Shop dummies: The eerie world of a mannequin factory
Inside an old tram depot in north-east London, craftspeople make the models that will showcase the latest fashions in shop windows across Britain.
Over the years, the shape of mannequins has evolved.
Reflecting changes in both fashion and body shape, their producers are mindful of the changing social situation as well as what will sell clothes.
The mannequins made at the factory of Proportion London are produced by hand, from either fibreglass or papier mache.
The company can trace its heritage in mannequin production back 150 years.
Now the staff are preparing to leave their current factory and move to a new home.
BBC News went to see some of the old-fashioned techniques, still used to create the mannequins of today.
Video production: John Galliver
Stop/Start is a series of video features for the BBC News website which follows both new trends that are beginning and old traditions that are coming to an end.
11 Dec 2013
- From the section Magazine