Cynthiaâ??s face remained completely blank, wearing that same empty stare at the theater, Bergdorfâ??s, a private dinner party, and even her regular hair salon. Everywhere she went, Cynthia tantalized the paparazzi and her adoring publicâ??always seen on the arm of the fashionable Lester Gaba, wearing the runwayâ??s latest styles and enjoying New York nightlife to the fullestâ??but still her gaze revealed nothing.
Of course, thatâ??s because Cynthia was a mannequin, crafted by Gaba to promote his retail display business. In 1937, Gabaâ??s irreverent experiment captivated the public by spotlighting our larger fixation with mannequins, made up of a strange blend of adoration, emulation, discomfort, and sometimes even terror. Cynthia was merely the descendant of a long line of mannequins, whose idealized bodies gave shape to our materialist fantasies at least since the time of the Egyptians.
When archaeologists opened King Tutankhamenâ??s tomb in 1922, they found a wooden torso bearing the kingâ??s likeness near a chest containing the young pharaohâ??s wardrobe, considered the oldest-known forerunner to modern mannequins. This bust was likely used to model Tutankhamenâ??s elaborate garments and jewelry, providing a stationary figure matching the kingâ??s specific measurements to assist with clothing design and adjustment.
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