My friend Maayan Zilberman, co-designer of lingerie line The Lake & Stars, posts generally awesome inspiration photos on Facebook and Instagram (@maayanzilberman), but I was especially taken with her recent documentation of bizarre retail mannequins. I asked her to explain herself—and to send ITG some of her favorite faces of late. Note: they range from funny to terrifying.

—N.A.

Says Maayan:

'Everyone has something they like to look for in any place they travel to. Since I was a teenager, I've enjoyed taking inventory of supermarkets and pharmacies in foreign countries to see how their cosmetics differ from ours, what scents they use, packaging, etc., and I would always keep a catalogue of snapshots to document all the ones that spoke to me or brought a smile to my face. Over the years my fascination shifted toward store displays and, more specifically, to mannequins. What's amazing to me is how many places use recycled heads or other body parts and reapply makeup (or, in some cases, car paint) to update the look of the doll.

I had the good fortune of working with the mannequin house Rootstein last year when we had some 'ladies' customized for our [The Lake & Stars pop-up] store, so I got to see the kind of artistry involved in making them. There's a ton of work that goes into each one, and they usually reflect the beauty aspirations of whatever city you're in. These are some of my favorite photos from Hong Kong, New York, Mexico City, Spain... They're real treasures, and evidence that no mannequin should ever be retired, no matter what shape she (or he) is in.”