For the most part, mannequins are fragile pieces of plastic that present clothing in some kind of endearing way. Usually they’re rail thin, and aside from having arms and legs, lack any true human resemblance.
Missguided, a woke clothing shop targeted at millennials and Gen Z (hence our use of the term ‘woke’), sees its displays a little differently. The UK-based brand has introduced mannequins that have human-like traits including freckles, stretch marks and a variety of skin tones, as well as ones with less common features like vitiligo, a skin condition that affects pigmentation. In a sea of stark white, oft-headless plastic figures, these diverse mannequins are incredibly refreshing. The brand is calling them the #KeepOnBeingYou Army.
“Be yourself, be confident in your own skin, celebrate your flaws, take risks and own it and f*ck being perfect,” the brand said in a statement to BuzzFeed.
To be clear though, the mannequins are still pretty damn perfect and almost unnaturally beautiful. All have enviable brows, are of a certain weight (read: slim), have beautiful little noses and full lips and clear skin. Not a pimple in sight! So there’s a ways to go in terms of “f*ck being perfect.”
Introducing the #makeyourmark mannequins: bc f*ck perfection, it doesn’t exist 💗👑💗👑💗👑 (📷@2014Kelcie) https://t.co/4CiJhE240P pic.twitter.com/SGaMK6IPXo
— Missguided (@Missguided) February 23, 2018
Still, Missguided has been on a mission to redefine beauty standards for a while, championing inclusivity and normalizing normal things like stretch marks, belly rolls and all the imperfections that make humans human. Just last year the company banned the use of Photoshop from its advertising campaigns, so all imagery it presents to consumers is unretouched (in terms of the models bod, at least).
@Missguided are truly smashing it.
I am obsessed with their Natural Beauty Mannequins Campaign.Loving their #KeepOnBeingYou army! 🙌🏼💓👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/tDnT7xsY4D
— Danielle (@VanierDanielle) February 24, 2018
As more and more brands go to bat for diversity, the cultural definition of beauty is slowly but surely becoming more inclusive. More of this, please.
All rights reserved