Inside the Brand Making Magic from Designer Leftovers

0:01Hey, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Let's Get Dressed. It's your host, Liv Perez. I hope you're all having a great start to your week. Thank you so much for tuning in today. Today's episode is with someone who I really admire in the fashion space, not just because she designs some of the most incredible clothing out there, but also for the new vision that she is carving for herself in the fashion industry. Her name is Patricia Voto, and she's the founder of One Of. Her studio is on the Upper East Side in a townhouse atelier where she is quietly reshaping what the future of fashion could look like.

0:35She works exclusively with deadstock fabrics from iconic houses like Prada and Dries Van Noten to create one of a kind made to order pieces for her customers that might have been the trash of another brand, but could be our treasures. But more than that, she is building a brand that just completely rejects the traditional fashion system. She has no inventory, no sample sizing, no e-commerce platform, and no fashion calendar, Just one-on-one, in-person connection and shopping and creating with intention. In today's episode, we talk about what it means to really run a sustainable brand in 2025 and if it's possible if you're not a luxury brand.

1:13We also talk about how to find clothes that actually fit your body and her best tip to do so, which is something you really might not expect. And of course, we talk about the origin story of her brand and how rooms of forgotten fabrics became the foundation for something quite different and revolutionary in fashion. I know you guys are going to love this episode. Let's go get dressed with Patricia Voto of One Of. Welcome to the pod. Thank you. Happy to be here. I'm so happy to have you. Obviously, I've followed your work and have adored you and the brand for so long. So it just feels kind of kismet that we finally got to meet and do this.

1:48I obviously walked into the hallway and saw you wearing this incredible outfit. You have to walk me through it because it's so beautiful. I pattern print color very important to me personally I also love using interior fabrics within a lot of our clothing so this is actually primarily for couches and chairs and wall coverings so that's what I did at the front we have a matching shoe on today that goes back to it and then the back is a bonded fabric that we had left over and then this old Marc Jacobs polka not silk as the skirt. So what is your lip color? Oh gosh, it's Jones Road something. I will look for you after, but it's Jones Road.

2:28I know that. And show the YouTubers it goes. No, like that's crazy. That's crazy. We love a matchy matchy head to toe everything. I love when my guests come prepared for the show. It means a lot to me. You really showed up for the show. I'm obsessed with that. Also, if you are watching on YouTube and I'm like pink in the face, it's because it is 100 degrees outside. Yes. Literally 100 on the top. Do not recommend wearing this today. I was going to say, like, you're really doing the most, but I'm assuming that you, like, took a car here from Upper Side. Had to. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, yeah. I walked here.

2:59I was doing a podcast on the other side of Canal Street, like, on the other end. Brutal. And a seven-minute walk, really. My phone stopped working. Yeah. It's so hot outside. It's too hot. I am inside for as long as I can be inside. Well, I would love to live inside your brain, so that makes a lot of sense because you make some of my favorite clothes in the fashion industry. Like I love everything you touch. I just think everything that you make is truly art. Thank you. Even the shirt that you're wearing. I love that you were like, it's made for interiors. Yeah. We're always trying to turn things on its head.

3:32And I think we're having fun while we do it, which is super important to me. You know, I've been in the industry for over 15 years. So to be able to really spend time on each creation and make it really personal. I think that people can feel that in the clothes. It's like this was a lot of thought and care was put into each piece. And you have this beautiful like contrast collar on. Yes, I forgot about that. Yeah, please don't forget about that. Is that a separate piece? No. No, it's very intentional. It's attached, but we did raw edge on it because I wanted there to be like something a little gritty.

4:05I was like a little weird to be in our pieces. So a little bit of a raw texture up here. It's so good. Thank you. If you're listening audibly, I highly recommend you go watch this on YouTube because it is probably my favorite outfit worn on the show thus far. Thank you. Anytime. So as I mentioned, big fan. I've been following you for a few years. I think my first one of piece was like in 2021. I wore it in Milan and fell in love. Oh, I forgot about that. Yes, it was the bronze skirt. It was, yeah, and the bronze skirt. And it was like, it just felt so mean and so fun. I love the way that you design.

