Issy Robins
Materiality
STRAYS
“Come one, come all, witness the oddity of the living dolls.”
Tired of a life of being watched, the dolls grew sinister and violent. Together, they began killing the creeps who came to watch the freakshow, stripping each victim of their possessions and stitching them like trophies into clothing of their own. This collection tells the story of Coney Island’s killer dolls, embodying a justice-focused practice through environmental consciousness and empowerment. Once gawked at, the dolls reclaim their power, mirroring a fashion practice that resists consumerism and patriarchal ideals. Made from secondhand and handmade materials, the collection avoids waste by celebrating forgotten objects and giving them a second life as cherished garments. By utilizing ancient crafts and community knowledge, the collection preserves ancestral practices and advances these techniques into the present. Every textile and object has been thoughtfully sourced, honoring domestic rituals and crafts. Lithuanian wedding fabrics, secondhand fur collars, tablecloths, and Leavers lace from the Solstiss Academy are found throughout.
Tired of a life of being watched, the dolls grew sinister and violent. Together, they began killing the creeps who came to watch the freakshow, stripping each victim of their possessions and stitching them like trophies into clothing of their own. This collection tells the story of Coney Island’s killer dolls, embodying a justice-focused practice through environmental consciousness and empowerment. Once gawked at, the dolls reclaim their power, mirroring a fashion practice that resists consumerism and patriarchal ideals. Made from secondhand and handmade materials, the collection avoids waste by celebrating forgotten objects and giving them a second life as cherished garments. By utilizing ancient crafts and community knowledge, the collection preserves ancestral practices and advances these techniques into the present. Every textile and object has been thoughtfully sourced, honoring domestic rituals and crafts. Lithuanian wedding fabrics, secondhand fur collars, tablecloths, and Leavers lace from the Solstiss Academy are found throughout.
Using natural dyeing techniques like cochineal, onion skin, and walnut hull, the varying materials are unified by color. To bring these older textiles into a modern lens, they are screen printed with a lace motif that is found throughout the collection. Each piece is fastened with hand-crafted ceramic buttons made in collaboration with community members. Each button is unique, personalizing every garment with the brushstrokes of found family. Functioning not only as closures, the buttons are also modular connectors that allow garments to morph in shape and size. This system enables size inclusivity and zero waste construction, transforming flat textiles into sculptural forms without cutting into the fabric. The collection investigates fashion’s potential as a medium for storytelling, justice, and healing by honoring what has been lost, discarded, or devalued, and reimagining it as something powerful, beautiful, and alive.
The Strays had always been an oddity. A spectacle made to shine under the bright lights of the circus. Hand-picked by the ringleader himself, each girl was brought into the fold, drawn into the swirling madness of Coney Island’s most infamous freak show. Their fates were all the same—to be paraded as living dolls. The girls were tired of being locked away, tired of being ogled and whispered about by the creeps who came to see them, men who leered at their beauty, marveled at their stillness, and dreamed of owning something so lifelike, so helpless. It was time to act. Their target was the ringleader, the man who had stolen them away and sold their act as a fantasy. They lured the ringleader close, played the part he had forced on them, and when he dropped his guard, they killed him without hesitation. They took his coat, his boots, his fine velvet waistcoat—stripping him the same way he had stripped them of their lives. One by one, the creeps were lured in—by the promise of something forbidden, something exquisite—and one by one, the Strays left them lifeless. Their possessions stripped, their bodies discarded like broken puppets. They stitched coats from stolen fabric, wove necklaces from pilfered trinkets. They didn’t need a home. They became a storm, a whisper, a shadow. A legend that slipped through the streets of Coney Island— the killer dolls were on the loose.
Look 1
Sohanaa wears look one. A detachable fur collared vest made of smocked
and iron-treated onion skin dyed tableclothes. The shirt is made from
reused lace scraps and layered with a dubied rib knit bralette. Lace
scraps and doilies are crocheted together using a fishnet stitch to make a
¾ circle skirt. Layered underneath the skirt are a pair of panelled trousers
hand dyed with walnut, onion, and cochineal. The look is styled with
hand-knit fingerless gloves.
