Evolution of Style through Mannequins. Part 1: 1978-1980

Jun 28, 2018 | Photography, Plastic Girls, Popular Culture, Roberto Bigano

0565-14 Shop window in Regent St, London, UK - September 1980 - From "Plastic Girls" series. Photo by Roberto Bigano. Buy this image in the ikonographia.com store.

1980 | Regent St, London, UK | Nikon FM 50/1.4. Film Kodak PlusX Pan – BUY THE HI-RES FILE or BUY A PRINT

Plastic Girl Series Part 1. Photographs by Roberto Bigano


Ikonographia is proud to publish “Plastic Girls,” an impressive forty years-long work by the Italian photographer Roberto Bigano documenting mannequins. This post is the first of a series and features black & white photographs taken from 1978 to 1980.

I have been shooting “Plastic Girls” for over forty years. They fascinate me, and I find they tell a lot about a country’s culture and the evolution of fashion and style. I always took all the photos in the stores’ windows through the glass and never with special permits. All these wonders are right there, available to anyone able to see them.

The images are available for purchase as hi-res  files or as prints.

0175-17 Shop window in Rome on vintage theme, November 1978 | From "Plastic Girls" series. Photo by Roberto Bigano. Buy this image in the ikonographia.com store.

November 1978. Rome. Leica M2 Summaron 35mm, Kodak Tri X 1000 iso.
I was serving the Army, in the Photo dept. The cameras were a Rolleiflex Twin Lens and a Leica M2, which I used here for the first time.

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0360-13 Mannequin in a shop window in Braunschweig, Germany, September 1979 | From "Plastic Girls" series. Photo by Roberto Bigano. Buy this image in the ikonographia.com store.

September 1979.
Braunschweig, Germany.
Nikon FM 24mm – Ilford HP5.

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0364_15 Dummy in Copenhagen, Denmark, September 1979 | From "Plastic Girls" series. Nikon FM 50mm f 1.4 – Ilford HP5 Photo by Roberto Bigano. Buy this image in the ikonographia.com store.

September 1979.
Mannequin, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Nikon FM 50mm – Ilford HP5.

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0359_35 Dummy at Strick dept. store, Braunschweig, Germany. September 1979 | From "Plastic Girls" series. Photo by Roberto Bigano. Buy this image in the ikonographia.com store.

September 1979. Strick.
Braunschweig, Germany.
Nikon FM 50 f1.4 Film Ilford HP5.

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0370-29 Retro Mannequin, Stockholm, Sweden, September 1979 | From "Plastic Girls" series. Photo by Roberto Bigano. Buy this image in the ikonographia.com store.

September 1979. Stockholm, Sweden. Nikon FM 24mm, film Ilford HP5.

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0415-13 Mannequins in West Berlin, Germany, February 1980 | From "Plastic Girls" series. Photo by Roberto Bigano. Buy this image in the ikonographia.com store.

February 1980. Store window in Berlin, Germany. Nikon FM2 50mm, Ilford FP4

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0417-14 Frauentag / Women’s Day East Berlin, DDR, February 1980 | From "Plastic Girls" series. Photo by Roberto Bigano. Buy this image in the ikonographia.com store.

February 1980. Store window for Women’s Day. East Berlin. Nikon FM, 50mm, Ilford FP4

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0419-13 Trendy dummies, West Berlin 1980, Germany, February 1980 | From "Plastic Girls" series. Photo by Roberto Bigano. Buy this image in the ikonographia.com

February 1980. West Berlin. Nikon FM 50/1.4. Film Ilford FP4.

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0415-21 Stylish dummies at Streifen Dept. Store, Berlin, Germany, February 1980 | From "Plastic Girls" series. Photo by Roberto Bigano. Buy this image in the ikonographia.com

February 1980.
Streifen Dept. Store, Berlin, Germany.
Nikon FM 50/1.4. Film Ilford FP4

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0419-05 Store window Berlin 1980, Germany, February 1980 | From "Plastic Girls" series. Photo by Roberto Bigano. Buy this image in the ikonographia.com store.

February 1980.
Store window, Berlin, Germany.
Nikon FM 20mm. Film Ilford FP4.

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0419_R The proof sheet of roll N.419 includes at least six interesting subjects. February 1980.

February 1980.
The proof sheet of roll N.419 includes at least six interesting subjects.
Nikon FM 50/1.4 /24.2.8/105.2.5. Film Ilford FP4, developed with Ilford ID11 1+3 at 15’30”.

0564-34 Mannequin, London, UK September 1980 | From "Plastic Girls" series Nikon FM 50/1.4. Film Kodak PlusX Pan Photo by Roberto Bigano. Buy this image in the ikonographia.com store.

September 1980.
London, Regent St.
Nikon FM 50. Film Kodak PlusX.

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0564-33 Mannequins, Soho, London, UK September 1980 | From "Plastic Girls" series. Photo by Roberto Bigano. Buy this image in the ikonographia.com store.

September 1980. Soho, London. Nikon FM, 50/1.4, Film Kodak Plus X 125 Iso.

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0568-27 Elegant mannequin with greyhound, London Knightsbridge, UK September 1980 | From "Plastic Girls" series. Photo by Roberto Bigano. Buy this image in the ikonographia.com store.

September 1980.
Mannequin London.
Nikon FM 24mm. Film Kodak Plus X.

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0566-33 The Bionic Woman, London, UK September 1980 | From "Plastic Girls" series. Photo by Roberto Bigano. Buy this image in the ikonographia.com sto

September 1980.
The Bionic Woman Action Doll
Nikon FM 50/1.4. Film Kodak Plus X.

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Copyright and credits

Photographs by Roberto Bigano.
All the images in this post are copyrighted.
Tutte le immagini di questo post sono coperte da copyright.

About Roberto Bigano


Anne Harriet Fish Sifton Portrait 1915

Roberto's eye by Francesco Piras.

All the pictures on this page are by Roberto Bigano, an Italian photographer based in Verona, with branches in Naples and New York City. He developed special digital and high-resolution photography skills and taught photography at international workshops and conferences.
His books include Divina Bugatti and The Non-existing Knight, as well as countless art books, such as Berrocal for IVAM.

His work is a fascinating blend of high-profile projects, such as the high-resolution reproduction of Leonardo Da Vinci's works, and personal projects, starting from "Plastic Girls" and "Wonderful Mistakes," and most recently, a captivating exploration of New York City's Art Deco Architecture.

Read all Roberto's stories on this site.
About Roberto Bigano.
Browse or Buy his pictures as hi-res files in the Roberto Bigano Archive.
Browse or Buy his Fine-Art Prints
Dedicated pages on his works on Ikonographia: Bugatti Automobili, Bburago, "Plastic Girls" (Mannequins), Sardinia Artistic Bread.

See Plastic Girls Book


Ikonographia is proud to publish “Plastic Girls,” an impressive forty years-long work by the Italian photographer Roberto Bigano 

See my published books