4:40And so a longtime fan. And I would love to hear the origin story of one of. So we actually launched in 2021. So you were like really one of the early adapters to the brand. I think I was wearing, you wore the blue dress too. Do you remember? It was like a blue column dress. Oh my God. So great on you. I forgot about that dress. I wore it to a sustainability award. Yes, exactly. So that dress was magic. Yes, it was beautiful on you. I have never gotten more compliments. People were coming up to me. Yeah. Yep. And it had the belt, like kind of like the empire waist belt. Oh my gosh. That dress was so good.

5:14So yeah, basically I've been a long time for it from the beginning. Please tell me more about the origin story. So we launched the brand in 2021, but the idea had been with me for a really long time. I started in the industry 15 years ago. And I think over the years, I really started to notice how wasteful the industry was. And I think I was also noticing a lot of change in quality and craftsmanship being less important and sameness becoming more important. I think when, you know, we look to the luxury houses for inspiration and also they kind of guide what's happening within the industry. They're very, you know, culturally relevant and it all started to look the same.

5:53and kind of made me sad in a lot of ways that, you know, we're over-consuming, we're over-producing, and we're all starting to look identical to each other. And that had been with me for a long time. And I think, you know, I was never truly sample size. So I also loved the idea of making things that just fit people. It didn't matter what their measurements were. So kind of taking all these things and with all the brands that I worked for, I was responsible for the raw material. So I had these amazing relationships with mills all over the world. And when I reached out to them with this idea, I was like, I want to buy up your leftovers.

6:26Like what's on the shelves? They're like, Patricia, no, like you design the fabrics. Why are you buying our leftovers? You can just create your own. It's like the idea is to use what's already out there. And there's like a real beauty in that. And so it was important to me to build a brand that focuses on really intentional creation. And so everything's made to order and made to measure using deadstock fabrics York, which was really important to me too. It's where I'm from, but also it's really important because the product is very, the quantity of fabrics we're working with are finite. So you can't really screw that up.

7:01You've got one shot often to cut the fabric. So we wanted to keep it really close to home and really make craftsmanship a focal point in New York, which it's often not. You mentioned dead stock. And I actually recently I've had a lot of people ask me, what is deadstock? I think it's definitely something you know of if you're in the industry, but can you explain what it is and where it's from? Yeah. Deadstock often means like the end of a roll or a finished fabric. So they're not going to produce any more of it. So that's why you'll find, you know, there's always leftover from brands and there might not be enough to do a full production run of a garment.

7:38So it'll often get tossed aside or discarded, or maybe they developed a fabric and then they ended up proceeding with the production of it. So it's really those end of roles and like things that can no longer pre-perdue. It's just these like remnant yardage. And so where does that go? Like say you're a brand that's like using, you know, a beautiful silk, but you only use three fourths of it. Yeah. Do they sell it back? Do they sell it to a place? Where do you buy it from? Tell me more. There's a lot of different avenues you can buy from. There's definitely third party sellers that kind of aggregate fabrics from multiple brands.

8:12There's like brokers almost that are in between or they call them to be a dead stock broker. What are you having incredible the factory of just beautiful things? So true. So they're they're called brokers, jobbers. They're like these go betweens and they kind of they buy up a lot of the stock because they'll buy big lots of it without even checking what the fabrics are. They don't care if it's old this or old that, you know, the brands don't necessarily matter. They're like, you've got thousands of yards. Great. We'll take it and we'll sell it to other people. We buy a lot directly from the mills.

8:44So what will happen is they'll develop textiles for brands over the years and they might cancel it. The artworks are from their archives. So they end up just sitting on it. And I prefer to work that way because I love to know the true provenance of where our fabrics come from. But it really just depends. Sometimes I buy fabrics on eBay. I go to antique shows and I buy fabrics. There's so many different lanes. You can go down. I also, a lot of brands have VIP areas in their stores. So the brands might send fabrics for their VIPs and then there'll be some leftover so that that ends up going into a store in New York City.

