A collection of seven non-normative mannequins. A departure from everything the industry thought it understood about inclusion.
YOU CAN CREATE SOMETHING INCLUSIVE, OR CHALLENGE WHAT INCLUSION MEANS
For years, the industry has been talking about gender neutral. A term that often translates into something bland, lifeless and, at its core, unrealistic. Because people aren’t neutral, bodies aren’t neutral, identity isn’t neutral.
So, together with artist Tom van der Borght we created a collection that pushes beyond men and women. Not the loss of identity, but the freedom within it. Instead of neutral, we made it non-normative.
TOM VAN DER BORGHT
Known for his bold and authentic style, Tom approaches design from a place where difference is not erased, but amplified.
He designs from everything he’s lived through and every layer of that shows up in his work.
His symbolic connection to the number seven became the starting point for this project.
A number that carries personal weight and became the conceptual backbone of the entire collection.
THE RESEARCH
After three years of collaboration between Hans Boodt Mannequins and Tom van der Borght,
the seven is ready to expose. What started as an idea rooted in that symbolic connection evolved
into a project that challenges conventional ideas around identity, expression and inclusivity.
Hans Boodt Mannequins translated this vision into a physical reality through concept development,
design, prototyping and fabrication, bringing seven fully realised figures into the world.
SEVEN MANNEQUINS THAT EXIST OUTSIDE OF SYSTEMS
Not male, not femal, not in between. Not easily defined. Exaggerated. Distorted. Expressive.
Sometimes uncomfortable. Sometimes playful. Always intentional.
Not here to provide anwsers but to challenge the question.
WHERE DOES ‘BEYOND THE BODY’ GO NEXT?
This collaboration was never about solving inclusivity. It’s about reframing it entirely.
And that conversation doesn’t end at one exhibition.
‘BEYOND THE BODY’ launched at Antwerp.Fashion Festival last June 4-7.
With a prominent display of our ‘SEVEN’ at Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp and Donum Interior Design Store,
we’ve just started the journey. Follow along to see where they will end up next.
THE SEVENNOT NEUTRAL. NEVER NORMAL
A collection of seven non-normative mannequins. A departure from everything the industry thought it understood about inclusion.
YOU CAN CREATE SOMETHING INCLUSIVE, OR CHALLENGE WHAT INCLUSION MEANS
For years, the industry has been talking about gender neutral. A term that often translates into something bland, lifeless and, at its core, unrealistic. Because people aren’t neutral, bodies aren’t neutral, identity isn’t neutral.
So, together with artist Tom van der Borght we created a collection that pushes beyond men and women. Not the loss of identity, but the freedom within it. Instead of neutral, we made it non-normative.
TOM VAN DER BORGHT
Known for his bold and authentic style, Tom approaches design from a place where difference is not erased, but amplified. He designs from everything he’s lived through and every layer of that shows up in his work. His symbolic connection to the number seven became the starting point for this project. A number that carries personal weight and became the conceptual backbone of the entire collection.
THE RESEARCH
After three years of collaboration between Hans Boodt Mannequins and Tom van der Borght, the seven is ready to expose. What started as an idea rooted in that symbolic connection evolved into a project that challenges conventional ideas around identity, expression and inclusivity.
Hans Boodt Mannequins translated this vision into a physical reality through concept development, design, prototyping and fabrication, bringing seven fully realised figures into the world.
SEVEN MANNEQUINS THAT EXIST OUTSIDE OF SYSTEMS
Not male, not femal, not in between. Not easily defined. Exaggerated. Distorted. Expressive. Sometimes uncomfortable. Sometimes playful. Always intentional. Not here to provide anwsers but to challenge the question.
WHERE DOES ‘BEYOND THE BODY’ GO NEXT?
This collaboration was never about solving inclusivity. It’s about refraiming it entirely. And that conversation doesn’t end at one exhibition.
‘BEYOND THE BODY’ launched at Antwerp.Fashion Festival last June 4-7. With a prominent display of our ‘SEVEN’ at Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp and Donum Interior Design Store, we’ve just started the journey. Follow along to see where they will end up next.