14 DAY TRIAL // The campaign featuring mannequins built after people with severe visible physical disabilities is meant to raise awareness and “provoke a reaction on the acceptance of people with disabilities,” because no one is perfect.
An advocacy group from Zurich, called Pro InfirmisCH, came up with the idea of replacing regular supermodel mannequins with the ones shaped after disabled people suffering from scoliosis, brittle bone disease or loss of limbs. The organization works with people suffering from disabilities and decided to honor them by organizing a special event.
The campaign was set to hit the streets in honor of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and got the name “Because who is perfect? Get closer.” The models for the mannequins were famous disabled people who work towards a bigger acceptance of handicapped individuals into society.
Each mannequin was perfectly crafted after the model's body and then exhibited in windows of shops around Zurich's main downtown street. One of the models in the video was Miss Handicap 2010, Jasmine Rechsteiner, who was more than willing to help the organizers with the powerful campaign.
“It's special to see yourself like this, when you usually can't look at yourself in the mirror,” one of the women posing as a model said, according to Daily Mail. The video captures the hard work the artists put into the making of the replicas and the emotion that the models showed when they saw the result.
Disabled people have a hard time accepting their appearance, dealing with something similar to an internal battle. Only the fact that they accepted posing for the campaign, letting their handicaps be showcased is a big achievement.
The difference between what passersby usually saw in the shop windows and what they were seeing now was shocking and the commercial shows some of their reactions. It is a really powerful message and even the models said they were impressed by the idea.