9:21You'll find random Tom Ford, Valentino, all these brand name fabrics. and it'll just be enough to make a skirt, a top, a little something out of it, but it's usually left over from like a VIP project. But that's so interesting that you're saying these third-party people don't really check a lot of the time. So could you end up in a factory or like in a store that has like both dead stock from Prada and like Ralph Lauren? Like you could have a wide range. You would from anything. I mean, there's many times where I'll get a fabric in and I'm like, this feels so familiar and I'll stare at it and like you're gonna figure this out now with the reverse image search everything's much easier to find out but when I started the brand that wasn't as useful of a tool and I'm so smart to use that by the way oh now it's my go-to but I remember looking at this old fabric and I was like what brand is this from like I knew the mill actually which is funny like I can often identify where who made the fabric just based on some characteristics of the way it was woven, but I couldn't figure out the brand.

10:21And like Leandra came into the studio. It's actually the bra fabric that you wore with the yellow velvet skirt in Italy. It was an old Celine fabric. And she came in and she said, this is Celine Resort 2017, I think it was. I looked at her and I said, thank you. Thank you so much for scratching the edge and figuring it out. Oh my God. So it's funny. Sometimes you don't get the provenance or know the brand and it takes some time. And it might be a client that comes in and they're like, wait, I recognize this. So that's also really fun is because a lot of them come in and love to play the guessing game.

10:53We have a huge wall of fabric with all the swatches on it. Okay. Is that old Dries? Wait, that kind of reminds me of that Valentino collection. And they're like trying to figure out and piece together where they might've seen the fabric before. Yeah. I'm going to move into your atelier. Yeah. That sounds like a dream wall. It's fun. It's very colorful and very interactive. You're supposed to touch and play with it. It's amazing. I think, I don't think this is one of those jobs in fashion that makes like my stomach flutter. Like I think there are jobs that don't, but a lot of people maybe don't know about like where does everything go at the end of the day?

11:27And like it's in your atelier and you're making brand new garments from it. And I think that's really cool. Thank you. Of course. It's so joyful. I think that's what I wanted to get out of this. It's like, it's a serious job, but we're not saving lives, you know? So I want this to be a really fun experience from, for the clients, but also through to the team that's working on it, like that they're really proud of what they're creating. So. You're incredibly creative. I wonder what do you do with, say you get a role and like you're using three fourths of it again. What if you have like a little bit left over?

11:58What do you do with it? My favorite part, you make shoes, you make little bags, you make all sorts of stuff out of it. We save all of our remnant pieces that are big enough to make something out of. So we have drawers that basically archive everything. So there might be like a small panel of this. And if a client's like, I'd love to make a bag with like a citrine color fabric, great. We'll go through the drawer and we'll pull out the options. So nothing gets wasted. Nothing. What are some of like the craziest, I mean, even hearing you talk before about the craziest places that you've sourced things from?

12:30Like, what is the craziest sourcing experience you've had? I mean, I don't know if I have a ton of like really crazy ones. I think sometimes when I go to Italy and I start climbing on things, they get a little nervous. I'm like, what about that fabric way up there? They're like, Patricia, stop. We'll get it for you. I'm like, no, but I need to see it. Anything in the name of good fashion. Exactly. But I think sometimes I get really inspired when clients bring in their own fabric. I think that can be really interesting. We had a client bring in fabric that she's of Korean descent. And her mom just had these in her attic, two random small bolts of silk.

13:04And she was like, I want to do something with this to pay like an honor to my mom and make garments out of it so that I can wear them proudly. And I was like, this is, so it's less crazy, but more, you know, really touching and inspiring, I'd say for the most part. My mom recently, like we had this beautiful tapestry in our house growing up. And when my parents split the tapestry like went into storage and recently she was like I don't know why that's in there I'm gonna cut it up and turn it into pillows and now everyone in my family has a pillow from this tapestry that we had growing up that's it I love that that's it for me I think so much meaning there's always a way to reuse something absolutely we do so much upcycling now and we did some in the beginning but I think more and more people are like I have this beautiful garment.

