{"id":27417,"date":"2026-10-13T15:09:48","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T13:09:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vmm.eu\/?p=27417"},"modified":"2026-10-16T10:37:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T08:37:51","slug":"interview-with-wolfgang-knapp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vmm.eu\/en\/interview-with-wolfgang-knapp\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Wolfgang Knapp"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Wolfgang\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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Wolfgang Knapp is a cultural studies scholar, curator and collector of historical mannequins. His specialisation is the history of mannequins from 1850 to 1950.<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>
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For more than 30 years, cultural and art historian Wolfgang Knapp has been exploring the historical development of visual marketing. His particular passion lies in antique mannequins. For research and exhibition purposes, he has built up a specialised collection of original mannequins, along with an archive and a library dedicated to the art of window display.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t

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Mannequins are, quite literally, embodiments of the spirit of the times. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t\n<\/div>

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Mr Knapp, you are a cultural and art historian and work as an exhibition curator and author in the museum and cultural sectors. You recently published the illustrated book Schaufensterfiguren \/ Mannequins 1850\u20131950. Modelle \u2013 Hersteller \u2013 Marken \/ Models \u2013 Manufacturers \u2013 Marks, which features and describes around 100 historical mannequins and approximately 180 related documents. Where does your interest in this subject come from, and what were your initial points of contact with it?<\/p>\n\t\t\t

During my childhood, my mother’s sister ran a fashion store with her husband, and another relative also owned a shop. Even back then, the imaginative window displays and lifelike mannequins, some of which were older models, caught my attention. I was also generally fascinated by all kinds of \u201cartificial bodies\u201d, including human sculptures, three-dimensional figures and portraits. During and after my studies, I began to explore these subjects more specifically, eventually focusing on mannequins. After all, mannequins are, quite literally, embodiments of the spirit of the times.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>

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When you click on the order form for your mannequin book on your office website, www.kulturgut-service.de, you are redirected to www.mannequin-museum.com. How should we imagine this? Can the museum be visited at any time?<\/p>\n\t\t\t

For the time being, the Mannequin Museum is a virtual museum. The website of the same name provides a visual impression of my mannequin collections and the activities associated with them. Selected mannequins and archival materials are regularly presented in special exhibitions in Germany and abroad, bringing them to a wider audience. The core collection of my mannequins is housed in the collection centre (storage facility) of the Historical Museum of the Palatinate in Speyer. It can be viewed there as part of a guided tour, by appointment arranged with me.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>

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The exhibits featured in your book span different periods between 1850 and 1950. However, your collection also includes many more mannequins, magazines and documents dating up to the 1990s. How did you acquire all these exhibits?<\/p>\n\t\t\t

My collections have gradually grown in a wide variety of ways. I acquired the first mannequins and documents through shop clearances, antique markets, antiquarian bookshops and fellow collectors. In today’s digital age, there are also numerous online platforms offering vintage mannequins and specialist magazines. However, as interest in historical mannequins has grown, reproductions and retro-style figures have also appeared on the market, and these are not always identified as such. A thorough knowledge of historical models is therefore essential when building a collection of authentic original mannequins.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>

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You also lend out exhibits from your collection. What kinds of clients approach you?<\/p>\n\t\t\t

My clients are primarily museums specialising in art, cultural history or film history. They approach me to document and highlight specific themes, periods or styles in their exhibitions using mannequins and visual marketing materials that are characteristic of the respective era.<\/p>\n

In some cases, I also proactively approach potential clients, drawing their attention to the considerable potential of window display art as a branch of applied art and suggesting loans that fit their exhibition concepts perfectly. In addition, I have supported film productions by lending mannequins and have also provided consultancy services for film set design and styling.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>

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You must have met some fascinating personalities from the world of mannequin manufacturers and window dressing during your research. Are you still in contact with today’s visual merchandising VM-industry?<\/p>\n\t\t\t

On the one hand, I was fortunate enough to meet descendants and former employees of historic German manufacturers who had already achieved fame and international success before the Second World War, but most of which no longer exist today. I also interviewed specialists from the older generation of the window dressing industry. Although, as a historian, my primary focus is on researching developments from past eras, I also value the exchange with today’s window dressing community. I am particularly pleased when I meet people who approach their work with passion and an open mind, and who dare to think outside the box. Everyone involved could benefit from closer networking between the visual merchandising VM-industry, museums, the art trade and art scholarship.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>

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Much like the Barbie doll in more recent times, mannequins throughout the different eras have been shaped by the spirit of the times and the beauty ideals of their respective generations. As an expert, how do you view today’s mannequins, and what do you believe makes an outstanding window display mannequin?<\/p>\n\t\t\t

In my opinion, two main trends currently dominate mannequin design: minimalist, purist figures that draw on earlier models, and figures that combine modern and historical features and materials. Alongside these, there are also cheaply manufactured products that fall short in both design and execution.<\/p>\n

An outstanding mannequin features professional modelling and proportions, is carefully crafted and painted, and has an appealing pose. Such a mannequin attracts attention and enhances the presentation of the merchandise. Styling is also important. Jointed arms and hands, which are frequently seen today, need to be positioned naturally, while wigs and eyelashes must be carefully placed, and so on. I believe that attention to detail has a positive impact on customers.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>

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We are sure that some of the exhibitions you are involved in would also be of great interest to our community. We would therefore be delighted if you could let us know the dates in good time so that we can share them with our members. We wish you every success with your new book!<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For over 30 years, Wolfgang Knapp has been exploring the fascinating world of historical mannequins. Through his unique collection, he preserves a piece of window display art and brings the stories behind these figures back to life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":27445,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[390,394,426,1026,1027,1028,1029],"class_list":["post-27417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews-en","tag-visuelles-marketing","tag-visual-marketing","tag-visual-marketing-en","tag-kunst","tag-visuelles-marketing-en","tag-kunst-en","tag-art"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-10-24 02:54:54","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vmm.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vmm.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vmm.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vmm.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vmm.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27417"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.vmm.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27435,"href":"https:\/\/www.vmm.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27417\/revisions\/27435"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vmm.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vmm.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vmm.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vmm.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}