WATCH: NY exhibit pays tribute to the art of the mannequin

A new exhibition that focuses on 30 years of mannequin design by designer and manufacturer Ralph Pucci illustrates that display items can be art in and of themselves.

"Ralph Pucci: The Art of the Mannequin" at New York's Museum of Arts and Design is the first to explore Pucci's work. He is widely regarded for his innovative approach and his collaborations with well-known names in the design world, including Diane von Furstenberg, Partrick Naggar, Andree Putman, Isabel and Ruben Toledo, Anna Sui, Christy Turlington and Veruschka.



Museum director Glenn Adamson describes Pucci as "the most influential mannequin designer of his generation."

"He has really opened up the possibilities of what a mannequin can be. So by making it abstract, making it athletic, by working with all these extraordinary artists and designers, he's taken a design form that almost once was neutral a little bit anonymous, something that you forgot about because you were looking at the clothes and he's made that not only into a subject of interest in its own right but actually something that makes the clothes look better. And that's the genius of Ralph Pucci," he said.

The exhibition looks at 30 of Pucci's most significant designs and includes a recreation of the New York studio where his long time collaborator, sculptor Michael Evert, casts the clay models by hand.

The execution is part of what makes his mannequins special. Yet the designer said the real secret behind his collaborations is finding the "creative spirit that's in the world that wanted to speak to us. So if you're with André Puttman or Ruben Toledo, if you're with Maira Kalman, Kenny Scharf ... you listen. If you listen and have your eyes open, it's easy to create."

The exhibition will be open to the public until August 30th. — Reuters