Look 2
Ava wears look two, sponsored by Solstiss Lace. A simple square is sliced
into, buttoned down the sides, and pleated around the neck to create a
one-piece dress. A secondary lace rectangle is buttoned to the bottom of
the dress to create an additional skirt. Beneath the dress are dubied rib
knit knickers and a strap shirt made from an embroidered dish towel. Layered on top of the dress is a hooded vest. The vest is fully fashioned and made by weaving secondhand ribbons through handmade ceramic buttons and collected charms. The look also features a silk-screen printed capelette. The scraps from the capelette have been used as bias bindings and ribbon throughout the collection to eliminate waste.
Look 3
Lizzie wears look three. A Lithuanian lace tablecloth has been turned into a shawl dress. A small circle was removed from the center of the tablecloth to create a neck hole; the leftover circle is used in look 1. Buttons and charms are woven into the fabric. The dress is paired with a bustle skirt made from vintage doilies and scraps and featuring a button-smocked waistband for size adjustability. The look is layered over a dubied knit bralette tube and knickers. The look is styled with rib knit leg warmers featuring a fur cuff, and mismatched fingerless gloves.
Look 4
Laurine wears look four. A panelled trench is paired with a doily halter top and wide-leg capri. The panelled pieces have been hand-dyed using four different processes. Cochineal beetles found on prickly pear cactuses create a dye that makes hues of red and purple. Onion skin dye treated with alum creates a vibrant yellow, while the onion skins treated with iron create an olive green. The walnut hull dye creates a muted brown color. The panels are then connected using handmade ceramic buttons. Beneath the strap halter top is a dubied knit bralette fastened with vintage ribbons. The look is styled with one doily spat and one lace legwarmer.
Look 5
Clara wears look five. Fully fashioned felted wool coat with detachable vintage fur collar. The roving was woven in large strips and then both flat-bed needle felted and wet felted. The collar is attached using vintage buttons. Underneath the coat is a three-piece shirt made from scrap silk rectangles and a doily. The shirt is fastened with ceramic buttons and cinched with ribbons for a more form-fitting silhouette. A Lithuanian lace tablecloth has been turned into overalls with a simple slice buttoning. The look is styled with dubied knit knickers, lace arm and leg warmers, and a lace headband.
I would like to thank everybody who has been involved with the project.
Thank you to the friends and family who helped paint the hundreds of ceramic buttons seen throughout the collection.
Thank you, Nadine, for your helpful insight on ceramics and the generous gift of clay and kiln use.
Thank you, Mom, for generously letting me raid your ribbons, wools, and all the old jewelry.
Thank you, Colin, for the treasure trove of Lithuanian wedding tableclothes.
Thank you, Solstiss, for the beautiful French Leavers Lace.
Thank you to all my onion skin collectors.
Ava, thank you for being the greatest assistant of all time, for all the hours in the dye lab,
for keeping me sane, and for being the bestest friend I have ever had.
Eli, thank you for the music.
Ramsey, thank you for bringing my vision to life through your lens.
To my models, Sohanaa, Ava, Lizzie, Laurine, and Clara, thank you for being fabulous and beautiful and willing to brave the cold.
You are the best living dolls I could ask for.
Colin and Daniel, thank you for your guidance and knowledge throughout this past year.
To my family, chosen and blood, you got me here, thank you. Your support has been invaluable. I love you all.
Xoxo,
Issy
Bio
Issy is a womenswear designer operating through the lens of regenerative textiles. Her work is made using secondhand materials, manipulated with ancient dye and craft techniques, combined with handmade objects. Through the Solstiss Lace Academy, Issy has had the opportunity to incorporate French leavers lace into her work, elevating the designs by giving them a delicate touch. Through community engagement, she has been able to craft ceramic buttons, source wool roving, yarn, doilies, and tablecloths, including Lithuanian wedding fabrics.
Every thread holds a story, as long as you are listening. Issy celebrates the textiles she collects by utilizing the entire material with minimal cuts. Thus, eternalizing each object while giving it a second life as a garment.
issy.k.robins@gmail.com
(510) 982-9361