Long Tall Sally creates 3D-printed mannequin of a customer

Long Tall Sally, the only high street clothing retailer specifically for women over 5’ 8”, has produced a realistic mannequin of an actual customer using 3D printing techniques.

The company creates clothing for women from size 8 to 22, with trousers up to a 38” inside leg and shoes from 7 to 13. Long Tall Sally identified the fact that the average mannequin is an entirely different shape and size to the average woman, and decided to launch a contest – the ‘Are You Built Tall?’ competition – to find a customer to base its own mannequins on.

Harriet Winters, 6’ and a realistically average size 14, was chosen and her precise likeness has been turned into a mannequin. The latest in 3D scanning and printing technology was used for the project, taking Winters’s exact measurements from every angle and reproducing them flawlessly.

Her body was scanned with a 3D machine, and the scan mapped to produce a mannequin blueprint which was then divided into sections and transformed into a solid figure. The fashion industry generally uses mannequins which stand at 5’ 9” with 34”-24”-34” measurements; Long Tall Sally has long had to order special 6’ mannequins, but now they have the added bonus of realistic measurements at 38”-31”-40”.

“To me, most mannequins in stores look so similar and don’t always reflect real body shapes,” Winters said. “I’m proud of my figure, and it’s really powerful to see a mannequin with the dimensions of a real woman.”

Long Tall Sally’s goal was to create a mannequin which was atypical within the fashion industry, yet typical for its customer. Since 1976, the company has created clothing specifically designed for tall women, and remains the only high street retailer committed to doing so.

“Our talented designers pay special attention to the particularly fit that taller woman need, so bringing a customer, like Harriet, to the heart of this process will be invaluable,” said Andrew Shapin, CEO of Long Tall Sally. “In an industry first, we’re not able to see what our collections will look like on a mannequin created from the exact likeness of one of our customers, which is incredibly exciting.”

Follow @ManufacturingGL and @NellWalkerMG