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 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.