Rebecca Moses has discovered a new medium for storytelling: Life-size mannequins. For the last year, the designer and fashion illustrator has worked with famed form maker Ralph Pucci to create what she considers a celebration of women. “Women need a sense of empowerment and endorsement,” she said. “We live under a great deal of pressure and need to learn to love and embrace ourselves.”

Moses took on that challenge with her latest project, converting her 2-D portraits into 3-D mannequins. “It’s about celebrating women of imperfectly perfect standards and their diversity and uniqueness,” she explained. The ladies will be on display at an exhibition entitled Mes Demoiselles: Imperfectly Perfect at the Ralph Pucci showroom beginning December 8.

Moses began her fabrication by analyzing the characters in her original drawings and then, using sculpting clay and molds, she transformed them one by one. Each mannequin is hand-painted and adorned in a one-of-a-kind outfit designed by her. “Ralph really understood what I was trying to say,” Moses said of revealing her drawings to Pucci for the first time.

The friendship between Moses and Pucci goes back to the early 1990s, when she was starting her career. After 20 years of living in Italy, she returned to the Big Apple and was looking for ways to collaborate with Pucci.

The show is intended to demonstrate Moses’s full journey as both an artist and as a designer. Each mannequin is unique — from its ethnicity and hairstyle down to its wardrobe.

For Moses, this project is deeply personal and reflects her current views on creativity and beyond. “Fashion is always a reflection of the way we live. It has ruled my life and has given me another perspective on life,” she said.