The secret life of mannequins: VM

Showing posts with label VM. Show all posts

Tuesday, 28 June 2016

It's what's underneath that counts!

Sweeties, don't you agree lingerie shopping today has become an aspirational whirlwind of luxury design and hedonism, where store interiors increasingly take on an indulgent appearance; opulent boudoir or luxury hotel for instance - in an attempt to transport the customer out of the everyday and into a fantasy world?

My fantastic creator, Proportion London have long recognised this trend, and developed a high-end range of visual merchandising product, to help their clients bring those lace adorned dreams to life.

Selfridges; Body Studio

The new and impressive Body Studio at Selfridges opted for Proportions free standing bodies and hanging forms from their CAPSULE and BOUDOIR ranges, which not only maximised the shop floor area but also punctuated the space with interesting and creative presentation groupings. Each piece of kit was carefully considered to suit the specific areas of the body studio.

V&A exhibition; Undressed: A Brief History Of Underwear

In addition, Proportion London supplied the V&A Museum with body forms and mannequins for the 'Undressed: A Brief History Of Underwear' exhibition. The exhibition explores underwear design from the 18th century to the present day, considering the practical and personal, sensory and fashionable roles of protecting and enhancing the body.

No stranger to the museums briefs (as in instructions not pants)! Proportion understand the importance of versatile and top quality presentation product. With over 200 examples of underwear for men and woman on show - some including custom-made items, they had to ensure their figures were the perfect fit and robust enough to stand under the spotlight and watchful eye of museum visitors for almost a year. Of course, for Proportion this was a comfortable challenge, but it is an achievement never the less.

The exhibition runs until 12th March 2017. For more information or tickets please visit their website by clicking here

Images courtesy and copyright to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

BOUDOIR RE-STYLED

Freshening their BOUDIOR range, Proportion chose an on trend pallet of muted berries, luxurious fabrics and sophisticated rose gold and metal finishes. The range itself provides spectacular display potential for everything from underwear, swimwear and nightwear, through to stockings, tights and socks. Collection body shapes include, body bra and brief forms, padded bra forms, lingerie hangers and a variety of leg forms. All items are available in either sprayed fibreglass or upholstered in a wide range of coverings. Like all Proportion product, clients can employ their own custom finishes and details to make the collection unique to their brand,

If you would like more information on this range or advice on how to make the most of your lingerie displays please contact my chums at info@proportionlondon.com

Thursday, 4 February 2016

Utopian Bodies - fashion looks forward

Darlings, we all know I’m a girl with expensive taste and there’s no disguising my love of fashion, appreciation of style and admiration of good design. Believe me, my bank statement exposes a multitude of said obsessions! But what is it about fashion that makes some of us tick, and what if, in an ideal world, there were possibilities, we had never encountered?? These questions were triggered by the creative duo; Sofia Hedman and Serge Martynov (curator and designer of Utopian Bodies exhibition), when they stopped by Mannequin Towers for tea recently (and of course, some jammy dodgers)!

Sofia and Serge set a brief and discussed the concept of ‘Utopian bodies – fashion looks forward’ exhibition with Proportion London’s Account Manager, Ashley Backhouse. Excited by the prospect, the Proportion team of craftsmen began producing bespoke figures, some of which were to display unconventional and unique designs. True to the brief, tweaks and innovative amendments were made to some of the bodies: a flashing heart built into a mannequin and cutaway figures which appeared to make the clothing float in mid air.

Wanting to see this one of a kind exhibition with my very own eyes, I jetted to the Liljevachs museum in Stockholm this week. Overwhelmed by the sheer magnificence of the show and fashion in a utopian society. Each gallery takes you on a personal and unique journey while providing a thought provoking experience. To sum up my emotions I left stimulated, profound and much the wiser.

Regardless of whether you are a fashion junkie or not, we all have a relationship with attire that plays a major part in our lives. Think of clothes as our outer shell, we wake up in the morning and decide what armor to wear that day - a protection if you like. Does this outfit portray me as how I want to be perceived? Does it represent my personality? Or the dreaded question - does my bum look big in this?!!! These are some of the questions we ask ourselves on a daily basis.

But fashion can delve deeper than just the surface and how it affects us as individuals. Take sustainability, technology, and society for example. What if garments could be produced without leaving a carbon footprint? or recycled from household waste? Maybe we could all look away from our phones and focus on our surrounding environment, simply by relying on our clothing to navigate us by a tap on the shoulder, instead of following a phone map? It is innovations like these that make you re-think fashion and the importance it can hold in our lives.

Throughout this exhibition each gallery was inspired by a utopian ideal, which included innovation, technology, memory, gender identity and love. The show takes a look at the history, evolution and interpretation of fashion, with over 200 garments from luxury brands, high street retailers and Swedish designers, all presented in beautifully curated space.

Sadly the exhibition ends on the 7^th February 2016, but I am told it will be touring. I send out a clarion call for fellow fashion bunnies, non-conformists, scientists, designers, children (there’s a fabulous craft area for little peeps to create patchworks, dolls and play fancy dress) to go see if you get the chance. This one will really set you thinking, and dreaming of how fashion can harness a better future….

Initial meeting at the Proportion London showroom - discussing fabric and eating biscuits!

Cutaway bodies being developed at the Proportion London workshop

Costume toiles and fit session at the Proportion London design studio

Fluid female mannequin with bespoke heart amendments

Sustainability gallery at the Utopian Bodies Fashion Looks Forwards exhibition

Sustainability Gallery - recycled dress

Dress with beading made from glass bottles

3D printed shoes

Hand carved wooden mannequin arms

Carved wooden mannequin arms in detail

Solidarity gallery

Veneer mannequin wigs

Solidarity gallery wall details

Craft and colour gallery

Close up of mannequin details in the craft and colour gallery

Maison Martin Margiela candy bag for H&M

Beauty gallery

Gender gallery

Change gallery

Love gallery

For more information on this exhibition click here

For mannequins and bespoke projects please visit my chums at Proportion London

Wednesday, 16 December 2015

Christmas 2015 window displays part 3

Darlings...

I’m sure my two previous posts have left you feeling inspired and festive, but ‘three’ is the magic number so I simply must leave you with one final post on London’s best Christmas window displays.

Here are some of the high-street brands which caught my eye during my London retail round up.

Do not fret though my chums, it doesn’t finish here i'm whisking over to Heathrow as we speak for the next stop – New York! Stay tuned...