Designer Profile: CUT-IT-OUT

Eye Dazzler collection (Fall 2009) - all images courtesy of the designer's website

Jersey pieces have become staples of the modern wardrobe, but that doesn't mean they have to be boring. Yelena Konovalova, designer of New York-based emerging brand, CUT-IT-OUT, certainly believes in creating playful pieces for men and women with prints that really pop. Folding and cutting paper to create printed shapes, Konovalova manipulates silhouettes and symmetry of the resulting patterns to tell stories with each collection, which will be entering its fifth season for Spring 2010. The designer, who has a background in art studies in St. Petersburg, Russia, fashion at Parsons and experience as design director for Catherine Malandrino before launching her own label, seems to gravitate towards the richness of possibility in folk tales.

"Happy Ever After" (Spring 2009), for instance, uses an array of rich pinks, blues and reds to explore a love story through the eyes of a child while her latest collection, "Eye Dazzler" (Fall 2009) mines Native American textiles and textures through the use of black and white photo cutouts on muted background colors.


Eye Dazzler (Fall 2009)



above and below: Happy Ever After (Spring 2009)


These are unique, rich, exuberant pieces at accessible price points and I would be happy to wear them all. For more information, check out http://cut-it-out.net.

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