Bonaveri Magazine

And you started to collaborate with the big
companies such as LV, Fendi… and then
Bonaveri came into play.
Emma: Bonaveri has always been in the game
because I have always used either Rootstein
or Bonaveri mannequins throughout my entire
career. There is a specific taste level when you
are choosing or dressing mannequins, and it
was either Rootstein or Schläppi. That is just
how it is.
Bonaveri has always been
in the game, because I
have always used either
Rootstein or Bonaveri
mannequins throughout
my entire career.
And now you are designing some Schläppi and
also you are collaborating on the new Twiggy.
How did she come about?
Emma: Andrea and I had a conversation
four or five years ago, whilst we were driving
back to Ferrara late at night from the Milano
showroom. I said to Andrea: “Maybe you should
buy Rootstein!” During the three hour car
journey we talked a lot about Rootstein, but
the conversation then finished. A few years
later, one day Andrea said: “Oh I have some
news!” And yes, he was in the process of buying
Rootstein, which was very exciting! With Twiggy,
I have curated the styling and Andrea has done
the main bulk of the collection.
For Bonaveri you designed Aloof, Tribe
collection, and Obsession that is launching
soon. What about this last one?
Emma: Schläppi has a certain DNA and I love
one of the first creations which I nicknamed
“the Monkey” because her pose reminded me
of a monkey. There is a beauty and elegance in
her elongated fingers, limbs and neck… she’s
stunning. When you go through the archive
pieces, which you don’t see in the factory, the moulds,
the faces and lips are generally very awkward, which I
find very attractive.
When I looked at the original Schläppi mannequins, I
really wanted to translate them into modern day and
create mannequins with the right height and size but
still with that awkward beauty to them…something
that people want to buy and that will be timeless.
When we created Aloof, I was inspired by the ‘40s and
‘50s and then with Obsession we moved into the ‘70s
and it was very much Pat Cleveland, Jerry Hall, Grace
Jones and Diana Ross. Pat Cleveland for example
was one of the first supermodels, the face of all the
brands in New York from Halston all the way through.
I looked at that Studio 54 era, when they all used to
hang out together and when you see them dancing -
whirling and twirling on the dance floor - that’s where
all the movement and the ‘70s attitude comes from.
So there is the inspiration, but also making it timeless
and making it very Schläppi. When you mix awkward
with movement, you get something really beautiful.
Timeless you said, in an industry that is the opposite
by definition.
Emma: You know the mannequin is the actor, she is
going to be changed every five minutes, a dressing
rotation in a fashion store is every two weeks. But the
mannequin needs to be timeless in the sense that…
I want someone to go into the archives in a hundred
years’ time and pull our pieces out and be as excited
by them as I am now looking at the first Schläppi. I
would like to think that somebody in the timeline will
continue the Schläppi heritage. Revisting the pieces
Andrea and I have created… I would like people to say:
“Wow, she’s amazing!” [Looks at Andrea] How old she
is now?
Andrea: Schläppi is from the beginning of 1970.
Emma: So she is nearly 50! She’s still in the windows
now…incredible!
Andrea: This is the iconic mannequin. This is “The
Mannequin” no other mannequin is as famous and
so successful and unique. Schläppi 2200: is the only
one in the world.
Going back to the new Obsession collection, I would
like to add a note regarding their pose: all the
mannequins in the windows now are standing straight
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