Mannequins are human models used in various industries, including fashion, medical education, and art. They can be made of various materials, sizes, and realism levels. The term “mannequin” comes from the Dutch word “mannekijn,” meaning “little person.” Department store mannequins can be full-sized or smaller and may or may not have heads. High-end mannequins are jointed and come in different skin tones, while artist’s mannequins are fully jointed for posing. Mannequins are also called lay figures and are used in medical education to simulate human bodies.
A mannequin is a model of a human being, or a large part of the human body. The materials of construction used to make these models vary widely, as does their size and realism. They are probably most famous for their use in the fashion industry, but are also used in medical education, art and tailoring. They can be purchased from specialized shops or through auctions; another great source is a struggling department store, which may be willing to give away its mannequins or sell them cheap if it goes bankrupt.
The spelling “mannequin” is also correct and comes from the same root word, the Dutch mannekijn, meaning “little person”. Originally, the Dutch used the term to refer to dwarfs, but over time it was also used to refer to jointed artists’ models of the human body that were used when real people weren’t available. By the 1570s, English speakers were using “mannequin” to refer to artists’ models, and in 1902 the modern spelling was revived from French to describe models used to display clothing in department stores.
A department store mannequin is usually made full size, although its measurements can be quite small and sometimes even disproportionate. Clothes and accessories can be displayed on them to make these items more eye-catching; depending on the store, they may or may not have heads. Some people find the faces – or lack thereof – a little creepy or strange, leading many stores to display clothing on headless bodies or torsos. Other stores need heads to display accessories such as hats and headbands, or choose to use them to make the display more realistic.
The high-end department store mannequins are jointed so they can be placed in different positions and come in a range of skin tones. Less expensive versions are cast in plastic in a generic pose. An artist’s mannequin, on the other hand, is usually fully jointed, so that the artist can pose as needed. These templates also come in a range of sizes, from hand-sized to full-sized. Many art school graduates have used them as tools to learn about anatomy, perspective, and other aspects of their craft.
Mannequins are also sometimes called mannequins or lay figures, depending on the region of the world in which they are found. Medical professionals and engineers often refer to their human models as mannequins, as they use specialized models with articulating joints and other features to make them behave more like real human bodies. In medical education, advanced models are used to practice intubation skills, IV needle placement, and patient management; extremely sophisticated ones can even be programmed to demonstrate various symptoms and respond to treatment.
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