13:49It might be my mom's, it might be a relative's, or they might've found it vintage. And they're like, I just want to be able to wear this and like have something like carry on the life of it. And so it's really important to me to like always try and incorporate personal meaning, whether it is an upcycled piece or like we also recently for a bride, her father had passed. So she brought in a denim shirt of his that he always used to wear. And we took a small piece of that and embroidered their names on it and put it inside of her jacket. Like any little touch that we can give to create that personal connection and that storytelling is like, it does it for me.

14:22That's the dream. Yeah. That's so nice. Connection. That's what it's all about. Human connection. A quick break from today's conversation to thank the sponsor of today's episode, Jenny Kane. As you guys know, I'm such a big fan of the brand. I have so many pieces from them that get worn time and time again in my closet. And I have a 15 % off code for you guys in case you're looking for that great new addition to your closet. I've been getting asked quite frequently recently what my favorite classic button down is. And mine is from Jenny Kane. It's called the boyfriend shirt. I have it in classic white.

14:56And of course this gorgeous French blue, and they get worn so frequently tucked into jeans over a swimsuit. It really is that perfect summer shirt. I love how crisp it is. It's made from a hundred percent cotton, super crisp and great for your daily uniform. But of course, as you guys know, I love all of their sweaters. I live in their Flynn cashmere sweater. It's the perfect V-neck. And this summer they came out with a great classic black sandal called the Gia sandal that would be great for any summer function you have coming up. What really sets them apart is their dedication to quality. I've been able to mix and match so many pieces from them in my closet and they've lasted me for years.

15:34Find your new summer wardrobe at Jenny Kane and our listeners get 15 % off your first order when you use the code LIV, L-I-V at checkout. That's 15 % off your first order at J-E-N-N-I-K-A-Y-N-E dot com promo code LIV. Let's let getting dressed be one last thing to worry about. Your business is really unique to me and I think kind of one of those like rare unicorns in the fashion industry. And as someone who is really doing sustainability right to a T, like you are not producing anything new. You're using old dead stock. Like you are producing at a level that I wish so many brands did. Are you fatigued by the sustainability conversation in fashion?

16:20Like, what do you think about it when you see it out in the world right now? I think it can often be insincere. I think it is still, there's a lot of greenwashing. There's a lot of, you know, marketing put towards sustainability, which I'd rather be like quiet about it and just do it with honesty and integrity. I don't need to be shouting it from the rooftops. That's why we actually, in a lot of our branding, will say responsible instead of sustainable. Because we, not that there's a negative association with the word, I think it's overused. And it can mean so many things to different people. But we try and check off all the boxes, you know, fair wages, using existing materials, building the local economy, like keeping things local is really important to me.

17:09and just being able to like, you know, create community around it. So like the social impact, the economic impact, and obviously in the environmental impact are really important. Like heirloom product just couldn't be more of a sustainable thing. Like if it's going to be with you forever, that's great. Like, and it's well-made, so it will be with you forever. I think it's very important to think of sustainability beyond just the environmental impacts. Like, can you actually sustain the people in your business? And I remember during COVID, this conversation that Aurora James really did, it really stuck with me.

17:46And she was talking about sustainability from just a larger perspective. She was like, look at how many businesses are crumbling right now because not only could they not sustain their product, but they also couldn't sustain their people. They couldn't continue to support the people in their ecosystem if they weren't just constantly producing. It gave me a really, like a very newfound perspective on sustainability. Definitely. I think that's where like time and intention. And I think we've gotten so used to having like immediate satisfaction and receiving things in one day, two day, you know, same day turnaround.

