Big was Beautiful at StoreXpo

Runway models. They're tall, lanky, gorgeous – and unrepresentative of most women.

Same with traditional mannequins. But if retailers are going to serve all their customers, mannequin designers will have to conform as well. So “realistic mannequins” no longer means only life-like details of hair and makeup. Now, some companies use the term to describe mannequins that are truly realistic.

The trend was evident at VM+SD's StoreXpo in New York this past December, among a group of showroom companies and Javits Center exhibitors.

According to George Martin, vp, creative director, of mannequin-maker Patina-V (City of Industry, Calif.), “big is beautiful.” An emerging trend for Patina-V is larger-sized mannequins in both abstract and realistic versions. “We came out with a size 20 mannequin that is voluptuous and curvaceous,” says Martin. “Heavier women don't want to see a size 4, or even a 14, mannequin representing them.”

Rich Rollison, vp, marketing, sales and creative, Lifestyle Forms and Display (New York), concurs that it's a trend to show all sizes – genuine petite, plus and maternity. His new pants form features an ample derrière modeled after bootylicious females like Jennifer Lopez and Beyoncé. “Retailers are looking for mannequins to represent real people and real lifestyles,” says Rollison. “Most women aren't built like runway models.”

Goldsmith (Long Island City, N.Y.) has also started scaling up its mannequins. The “X and Y” collection, featuring abstract heads and inventive poses, has taller female and male mannequins. “Instead of a size 4 woman, we've gone to a size 6, which reflects what's in the media about Americans getting larger,” says creative director Dwight Critchfield. “Breast size and hips have been scaled up as well, which reflects more of a 'real woman.' ”

Silvestri California (Los Angeles) is creating and selling more abstract versions of its mannequins. “Our customers aren't looking for tall and thin mannequins,” says Fidel Argomaniz, Silvestri's vp, marketing and design. “They want realistically sized, natural-looking versions resembling a real person. We're not currently making many buff and muscular mannequins.”

Even Adel Rootstein USA (New York), which has made a name for itself with striking, life-like realistic mannequins, admits to body shape being the latest trend. “In the past, we were looked to for model figures, but we've started doing more real-size mannequins,” says creative director Kevin Arpino. “We're giving them a figure instead of just being a clothes horse.”

BOTTOMS UP!

Another trend – not at the bottom of the list, but at the bottom of the mannequin – is feet. Lifestyle Forms and Display is working on mannequins without feet. Bases with adjustable posts go into the legs, negating the need for shoes.

Universal Display & Design (New York) took away foot details on one group of mannequins and gave them a removable heel. “Retailers can take the heel off and use shoes, or put the heel on without shoes,” says general manager Frank Glover. “Usually, it's only the swim and lingerie retailers who are interested in toe details.”

Goldsmith's Critchfield has spotted another emerging trend, slightly higher up the mannequin's body, evident in his new line of “Sex” mannequins. Distinguished by its molded arms hugging the form, it's strictly a jeans/pant form; the torso cannot be clothed.

“The 'Sex' collection shows that with jeans, it's all about the bottoms,” says Critchfield. “Jeanswear is an ongoing growth business, so it made sense to do something fresh and new.”

DIFFERENT IS GOOD

Retailers have been asking for something that sets them apart from their competitors for some time now. Customization requests continue to grow – be it with a unique color or finish, different heads or hands or molding directly onto the mannequin's neck with a brand logo. According to Critchfield, “There's so much sameness out there, there's a thrust to be a little bit more of an individual.”

Lifestyle Forms is one of three American companies creating mannequins out of rotationally molded plastic. “The advantage to this material is that it's unbreakable,” says Rollison. “The color is the same outside as inside, so that a scratch doesn't show. The unbreakable aspect is a huge selling point for retailers like The Gap that get a high volume of traffic.”

MAINTAINING REALISTICS

Most mannequin companies at StoreXpo agreed that realistic hair-and-makeup versions have made a strong comeback in the past few years due to the trend toward more drama and theater in retail. However, realistic heads are still a small portion of the market because so much maintenance is required at store level.

“Some retailers prefer realistics but, because it's often up to the store manager to change the mannequins, they choose simple,” says Universal's Glover. “This is often the case in specialty stores. One-piece mannequins are becoming more desirable.”

They're also more flexible, Rollison agrees. “Realistic heads reflect a customer one day, but may not be representative of how the customer sees herself in the near future,” he says. “Then the retailer is stuck with a look it thinks is outdated.”

Rootstein's Arpino, who is based in the U.K., sells more realistic than stylized mannequins in the U.S., but in Europe the percentage is nearly 70 percent realistics. “In America, there's a big swing back to stylized figures, whereas in Europe, the swing is toward realistic,” he says. “Since the hair and makeup need to change with the season, stores in the U.S. don't always have the staff to keep this up.”

David Terveen, president of DK Display (New York), feels his retail clientele still favors good emulation of the human body versus a form. The big concern with realistics is making sure they are workable tools 365 days a year. “Stores don't have the option of a summer and winter set of mannequins,” says Terveen. “A retailer's mannequins have to meet the criteria of its customers' lifestyles, yet still be simple enough to look as good in an evening gown as they do in a pair of jeans.”

Realistic or not, Roger Friedman, ceo of Bernstein Display (Port Washington, N.Y.), sees an increase in requests for mannequins with heads. “Headless was the rage for a while,” says Friedman. “There's been a big mannequin boom in the past few years. If retailers have to choose between a bust form in the window or a mannequin, I see them preferring the mannequin. In some instances, however, they choose the bust form because it's less expensive.”

Apogee USA (New York) has also seen a surge in requests for heads and other details. “Up until last year, the undefined, headless mannequin was our mainstay,” says vp Steven Stone. “There seems to be a trend toward junior, high-makeup mannequins with wild hairdos.”

BUDGETING FOR MANNEQUINS

In a market where the economy isn't flourishing and budgets are tight, what convinces a retailer to invest its precious dollars in mannequins?

“I see budgets loosening up because of the rising need to display products other than flat and folded on tables or shelves,” says Marc McCauley, national sales manager, Tobart Mannequin/American Hanger (New York). “Customers need to see something like a mannequin that will catch their eye.”

DK's Terveen doesn't see visual merchandising budgets increasing any time soon. But he does believe bigger chunks are going toward purchasing mannequins. “We are continuing to see the strength of mannequins as a visual merchandising tool,” he says. “The problem is maintaining them at store level. Most retailers won't fund visual staff.”

Patina-V's Martin says that budgets will eventually loosen up because “retailers are going to have to adjust and take a closer look at themselves. Visual impacts business – and it's a very competitive market right now.”

For more information about StoreXpo 2004, December 8-10, go to www.storexpo.info.