Zinaida Calixte

Zinaida Calixte’s opposing identities have manifested in her designs through a fixation on juxtaposition. She finds inspiration in pairing complementary colors, mixing contrasting prints, utilizing opposing textures, and fusing contradictory genres. The intention of her work begins as a momentary desire to create and embraces the simplicity of beauty for beauty’s sake.

Cut-edge In 1736, Leonhard Euler published a paper that examined the Konigsberg Bridge Problem, which is now regarded as the origin of graph theory as a field of mathematical study. In graph theory, edges create connections between vertices. When every vertex in a graph has a path to every other vertex, then the graph is called connected. When the removal of one edge has the power to disconnect an entire graph, it is called a cut-edge.

This idea of connectivity combined with the concept of juxtaposition speaks to the visual language of this collection. Cut-edge bridges streetwear to lingerie, denim to chiffon, animal prints to florals. The precision of the topstitching stands alongside the looseness of the hand-painted prints. The structure, drawn from lingerie influences, contrasts the freedom of the chiffon components. Cut-edge looks for cohesion within juxtaposition by trying to bridge that which contradicts.