18:24And I think that if we slow down our consumption more slow and steady is better for everybody, especially from a manufacturing standpoint, because there's peaks and valleys often, or you're just producing so much constantly, which is never good for anybody. So I think in, in regards to that, like this ability to just take our time with making things, the more you rush, like it's one, it's less special. And I it doesn't create the same product. And so if we made half as much stuff and did it in half as fast of time, I don't know, things might be a little bit, there might be less stuff and people might be consuming in a more thoughtful way.

19:08Sometimes I think that sustainability can only be done in the luxury space. What do you think? I mean, I definitely think it's easier to check off boxes in the luxury space. I mean, I often too wonder like how sustainable can, from especially a community and like social standpoint and economic standpoint, if you're making thousands of something and you want to charge$30 for it, like the math doesn't really add up to me. Like how much are you paying that person to make that garment? So it's tricky. I think if we are really being truthful about it, luxury is probably the closest that you're going to find to sustainability.

19:47and there's still you know issues within the luxury industry there's overproduction I think I read in business of fashion that LVMH produced over a billion dollars in leftover inventory a year a billion dollars in leftover inventory how luxury used to be about scarcity of product craftsmanship well-made goods that weren't they were exclusive they weren't easily accessible I love that there's more inclusivity, but it's coming at compromising the environment ultimately at the end of the day. That's a shocking statistic. Yeah. A billion dollars. I'll double check. Yeah. But I'm pretty sure it's a billion dollars.

20:28Regardless, even if it's somewhere even up there, like that is such an excess of goods. And where do they go? Yeah. It's, you know, something that I'm always thinking about. It's like, we don't want inventory in our space. We don't have inventory. We make samples that people can try on and we call them suggestions. We want people to be inspired by them, but then put their own spin on it. If we had inventory, like it just is so counter productive to me. Like I want people to be inspired and creative and collaborative. I think the luxury brands could start to do a little bit more of that, or at the very least, maybe they don't need to make all of those pieces and like offer things in a little bit more of an exclusive and a tight knit way.

21:11My biggest qualm is like, why are we still having 60 look collections go down runways? Yeah. Like, I don't need 60 looks. Right. Like, it drives me nuts. I'll be at a show and look, like, I'm so grateful to be there, but six minutes of looks. And I'm thinking about all the buyers that are there that are maybe selecting 10 to 20 of those pieces. Right. At most. like you know even the smaller boutiques are maybe picking five to eight yeah like we just don't need that much twice a year from a brand we just don't like scale it back exactly I think having more of a tight perspective I think people will appreciate it more we're overwhelmed we're oversaturated it's made it I think harder for people to have their own point of view because there's so much choice There's a perfume brand that I recently started or stumbled upon called Serviette.

22:05It's very niche. And he posts these great reels. And one of the reels, he talks about the lack of discovery now and more about how we as consumers and people, we have to filter more and edit more and how overwhelming that is. And it really stuck with me because he talked a lot about the friction and discovery where you used to say like, do I like this? Do I not like this? And now it's just about being there first. I found the brand first. I've worn it, toss it aside. And it's so fascinating, but it's so real. It's like you want to be there first and not actually there because you actually like it and you're interested in it.

22:40And so I think that that just comes across in all product categories and the way that we consume nowadays is just, I need to be there first. Who cares if I actually like it? I'm in, I'm out, and I move on. And that's contributing to how these brands operate. It's just constant consumption of what's new, what's cool versus establishing your own kind of niche of brands and like what you're actually interested in developing your personal style more. Just having a tight, curated wardrobe. Way too much choice today. I go on a website and I'm sifting through 60 pages of clothes. But do you find anything you like?

23:19No, because I'm seeing too much. Yeah. I bet you if it was half that, I'd be like, okay, I liked this. Maybe I like this. But for me as a shopper, when I see too much, I can't figure it out. Right. Which is actually why I really appreciate when I go on your website, there's no e-commerce. Nothing. We get in so much trouble for that. I actually think it's really smart. It's more about the concept versus like, oh, and I like that you just said it's a suggestion. Yeah. I think that's really interesting, especially from like a customization perspective. It's like, here's your suggestion, but you can build on it.

