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Sunday, 11 October 2009

Mulberry, London

I wrote about this scheme a few weeks ago as it was really worth recording as an innovative narrative. However, subsequently, the design team have exchanged the mannequins from the original scheme to ones which I find so odd and really rather uncomplimentary. I try to resist being too critical in case I have missed some important point and any personal critique here is not necessarily informed, but merely an emotional response so something visual. That said, in this case, I feel that these figures just don't work with this scheme. Am I being harsh and too critical? The figures have wooden articulated arms which is absolutely fine as it provides the user with a huge amount of flexibility, however the wigs that these figures are wearing and the shape of these figures I feel just do nothing but distract from the scheme and the merchandise that they are selling. Now, the idea may have originated from the catwalk of London Fashion week which in a way has (perhaps) become like an important publication which has the patina of authority. This doesn't mean of course that it is right and perhaps needs to be questioned not just accepted? I think I would have tested the merchandise on these figures before buying them as part of the design team as the original very strong and interesting concept seems to have been diluted? (If you click on the left under 'Muberry' this gives you a comparison between the same scheme but using different Mannequins)