Dolls Were Fashion's First Fitting Models, and Designers Still Answer to Them

A new exhibit is turning its spotlight on the miniature companions designers have kept close for inspiration, tracing how a doll's proportions and dress-up appeal have shaped grown-up collections. The premise is simple: before a look reaches a runway or a red carpet, some of it may have first been worked out at doll scale. It is a reminder that scale has never limited ambition in this business, only sharpened it.

With reporting from Elle.