Maybe life in plastic isn’t so fantastic. In the last 24 hours, photos of River Island’s mannequins have gone viral because of how sad they look. Crouched in the foetal position and with a particularly glum look on their faces they look, as author Sarah Griff pointed out on Twitter, “like they’re hungover in the shower thinking about their life choices”. 

People have since described the poor models as “goth”, “depressed” and “hungover” – but why are they actually down? Is it as simple as alcohol poisoning or are they having an existential crisis? Perhaps they’re regretting putting so much eye shadow on or overplucking their brows, or perhaps they’re struggling to see a way out of their deadend job mannequin-ing. It’s unclear.

When the BBC asked the high street chain why their models look so morose, they said, “River Island likes to keep the shopping experience interesting, fresh and different for our customers - with distinctive in store displays, which we change and update regularly... We always welcome customer feedback and aim to reflect their views in our stores.”

Anyway if you’re feeling glum, just remember: these mannequins know how you feel.