Most people who work or are otherwise involved in the world of retail or fashion are very familiar with mannequins. Mannequins are an essential tool for retailers or wholesalers who want to make a particular product stand out more than others. It is a tool that has been used for hundreds of years and its effectiveness is indisputable.

Mannequins have other uses as well. They are used by interior designers or professional window decorators. The often contribute to a theme or design that people see from the street and are therefore enticed to come in and see what is for sale. Finally, mannequins and dress forms are also used by tailors for fittings and measurements. This is as it should be because the human body is not composed of squares and it is therefore difficult to make sure that the clothing that the tailor is creating or refitting rests perfectly on the curves and contours of the body.

Over the holidays I was sitting with my nephew and talking about fashion. We were talking about or likes and dislike at first and then we got into the business side of the fashion world. We were talking about how products are pitched and fashion shows and advertisements and all of a sudden he blurted out this amazing idea.

He said, why isn’t there and adjustable mannequin that can be used by tailors so that they can build a suit for example on the mannequin itself as opposed to taking complicated measurements. The mannequin would be constructed of hundreds of adjustable plates that can be positioned in tens of thousands of ways enabling the mannequin to mirror the exact shape of any client regardless of his height or size.

I thought that this idea was really good. In a practical sense I’m not planning on doing anything about it but I was so happy to hear a fresh perspective on a world and concepts that I have been involved with for so many years. It all comes down to adaptation. If you know how to adjust yourself to the situation you will be a winner and regarding my nephew, I have no doubt that he will make it some day.