Adel Rootstein was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 mannequin

Mannequin

A mannequin is an often articulated doll used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, and others especially to display or fit clothing...

 designer responsible for premium designs that are sold worldwide.

Early life

Rootstein was born in Warmbaths

Bela Bela

' is a town in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Deriving its name from the geothermic hot springs around which the town was built, it is widely known by the name Warmbaths, officially changed to the current name in 2002. Likewise, the Afrikaans name for the town was Warmbad before the name...

, South Africa in 1930. She married the industrial designer Richard Hopkins. Rootstein started by making window displays, which gave her an understanding of "the void that had existed between fashion coverage in the international media & what actually happened in windows."

Mannequins

Rootstein started making mannequins in the kitchen of her basement flat in Earls Court in 1956. She first hired sculptor John Taylor and model Imogen for her first mannequin, placed in a reclining position. This was the start of her first collection, called "Model Girl".

Rootstein Hopkins Foundation

In 1990 Rootstein and her husband Rick Hopkins set up the Rootstein Hopkins Foundation to assist young artists and designers. The mannequin business was sold in 1991 and Rootstein died in London on 20 September 1992.

External links

• Fashion Windows
• FIDM
• Adel Rootstein Official site