<Anchor> This is a
friendly economic time. Today (14th), I will be with reporter Kim Hye-min. What if the shape of the mannequin in the clothing store is changing these days?
<Reporter> There is
a female mannequin in front of a general clothing store. Can you guess how tall this is?
<Anchor>
Well. I haven't looked closely, but it's probably around 165 to 170, because it looks a little big.
<Reporter>
It's much bigger than that. It's 184 centimeters. Men are 190 centimeters tall. It's very unrealistic.
It's not easy to see people around you who are this tall. It was a pretty dress when a mannequin wore it, but when I put it on myself, it was often awkward.
But recently, a realistic mannequin appeared in front of a clothing store. This mannequin you see now is made with the same body type as the average height and waist circumference of adults between the ages of 25 and 34 in Korea.
I got smaller. The waist circumference has also increased. The man is 172 centimeters tall and has a waist circumference of 30.3 inches. The female is 160.9 centimeters and 29.9 inches.
It is very similar to the body of a normal person, so the moment I see this mannequin, I first feel at ease. It was easy to see how well the fit of the clothes fit the body.
<Anchor>
That's right. Seeing the mannequin makes me feel at ease. Other than this mannequin, you said there are clothes that are actually made and sold in realistic dimensions?
<Reporter>
Every time I buy jeans, they are long so I have to mend them. A clothing company took the idea here.
The pants length of men's jeans was adjusted to the average height of Korean adults, so it was made to be worn without mending. The model of this jeans is also a comedian with a body that you can often see around you.
It's so popular that it's been said that it's been reordered for the 5th time now. In the future, it is said that the company will release not only jeans, but also various types of clothes such as knitwear and coats.
In another company, in-house employees tried on clothes instead of professional models and provided realistic fit information.
Also, the number of shopping malls where models with similar body types advertise for consumers with large body types is increasing.
<Anchor>
I always have to cut my pants when I buy them, so I've always thought about whether my legs are this short, but I want to try them on too. But in fact, you said that these movements did not start in Korea, but already started overseas first?
<Reporter>
It is a movement called 'body positive' that started in the United States.
In the past, a slim and skinny body was the standard of beauty, but it means to get away from this view and to love and care for my body as it is.
In particular, as body positivity is spreading around the MZ generation, a trend has arisen in the apparel and underwear industry to pursue comfort and health rather than design.
A famous overseas sports apparel company has been a hot topic since 2019 by introducing 'plus size', that is, overweight mannequins and models.
A famous underwear company has been famous for showing models with unrealistic bodies on fashion shows. .
<Anchor>
Actually, this kind of movement is not recent, it has been around for several years. But still, there seems to be a lot of preference for small, thin, and large faces.
<Reporter>
I usually have thoughts like "I need to lose some weight", but especially on social media, there are a lot of influencers with pretty and skinny bodies.
Foreign media reports have recently emerged that support social media spreading an obsession with looks.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the company conducted an in-depth internal three-year study of how Instagram affects young people, and found that it was detrimental to the mental health of teens.
In particular, 32% of teenage females answered that 'Instagram makes me more miserable when I'm dissatisfied with my body'.
Others have suffered from eating disorders that are severe enough to require treatment.
Korea is no exception to the compulsive stress or pressure for a skinny body.
The appearance of a realistic mannequin is only one of the small events, but I hope that these movements will come together and we will see an era where we can confidently request clothes that fit our body, not the age of matching our clothes.