This spring, relish has partnered with womenswear brand 6397 to produce special edition t-shirts urging people to call Congress and make their voices heard.

Featuring the phone number of the Congressional switchboard across the back, with the D.C. area code (202) on the front, the collection includes heather grey boyfriend t-shirts and olive green muscle tanks.

The shirts are available now in store for $95, in sizes x-small to medium. Ten percent of all proceeds will go to the National Organization for Women (NOW).

As the days get longer, it’s time to lighten up your leather. These suede shoes will see you through the season with a strong stance and a soft touch.

Leather Crown

Deeply saturated colors sing against the optic white of these sporty lace-ups.

Cherevichkiotvichki

A lush fabrication softens up the tough shape of this worker boot.

Ports 1961

Every fold shows off the rich texture of this butterscotch slide.

Each new season is an opportunity to look at the world with fresh eyes. These spring shoes feature unexpected details that surprise and delight.

Ports 1961

Graffiti grows up – just enough.

Leather Crown

Tough love for linen in shades of soft silver.

Marni

The raffia platform brings a tropical lift to this classic shape.

Henry Beguelin

Work, play, work, play – any woman can do both in these easy flats.

Henry Beguelin

Sweet shapes and soft leather make for a perfect pair.

Our celebration of independent designers continues with the likes of Yang Li, Nehera and Uma Wang.

YANG LI

1. Where do you live?
   London, UK.
    
2. Describe a perfect Sunday afternoon…
   Listening to my records and cooking with friends, leading to a great conversational dinner.
    
3. If you could walk into any hotel lobby, and see a woman dressed in your clothes, which lobby would it be?
   Hmm, hard to say...maybe Hotel Chelsea 30 years ago.
    
4. Which museum or exhibit, film or book, person or place has most sparked your imagination in the past year?  
   Cafe Oto in London.
    
5. What’s your last supper?
   Xiao Long Bao.
    
6. What cause is closest to your heart?
   That there is no authority but yourself.

SAMUEL DRIRA, NEHERA

1. Where do you live?
   I spend most of my time between Paris and Bratislava.
    
2. Describe a perfect Sunday afternoon…
   It would definitely be in my bed, surrounded by issues of vintage Vogue from 1984 and a thick Thomas Mann book.
    
3. If you could walk into any hotel lobby, and see a woman dressed in your clothes, which lobby would it be?
   Guess it would be a hotel lobby somewhere between Oostende and New Dehli, she is about to leave the place.
    
4. Which museum or exhibit, film or book, person or place has most sparked your imagination in the past year?
   The Carl Andre room at the Dia Foundation in New York was an experience.
    
5. What’s your last supper?
   Something vegan with a cigarette afterwards.
    
6. What cause is closest to your heart?
   Feminism.

UMA WANG

1. Where do you live?
   Between Shanghai and Italy.
    
2. Describe a perfect Sunday afternoon...
   Relaxing in Lake Garda...I’m just back from a beautiful weekend, I feel completely restored!
    
3. If you could walk into any hotel lobby, and see a woman dressed in your clothes, which lobby would it be?
   Aman Hotels lobbies, everywhere around the world!
    
4. Which museum or exhibit, film or book, person or place has most sparked your imagination in the past year?
   I love to go to the Castelvecchio Museum in Verona, a piece of Italian history inside a castle restored by Scarpa, my favourite architect.
    
5. What’s your last supper?
   Hot soup and dumplings always make you feel better!
    
6. What cause is closest to your heart?
   I love animals in general, especially cats! Sometimes they are better than humans and I always try to help them.

This spring, we celebrate five designers who bring a fresh perspective to relish. They live and work all over the world, their aesthetics vary wildly, and yet all of them share an independent, artisanal ethos we admire. 

Here, we get to know the first of the these designers a bit better, and let their clothing speak for itself.

MARIE-CHRISTINE STATZ, GAUCHÈRE

1. Where do you live?
   Paris, France
    
2. Describe a perfect Sunday afternoon...
   Having a long walk on a sunny Sunday, and seeing an exhibition in a gallery or a museum.
    
3. If you could walk into any hotel lobby, and see a woman dressed in your clothes, which lobby would it be?
   The Gramercy Park Hotel.
    
4. Which museum or exhibit, film or book, person or place has most sparked your imagination in the past year?
   The movie I'm Not There inspired by the life and music of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan.
    
5. What's your last supper?
   Oysters.
    
6. What cause is closest to your heart?
   A cause close to my heart is the crucial exploitation of the life of low-wage workers in developing countries, and the terrible environmental consequences caused by the Fast Fashion industry.

ERICA TOOGOOD, TOOGOOD

1. Where do you live?
   Victoria Park, East London, UK
    
2. Describe a perfect Sunday afternoon…
   At home, catching up on reading, cooking a feast, and watching a film.
    
3. If you could walk into any hotel lobby, and see someone dressed in your clothes, which lobby would it be?
   I’m not a fan of hotels – but perhaps someone striding across the Scottish highlands, head to toe in our British Cashmere.
    
4. Which museum or exhibit, film or book, person or place has most sparked your imagination in the past year?
   Paul Nash, Tate Britain, UK
   Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia
   Louisiana, Sculpture Park, Denmark
   I was blown away by all three places/exhibitions this year.
    
5. What’s your last supper?
   Seafood platter and a bottle of Sancerre.
    
6. What cause is closest to your heart?
   The extraordinary efforts of those that train and encourage women to work – whether those women be from very poor areas, or women that have been through trauma, abuse and tragedy. Teaching them the art of Pattern Cutting and Sewing that takes years to master, enabling them to be   self-sufficient. I would love to work more with this preservation of skills – being left in the hands of women who will embrace it.