23:51I'm not going to sell you my preconceived idea of the piece. Yeah. And that's where, you know, every client who comes in, their experience with us is different. Someone might come in and say, I love that shirt. I just want that shirt. Right. Great. Cut and dry. Yeah. Someone else might come in, wait, I can do that shirt in a different fabric and I can shorten the sleeve and maybe I do it collarless. Yeah. I want to do that. Great. As long as we create something that they keep reaching for in their closet, then I feel like mission accomplished and that they're excited about. We also don't do any transactions in person, which really weirds people out.

24:21I send them home with swatches. we send them a recap and then they think about it. They're often taking out a credit card that I can't pay for it. Nope. Go home. Think about it. Think about it. Make a conscious choice to buy it or not buy it. Right. And like nine times out of 10, they still want it. But there's been a few times too where they go home and they're like, you know what? You were right. I have 10 red dresses in my closet. Maybe I'll do it in the blue instead. Like, good. I'm glad you did the homework. What a novel concept this is. I wish every store did it. Because I think people aren't, they're just trying to close a sale.

24:54And that's not what I wanted to do with this brand is I want it to be really thoughtful. And so that requires to make people work a little bit more. So you can't really click and buy on our website. You have to come in in person. Will that change over time? Probably. You know, I think we do want to make it a little bit more accessible because that's also important to me is that we're approachable. But I can imagine to many people, it's intimidating to come into a showroom, but we're very low pressure. It's like coming into someone's house, hanging out, we get to know you. And then if you want to buy something, that's great.

25:29Are there any brands that you admire in the space that you think are also doing it right? I mean, I have to give Gabriella Hearst a lot of credit. Absolutely. You know, having worked there and like seeing behind the scenes, like there is a lot of effort being put into like the day-to-day operations of the company. And then also the product is just beautiful and so well made. And these are heirloom pieces. So I have to give a lot of credit to her. And I think there's a lot of vintage is also really interesting to me. And so like, maybe it's not always about the brands themselves with these people who are really collecting beautiful pieces and getting them out there for people to buy.

26:06It's kind of, it's a very similar clientele, but also approach to fashion where it's like already out there, it's beautiful wear that instead of even making something with us I'm always encouraging people like vintage is great you should wear that so you don't have to be your first choice you mentioned earlier that you don't do sample sizing and I just love to hear how unconventional you are across the board you don't show on the fashion calendar you are seasonless you don't launch what I want quote collections you don't do sample sizes and you know even Gabriella Hurst does all that so I wonder for you why that choice, but also why do you think more brands are not doing it their own way?

26:49I think if you want to be really present in the industry and go about it, there's a traditional way for a reason. You get on the calendar, you get reviewed by the publications, you get pulled by the stylist. There is almost a formula to all of it. And I think that I wanted to exist in this kind of gray area between fashion and, you know, I'll say like a couture space or an atelier space. Like I didn't want to follow all of the traditional and as you said before, conventional rules of how to operate a fashion brand because I had a lot to say about it. I wasn't happy with how we were operating. I think I'm also disappointed like during the pandemic brands had to adapt a lot, right they had to make those smaller shows they had to be more edited they were doing by now we're now what did we do we reverted back the second it was okay everybody kind of reverted back to it's really hoping we would stick it through at some point there no and we didn't and so I think for for me I really said like what what do I want to counter what do I want to be a reaction to and so all of our choices are based around that like what is a not really just a different way but what way feels right to me to operate this.

28:09So it gives me so much joy when any client comes out of the dressing room and they're like, I can't believe this fits or this zips because I've been in that position where I'm putting something on and I'm like, oh, this brand doesn't fit me or I don't look good in this. Like it gets really tough after a while when you can't shop off the rack or you never find things in your size. We had a client in the other day and she said, she's busty. And she said, you know, I've never been able to buy a jacket that closes. And I said, well, here we are. And we closed her jacket on her and it was emotional.

