First Ever Mannequin Based on a Real Customer

We've all been there, we walk into our favourite store and the first thing we see is mannequins the size of sticks with unrealistic proportions. We look to the mannequins as a form of guidance as to what the clothes will look like on our bodies. But if they don't portray the average woman, how does this make us feel? 

But it would seem one retailer has finally listened to our cries and made the first ever mannequin based on a real customer. British retailer Long Tall Sally, specialists in creating clothing which fit and flatter women over 5'8", are determined to make mannequins a more relatable visual aid for their customers. And so they ran a competition for their customers to become the basis for a new mannequin which would mirror their exact proportions.

At 6ft and a size 14, winner Harriet Winters, an IT contractor from London, is a true representation of Long Tall Sally's customers. "You should design clothes for actual people rather than aspirational shapes or models that don't represent those customers." She was sent down to the retailers studio where technicians from design and animation company Studio 43 scanned her body. The images were then used to create a 3D model which formed Winters' exact proportions.

Winter says that she hopes the mannequin will make shopping a more positive and easy experience for other women. Having mannequins which represent the average woman has been talked about for some time but its refreshing to see that someone has finally taken action. Now all we need is for the rest of the high street to jump on board and create a variety of mannequins that appeal to women of all shapes and sizes. A true representation of British women.