Magazines Archives - 2007 September

An assignment in India gave visual merchandising guru Prof Martin M Pegler an opportunity to check out the store interiors and displays in this up-and-coming retail destination. It wasthe mannequins that caught his attention — but he is not impressed. Why?

Recently, I had the privilege to judge a contest in India to select outstanding retailinteriors, visual merchandising and displays. It is not too surprising that I was very impressed with many of the shop interiors and the fixturing, although I did take exception to the cold, sterile lighting in some cases and the frequently helter-skelter merchandising.

I do understand that many of the Indian shoppers are still impressed by quantity in merchandise display and the bazaar-type presentation, but my biggest problem was with the mannequins used — or should I say misused — in many of the stores. I just could not fathom why the mannequins that appeared in the stores or window displays did not in any way resemble the shoppers they were supposed to attract.

These were “aliens” wearing clothes. There was no effort made to appeal to the shopper’s lifestyle.

I am old enough to remember the US South in the 1960s where manyretailers recognised that shoppers had every right to see themselves in store windows if they were expected to shop in those stores. White faces with strawyellow wigs were not the norm! Black shoppers had complained and eventually got some semblance of themselves in the types of mannequins used to show off garment that the blacks were expected to buy.

First, the mannequins with Caucasian features were sprayed a light chocolate colour and topped with fuzzy black afro wigs. Then came a procession of Dorothy Dandridge and Lena Horne look-alikes who were black but were made so light and fine-featured that they could have been white.

Eventually, the more knowledgeable and savvy manufacturers had developed and produced very attractive ethnic models, many of which are available today. For the Miami/Florida market where many Latinos live and shop, the mannequin designers came up with sultry, sexy and very fetching Latino figures. They gave retailers products that helped make their merchandise more attractive to their target markets.

It was also during the 1960s that abstract mannequins really took off. These had no face, no features nor colour barriers to cover the blank body upon which clothes were presented without any reference to the shopper’s own look.

I have seen in Indian fashion publications the stunningly beautiful Indian men and women who appear in popular Bollywood films, and could not imagine why some clever and creative mannequin designers/manufacturers had not yet picked up on that look, that lifestyle, for that vast market.

When I visited the country about two years ago, I voiced my feelings against blond/blue-eyed mannequins draped in saris or wearing jeans and casual wear. I think it is insulting and demeaning to show blonde, light brown and red-headed mannequins in a country where the shoppers have predominantly rich, lustrous jet-black hair.

I also find it inexcusable that grotesque Caucasian caricature faces are used to appeal to a market of young people in their teens and 20s who are so attractive and fun in their own way.

Why ape other people’s ways when your own can be even more attentiongetting and appealing? India is a growing market for retailers and the smart retailers know their targets. When I was there, I suggested that retailers who could not afford really good mannequins that looked like the native population should remove the scraggly wigs and faded face make-up, and spray these sad figures in a colour — any colour suited to the store or merchandise — to turn unrealistic mannequins into semi-abstract ones.

Now, the human eye would not dwell on the unrecognisable face but go right to the garment worn on the mannequinn, which serves as a human-scale hanger.

A mannequin can be a big investment. It costs a lot of money, and needs to be cared for and pampered. If it has to wear a wig, there should be a wardrobe of wigs for different occasions and lifestyles, especially if the mannequin is expected to show off formal wear one week and swim suits the next. Care should also be given to the make-up on a realistic mannequin as colours fade with repeated exposure to sunlight and the lighting in window displays.

As the fashion in make-up changes almost seasonally, the make-up choice should always suit the latest look. All this involves money, time and giving the mannequin a vacation, or time-out from window display and exposure.

That also can mean bringing in a replacement, or at least some other clever and amusing way of showing the merchandise, be it laid down, folded, suspended or padded on a form. If the retailer is a small shop featuring a variety of wear, from casual to dressy, and from lingerie to evening wear, it may consider an abstract or semi-abstract mannequin, which does not necessarily have a personality but can still have a fashion attitude.

Some of the sculpted or stylised mannequins may appear too upscale or stylish to wear jeans and tank tops.Gilbert & Sullivan, over 100 years ago, wrote in their operetta, The Mikado,that “the punishment must fit the crime” or things should be appropriate to their situation. So, I would like to say to retailers all over that “the mannequin should fit the retailer, its wares, and most importantly, the clients it wishes to attract”.

Let us also add the fact that the figures put out in the windows or up front in the store are part of the store’s brand image.

I hope that what I have written is not taken as a criticism of the Indian market alone. This is something I have seen in my travels around the world, especially in developing countries where the retailers may stand in awe of those in the US or any major European country.

There are still so many retailers showing their wares on ‘hags’ or tired, dilapidated, worn-out and faded mannequins that are caricatures of themselves, emeaning the merchandise and shoppers. So, smarten up. Strip them and paint them, pull stockings over their heads, as they often do in museums, to obliterate what was and is now gone, or just style up with new and appropriate mannequins that fit your clientele.