28:48She was like, wow, it seems like such a novel thing. But I think because we are working so one-on-one with these clients, you know, it was really important to me that everybody who comes in has something they can put on and feel excited about. So there was no question. It was like, yep, we're not doing sample size. You know, we're making things in a range of sizes. And it's also from, not that we do a ton of celebrity dressing, but the celebrity styles we do work with, they're like, it's so refreshing that you have options and you're not just making things in one size. And it seems to me like a, yes, of course, like why wouldn't we do that?

29:24But yeah, to your point, so many brands still just make you know sample size two four zeros and once in a while you'll get you know the more inclusive brand but it's still common practice to have them all for your five foot ten model size going down the runway what does that look like for you though in terms of like scalability like how far can you go with it and also even from a price perspective obviously we were talking earlier, the more you make, the cheaper it gets. There's obviously a barrier to entry to coming into one of, like, what does that look like for you when you're thinking about your customers and where the business goes?

30:04Yeah. I mean, it's a question we ask ourselves all the time. You know, we talk about, do we go into more wholesale? Do we, you know, are we more present online? What are we trying to do? And I think for now, if there was a way of scaling this in the way that I find without compromising on values, probably be more of like a satellite atelier. You know, it could be somewhere where more of our clients are and they can come in and have the one of experience in, you know, a destination that's more convenient for them. But I just can't compromise right now. So scale, there's an ability to scale. I think we can eventually hire more people.

30:43We've grown 200 % year over year. We've got our own atelier. in our building. We're bursting at the seams. So we kind of need more room. So it's happening naturally. And I think that slow and steady approach is really important to me and not compromising on those values. I don't need to be making a lot of stuff. I don't need to be a hundred million dollar business. That's not interesting to me because that certainly means I've compromised. So I think figuring out what that sweet spot is that's manageable is important. in. So, yeah. It's interesting to see. I love to hear that you're like Atelier is bursting at the seams and like it just sounds like I can't wait to visit.

31:23I haven't been yet, but it just sounds like a really enjoyable experience. And I think it feels like there's been a big rise in these like kind of one on one personal experiences. I recently went to the Bodie Taylor shop. These or like highly like personal customized experiences. What do you think is the like public appetite for that? I think it's growing. Like you said, I feel, you know, we had some early adapters in the beginning who really caught on. And then we've had people who've waited five years to book an appointment with us. You know, they come in, they're like, okay, I'm here now, I get it.

32:01And then people certainly become like addicted to it in a way they're like, this is where I only want to shop. I think people want to not look like everybody else. You know, a lot of our clients, especially in the Upper East Side, they're going to the same events. And so it's important for them to feel like they know when they go to it, they're not going to bump into somebody wearing the same thing as them, which has happened and will continue to happen. But what I love is that we're more of a, we're not a reaction to not finding anything anymore. We're their first choice. And I think that that's happening more and more.

32:35You know, people want to know like, okay, this is going to fit me really well. I know everything about the product itself because I've chosen things, you know, sometimes we let our clients choose the button if they want. We'll provide options for them. So I think that there's a real comfort and confidence that comes with making custom pieces. And I think individuality is becoming more and more important to people, especially now with all of this oversaturation and sameness. So I can only see it growing from here. And I know a lot of ready tour brands are starting to offer more and more custom.

33:08So I think it's going to happen a lot. Also, guys, I mentioned the Bodie Taylor shop earlier. And for people who don't know what that is, Bodie has a like custom appointment only Taylor shop here in New York in the Lower East Side. Very cool experience. Yeah. I love that. And that's walk-in or is that by appointment? I thought it was by appointment. Okay. I'm not sure. I went like two years ago and it was by appointment, it might have changed now. So if we're being real, the custom experience isn't for everybody, both from a creative standpoint. I feel like even, you know, I've tried to do custom things before and I end up crashing out because I'm like, I don't know.

