We Heart This

We love La Ligne, our neighbors on Madison Avenue, and we love the Lower Eastside Girls Club, our #VBGIVESBACK partner for the quarter. So, of course, when the two teamed up to launch an exclusive tee, we had to share it with you and include in a special #VBGIVESBACK Day trunk show, on March 3rd, at VB Madison, VB Soho and VB Dallas, which features handmade gifts from La Tiendita, LESGC's entrepreneurial training program. Slightly cropped and cut from 100% linen, the top is named after 14-year-old Angeline Qiu, a longtime LESGC member, who designed the beautiful embroidery over the heart. 100% of the proceeds will go to the nonprofit. Here, we chat with Qui (above right) and La Ligne co-founder Meredith Melling to learn the backstory.

How It Began
Meredith Melling: I was first introduced to LESGC through my aunt, Louise Melling, Deputy Legal Director at the ACLU, who sits on the board. Through the years, we've supported LESGC's fashion department and La Tiendita programs and, just this summer, deepened our commitment with a member mentorship program and by donating 100% of proceeds from our best-selling Lean Lines Tee to the club.

The Inspiration
MM: I was visiting Mary Adams, who heads up the fashion department, to collect La Tiendita items for our holiday pop-ups last year. I saw the most incredible hand embroideries up on the wall. Mary explained that since COVID prevented many of the girls from visiting the club, LESGC sent embroidery supplies to their homes. At the height of COVID and BLM, club members were invited to express how they were feeling through this embroidery project and the results were powerful, beautiful, clever and inspiring. I took a video of the wall and showed it to the La Ligne team and that's when we decided to approach the organization about this collaboration.

The Design
Angeline Qiu: COVID-19 and the racist activities going on during this time period inspired my design. A lot of people have decided to use the pandemic as an excuse for their inappropriate and unjust behaviors against people of color. I hope this design conveys the message of peace, love and and hope. I want people to know that we are all in this together.