What Does E-Commerce Need? Build A Better Mannequin

Mannequins were originally designed to show product in brick and mortar stores. Until now they have been used for display, not for photographing products for an online store. There are some key differences in the way the mannequin is used, and it would be really nice if someone could come up with a decent mannequin for photographing clothing.

What is wrong with most mannequins, other than being made out of cheap plastic? I have gone through a few so can give an opinion on the subject. I have also watched people in retail stores fuss and fumble with mannequins. The arms have to be at a certain angle to lift off. On one of my first mannequins, one of the arms was much more difficult to get off than the other arm. I ended up struggling with it, then when it suddenly came loose, dropped the arm on the hardwood floor and broke it.

The most challenging thing is that the mannequins are not symmetrical. You do not want one that has bent legs, posed arms, etc. because it does not suit all products. A mannequin designed to sell sportswear will not work well with gowns.

You would think something made of die cast plastic would be even, but the most recent mannequin I bought is anything but. One shoulder is higher than the other, making it difficult to get a decent picture of the back of the garment. This particular mannequin has her arms out too far from her body, and looks kind of gorilla like, which is not exactly ideal.

A few years ago I read about ghost mannequins. They are very expensive and have many parts. I have noticed they do not seem to be in high demand, perhaps due to the price, or maybe they have too many parts and are a pain, I don’t know for sure how they work. I would love to see one and try it out before buying it online since they are so awkward and large to ship.

For the most part a white mannequin with straight arms, straight legs, and even shoulders – would be a great help. The body should not be action posed in any way.

E-Commerce product photography could use a mannequin that is on a moveable, rotatable base, with shoulders that are not so big. Basically those are the specs. It does not have to be a $1200 mannequin, because you can learn to ghost the mannequin on a white background anyway.

The other difference between store display mannequins and the workhorse mannequin you need for an online store, is in the number of times she is being dressed and undressed. Often store display mannequins are dressed and left on display for weeks on end, whereas the product photography for an online store requires frequent dressing and undressing.

The main thing about mannequins is they are big and awkward to ship, and easy to break. In my opinion, they should also be designed so you can replace an arm if you break one. In other words – sell body parts! From a fossil fuel perspective, it is very wasteful to throw mannequins away, especially if you just need to replace one arm. They should be made to be fixable, with replaceable parts. I think for the most part, it is the arms, or the stand that breaks or fails, and then the mannequin gets discarded. If those parts could be replaced, it would prevent so many mannequins ending up in the landfills.

My preference would be to find one ideal mannequin and keep it forever. But I am now on the third one. Alas, when she arrived and I started dressing and working with her – I wanted to give her a Uber ticket back to where she came from!

For anyone who knows how to make mannequins – the online store/E-Commerce market might make it a worthwhile endeavour with opportunities for growth. It would be a good idea to explore different options other than plastic. Perhaps something that can be recycled, or else use more natural components.