Manhattan’s Upper East Side has an outsized hold on the imagination. As the stereotype would have it, this area is the natural habitat of ladies who lunch, the duck pond of the original swans, who carried on the tradition of Mrs. Astor’s 400. There are no such gatekeepers today, it is style rather than social status that determines one’s swan status. Still, there is an acknowledged UES aesthetic—polished, somewhat classic, and luxurious, if not always quiet. Since 2021 Patricia Voto, founder of One/Of has been serving this community from her base on East 70th Street. The original proposition was made-to-order, with small capsule offerings, but for spring 2026 Voto is going full-steam ahead with ready-to-wear and accessories. This is “really from my point of view, just starting from scratch new ideas and presenting it in a fresh way,” the designer said on a walk-through.
Like every garment Voto designs, this made in New York collection is constructed from deadstock fabric, some of it from storied European houses, some of it originally intended for interiors. The most whimsical of these materials is a red-and-black kiss print. Given the upcoming Marie Antoinette exhibition and Dior Men’s 18th-century turn, an ivory floral worthy of Versailles feels on-point. Though not a narrative designer Voto tends to favor silhouettes that pull from fashion history, perhaps as an extension of working with textiles that come with their own back stories. What creates a sense of unity in this spring offering is the designer’s varied use of rounded shapes. There are bell skirts, bubble hems are used on dresses and peplums, and corset looks have hourglass curves. Inspired by Robert Rauschenberg, born 100 years ago this year, Voto also played with layering, overlaying a sheer nylon, for example, on a yellow poncho, to make it water resistant.
The challenge the designer faces is to be true to her more classic aesthetic while avoiding cliché. “We don’t want anything to be too stiff, too serious here,” she said said. “Obviously we’re on the Upper East Side, which tends to lend itself to that, but I always like there to be a little bit of wit to the pieces.” Some of that sense of fun, color, and whimsy enters into things via accessories like dramatic waxed feather wedges, and bags with Venetian glass handles that are part of a collaboration with Venetian glass artist Lucia Massari.
Although the garments are photographed as full looks, Voto wisely created a collection that, for the most part, is modular, and as she noted, the shapes are generally simple. It’s not necessary to go full-on floral, for example, when you can tie on a peplum or pull on a top with something that’s already in your closet. It turns out that is how Voto wears her own designs, her personal style, she said, “is like an opulent top with denim or a fun skirt with a T-shirt.” As important to Voto as the look of her designs is their make (her own atelier is located in the same building as her showroom). “I think with our clothes it’s really important to me that everything feels like there’s a hand in it.” And it does, these well-made pieces look polished and expensive.
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