consists entirely of inanimate mannequins with voices dubbed in.
Four mannequins can be seen on the cover of the album ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' by
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
. All were
wax dummies modeled after the members of the band.
The music video for the hit single "
The Sun Always Shines on T.V." by
a-ha
A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...
features the band performing in a church full of mannequins.
Commercials for the clothing store
Old Navy
Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its ...
sometimes use inanimate mannequins with voices dubbed in.
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven (born July 18, 1963) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Al Snow. He is best known as a wrestler for Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Wrestling Entertainment. Sn ...
had/has a sidekick/tag-team partner/opponent named "Head" that was a long haired female mannequin head. In addition to being a one-time
WWE Hardcore Champion
The WWE Hardcore Championship was a hardcore wrestling championship in WWE which was contested under "hardcore" rules (no Professional wrestling#Disqualification, disqualifications, no Professional wrestling#Countout, countouts, and Professional ...
, Head was often used as a weapon or spoken to as a moral compass.
Electronic dance music duo
FEMM consists of two “living mannequins” and the duo's persona is that of an agency trying to “end the suffering of mannequins worldwide”.
Military use
Military use of mannequins is recorded amongst the ancient Chinese, such as at the
siege of Yongqiu. The besieged Tang army lowered scarecrows down the walls of their castles to lure the fire of the enemy arrows. In this way, they renewed their supplies of arrows. Dummies were also used in the trenches in World War I to lure enemy snipers away from the soldiers.
A
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
(CIA) report describes the use of a mannequin ("Jack-in-the-Box") as a
countersurveillance
Countersurveillance refers to measures that are usually undertaken by the public to prevent surveillance, including covert surveillance. Countersurveillance may include electronic methods such as technical surveillance counter-measures, which is ...
measure, intended to make it more difficult for the host country's
counterintelligence
Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ot ...
to track the movement of CIA agents posing as diplomats. A "Jack-in-the-Box" – a mannequin representing the upper half of a human – would quickly replace a CIA agent after he left the car driven by another agent and walked away, so that any counterintelligence officers monitoring the agent's car would believe that he was still in the car.
See also
*
Agalmatophilia
Agalmatophilia () is a paraphilia involving sexual attraction to a statue, doll, mannequin, or other similar figurative object. The attraction may include a desire for actual sexual contact with the object, a fantasy of having sexual (or non-sexual ...
, sexual attraction to mannequins
*
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spont ...
*
Crash test dummy
A crash test dummy, or simply dummy, is a full-scale anthropomorphic test device (ATD) that simulates the dimensions, weight proportions and articulation of the human body during a traffic collision. Dummies are used by researchers, automobi ...
*
Fusion Specialties, a large mannequin manufacturer
*
Ivan Ivanovich - dummy used in Vostok spacecraft test flights
*
Mannequin Challenge
The Mannequin Challenge was a viral Internet video trend which became popular in November 2016. In this challenge, participants have to stay still in action like a mannequin while a moving camera films them, often with the song " Black Beatles ...
- a viral Internet video trend
*
Model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...
*
Resusci Anne
Resusci Anne, also known as Rescue Anne, Resusci Annie, CPR Annie, Resuscitation Annie, Little Annie, or CPR Doll is a model of medical simulator used for teaching both emergency workers and members of the general public. Resusci Anne was deve ...
*
Sex doll
A sex doll (also love doll, fuck doll or blowup doll) is a type of anthropomorphic sex toy in the size and shape of a sexual partner. The sex doll may consist of an entire body, or just a head, pelvis, or other body part (vagina, anus, mouth, ...
*
Mary Brosnan
Mary Brosnan (February 2, 1906 – January 20, 1988), also known as Mary Brosnan Kratschmer, was an American businesswoman and mannequin designer, winner of the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award, Neiman-Marcus Fashion Award in 1966.
Early life
Mary ...
(mannequin designer)
References
Further reading
* The Recycling and Reuse of Mannequins
See 'Mannakin'*Gross, Kenneth - ''The Dream of the Moving Statue'' (
Penn State Press
The Penn State University Press, also known as The Pennsylvania State University Press, was established in 1956 and is a non-profit publisher of scholarly books and journals. It is the independent publishing branch of the Pennsylvania State Uni ...
1992, )
* Verstappen, Stefan. The Thirty-six Strategies of Ancient China. 1999.
{{Authority control
Visual arts materials