Pierre Imans was a well known wax mannequin sculptor primarily active in France through the 1920s and 30s. His work stands out, not only because of the quality of his wax models but also because of how they compare to the preferred living models of the time, something particularly notable in french fashion, where the intensity of this relationship between the natural and the sculpted seems more pronounced.
A few of Imans’ male figures, showing a variety in appearance and expression
While there is not much direct interaction between the two types of models, the way in which they existed overlapped in an intoxicating manner. The living model was preferred to be in as close to an inanimate state as possible. The focus, in the minds of fashion manufacturers, was to be on the clothes and the clothes only. So their models were largely kept unnamed and without personality when showing off their garment. While this has its appeal, it is also a highly dehumanizing existence and one reminiscent of the doll.
At the same time though, the ideal mannequin was shifting. The most popular sculptors were those that took pride in their work and, as such, created far more lifelike wax models than was seen before. Pierre Imans sculpted numerous different figures and imbued many of them with a humanity that was uncommon and unexpected for many at the time. His wax models were allowed the names and personalities that living models were stripped of. This blending of their roles then leads to a blurring of the boundary between the two types of models, as they get rather close to becoming each other.
Top: Pierre Imans’ female figures, all unique in appearance and in a variety of poses. Bottom: Examples of living models in the same era, almost unnaturally still
