Bonaveri Magazine

We did Naomi when she was only 15 and never
used it; she looks better now to be honest. Then
we did the very skinny boys because that was
what was going on in the fashion shows, like
Gucci or Prada, they were all using very very
slim boys. And we did the mannequins like that
but we got criticized heavily for propagating a
negative body issue, but really we were just
emulating what the fashion world wanted from
us.
“WE WERE MOSTLY
KNOWN FOR
OUR REALISTIC
MANNEQUINS -
WHICH STARTED
TO FEEL ‘OUT OF
FASHION’”
we often did special mannequins for Ralph Lauren. It
depended on the situation and brand, really, but we
always kept up with the trends... just as the fashions
changed, we changed, too.
London was your headquarters and playground.
My office was in Chelsea. Then we moved to a massive
premise in West Kensington - with offices, design labs,
and showrooms, even fully functional sewing rooms
where we would make outfits that followed the trends
of the day. The mannequins could not be shown
naked - they had decorum, decency, you know we
really imbued them with a liveliness. But also I must
not fail to mention the sculpting studios, the foundries
where we would
So you were definitely catching what was going
on in society.
Yes, we were tapping into the fashion zeitgeist.
We did many celebrities; Joan Collins was a very
big name at the time, she came in a few times
throughout the years. As a result I became
linked to all these very influential figures, and
we used to do all the most glamorous clubs and
restaurants. Even studio 54, I was there. We
tried to reflect what was going on, not just in
England but also the American market, which
was very big for us too. Also we were selling
our mannequins to Ralph Lauren and to the
new big stores like Zara, H&M and all the big
department stores as well: Neiman Marcus and
Bloomingdales. We were mostly known for our
realistic mannequins, but toward the 2000s
there began a trend to not use make up and hair
- which started to feel ‘out of fashion’ - in their
place were these glossy, stylized and simplified
mannequins. Zara was big on heralding this
change - it felt youthful and emerging - easily
maintainable, just like the stores themselves.
We also did some custom work, for example
cast and mass-produce the mannequins. What many
people don’t realize is that it all happened on-site. But
we didn’t have just one big space, but many around
the world. We used to have an office in New York, in
Chelsea, with a massive showroom and we would stage
the most elaborate ‘fashion shows’; once we created
a Brazilian themed show with a pool, and filled the
showrooms with an actual pool. We did a harlequin
theme once: all black and white, with carnival acts
and trapeze style mannequins. You know it could be
a real palaver!
In the ‘80s and ‘90s the music and club scenes
in London were at its peak, from Punk to New
Romantics. Were they influencing your work?
Very much so: art, movies, fashion, music, really
they are so interlinked. Models marrying actors and
famous singers marrying models and so on. We had
to have our fingers on the pulse, and music is
always at the forefront of these things. Even
today you have Bieber for Calvin Klein or One
Direction boy Harry Styles for Gucci and so on.
Today you have influencers and bloggers from
the Internet, who are even more important
than fashion editors, becoming celebrities
themselves. It’s very McLuhanite: “the medium
is the message”. I think today it’s more about
curating a lifestyle situation: store sales are
down at alarming rates around the world, but in
those days, at that time, the models were dating
the musicians and it was all so linked together.
Yasmin and Simon; Bon Jovi and Madonna
were modeling for Versace. Elton and Princess Diana
were best friends! So fashion really has always been
so omnipresent, and it was quite glamorous to be “in
the know” even with some of these dodgy musicians
like how Kate was with Pete Doherty.
You have lived and worked in audacious times,
meeting rocking people!
It was a fun company! And we did fantastic, honest hard
work. It wasn’t all champagne and glitz and glamour,
we pulled long hours. People came in to experience
our showroom launches in London or New York and it
was all very exciting. We had a strong product and we
had a lot fun. You should have seen them!
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