"The year 2001 was a difficult retail environment. That's the bad news. The good news is, the year 2002, there is an upswing of orders for mannequins, forms and displayer," Richard Rollison, Vice President of Lifestyle Forms & Display Co. told FW the last time we spoke with him.

Always with a ready smile and with a very pleasant personality, Rollison has seen the ebb and tide of retail. With almost 25 years in the business, 16 of which was spent in Visual Merchandising, the man is a fountain of information about the industry.

"If you ask me if Sept 11 has affected our business, I will not answer because you know the answer to that already," he said with a laugh.

"Seriously, even before Sep 11, I have noticed a change in the marketplace. Orders were not coming in as fast as they used to be. Fortunately, we have clients like Tommy Hilfiger who always order mannequins and forms from us. There is also Nautica and Liz Claiborne."

When asked what was the trend pre-Sept 11 and post Sept 11, Rollison replied, "The trend before and after is 'versatility.' And it is not because of the changing fortunes of retail stores. It is because selling has become very fast-paced."

"You follow the fashion industry," he pointed towards me. "You would have noticed that fashion trends nowadays stay about 12-16 weeks, when a few years ago, it will stay for about 6 months to a year."

What Rollison said was true. Retailers, like almost all businesses are affected by the information age - the internet, 24-hour TV and cable, and the print media - dissiminate information faster than before.

"Retailers has to change their displays more often. When new merchandise comes in, they have to be on the sales floor immediately. The selling cycle has been shortened, compared to about 10 years ago."

"So, is that reason why you developed the Series 2002 displayer," I pointed to the brushed chrome and Macassar Ebony wood platform.

Available in a variety of different styles - finish, height, number of "holes" where you can insert the form or displayer, the platform can be used in almost any part of the store to display almost any type of merchandise. (See Photo 1)

"Yes, that's part of the versatility that we are selling to our customers," Rollison said. "It can display men's clothes and accessories today, and then display women's clothes and accessories tomorrow."

"You can put shoe risers, shirt displayers, scarf/jewelry draper, mirror, sign holder and flat risers if you want," explained Rollison as he showed me all the items that make up the Series 2002 displayers.

"These displayers can stand regular wear and tear in the store, easy to move, and needs very little storage space."

"Great news for Visual Merchandisers," I commented. "It's always a pain to lift heavy stuff."

"Exactly!" Rollison chimed in. "When we design new products, we also think of the Visual Merchandiser who will work with it, and of course, storage space, which is always a premium in the visual merchandising shop.

"What about mannequins?" I asked. "What's the current trend?"

"Plus sizes," Rollison said without hesitation. (See Photo 7) "The fashion industry has finally recognized that there is a great market for plus-size clothing. As a response to that, mannequin manufacturers are coming out with different types of plus-size mannequins - from headless, to abstract, to sculpted head, which by the way, we can always make for our clients."

"There are also a lot of orders for abstract mannequins," as Rollison pointed to the "egg heads" with flat feet. (See Photo 5) "There will always be realistic mannequins, but abstract mannequins are once again gaining popularity because of ease of maintenance."

"As for the flat feet, some retailers only sell clothes and not shoes, so we make mannequins with flat feet, so that the they can be displayed without shoes. If the retailer need to display shoes, then the shoe displayer is available for them to use."

"So, do you make them always all white?" I asked, as I noticed that most of the mannequins have a white finish.

"A customer can order any of our forms and mannequins in any finish they want," Rollison said as he pointed to me the "red" forms. (See Photo 6)

"Another trend in retailing that you will see is the use of color in mannequins and displayers. It's no longer just white, chrome or black. It's about what you can imagine."

"So, do you think the 'ideal beauty' has changed?" I asked Rollison, referring to the concept that the mannequin reflect the ideal beauty of the time it was manufactured.

Caught off guard with my question, he laughed before he answered.

"I am not a purveyor of beauty and fashion. Let Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger answer that question. I just observe things."

"Sometimes I react, but mostly I am proactive with what I have observed. Like the need for more versatile displayers. I saw it coming with the subtle changes in the marketplace.

So even before a lot of retailers realized they need versatile displayers, we developed the Series 2002. When we introduced it, we drummed up a lot of interest."

"Carpe diem," I said.

"Yes, seize the day," Rollison said, again with a smile. "But isn't retailing all about that?"

Life Style Forms & Display Co.
(212) 627-2809
Showroom 151 W 25th St.
New York NY 10001
By appointment only