Perfectly Imperfect: Mannequins Modeled After the Disabled Get Zurich Shoppers to Look Closer

Because who is perfect?

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8umFV69fNg]

For all the criticism of the Barbie-like proportions of storefront mannequins, little has been done to alter the monotony of their unrealistic dimensions. Until now. In honor of International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Dec. 3, holiday mannequins in the windows at a clothing store on Zurich’s main drag, the Bahnhofstrasse, were replaced with ones modeled after five disability activists.

The video above, which has been viewed more than a million times since the advocacy group Pro Infirmis posted it on YouTube Monday, shows standard mannequins being recast to resemble the curved back of Miss Handicap 2010 Jasmin Rechsteiner and the amputated lower leg of Paralympic gold medalist Urs Kolly, among others. Placed in storefront windows and decked out in sequins and bow ties, the figures attract both curious stares and a surprising number of smiles from passersby on the busy downtown street.