33:43It's a lot of work. And you really have to, in my opinion, have like a vision and also patience to see it all the way through. But second, obviously financially, it's a huge investment. So I'd love to hear your best advice for people who maybe want to customize things from home but aren't able to afford the price tag of going to a place like yours or maybe like a Bodie Taylor shop. Totally. I think just alone, having things tailored, like go to your local dry cleaner, tailoring things to fit you better can be life-changing. Also good underpinnings. People often undervalue, go for a good bra fitting.

34:19Like that can change the way all of your clothes fit and feel. Yes. You'll have a bra for a long time. Like it's a worthy investment to go get that like well-fitted bra. And then I think that simple tailoring, it's like the reproportioning of something. You'll stand a little bit taller. You'll look a little bit better. So, you know, maybe you can't afford to do the full custom router, even the made to order, but the pieces that you do have, like even refreshing them by updating some of the fit and the construction. oh I've like taken sleeves off of things exactly I've raised the cinch on things I think you can get really creative with a great tailor to make things that feel more like you absolutely there's small tweaks that can go a long way you don't have to have everything made for you and you can get really crafty and creative like I said I bought fabrics on eBay like you can easily do that at home and like bring that to your tailor and add a patch make that your cuff like I think people should feel really, you know, involved with the creative process.

35:20And if you have a good tailor, it's great. Some of these dry cleaners have amazing. I go to my dry cleaner every day. Yeah. They know me. Yeah. It's they have stolen my bank account at this point. It can also get expensive depending on what you want to do. Yeah. You have to be really specific with what you want to tailor. Make sure you're going to wear it. If you're going to tailor it, make sure that it's something you're wearing for the long run. Exactly. That's where, you know, people who buy a lot of their daily wardrobing pieces with us. You know, we have a wonderful client and she was like, I'm struggling to find a pant that's like a workhorse pant for me.

35:52She has a tiny waist, she's fuller in the hips and then muscular in her legs. And she's like, I just want a really great pair of pants. She's making five pairs right now because she's like, I need them in multiple fabrics. I'm going to wear them every day. We did a test pair first. She's like, these are my favorite pants. I'm ready to move forward with others. And so I think just figuring out what your fit is too. And like leaning into that is really important because again, it's, it's flattering. It looks good. And like, you just are more confident when you have pieces that fit you really well.

36:25So I think it's an important thing to really look at fit and not just the novelty elements of a, of a garment. And I go back to those underpinnings, good underpinnings. That's a great, great tip. I feel like that's really underrated. Like when I was growing up, you'd like go to Victoria's Secret and they'd like measure your bust and it was like a rite of passage. But like who's doing that for us now? Well, exactly. I'm not going. I'm probably not going and doing that at Victoria's Secret. Because it was traumatizing in some ways. A little bit. They like did it in front of everybody. And I'm like, can I not put this ruler around my bust?

36:55You kind of don't fit into it at the end. You're like spilling out the bottom or the top or it's really padded. Well, they always give you like a little, you know, it's like a three inch thick pad. Even now, transparently, like I think I wear a bra that's too big for me. Like, I don't think it fits me well. Yeah. You're not alone. No, I know. I'm from a generation of Victoria's Secret overdoers. Exactly. We're like hiding from getting a proper bra fitting. Yeah. I'm putting that on my to-do list. Yes. I force clients to go. So smart. And we do, if we make them a corset especially because we build that bra and if that bra fits them really well, that becomes our base.

37:28Yeah, exactly. And then their shoulders are back. They're not worried about spilling out of the cup or. Yeah. Is my bad posture because I'm wearing the wrong size bra? Often. Yeah. I had a client, again, keep going back to these clients, but she, young girl, graduated from Berkeley, incredibly smart and talented, about to go into the workforce. Mom was treating her to a couple of looks. We were trying on things in the studio and she's like, nothing looks good on me. I look in her shirt and I'm like, well, it's because you're wearing a dry rotted lace triangle bra. And I like yank it up and I pin it.

38:02And I say to her, is this starting to look better? She's like, yeah. So I sent her to go get fitted for a bra. She came back in a few weeks later. She looks, and it's not about weight. She looked 25 pounds lighter. I said, wow, I'm sorry. What's going on? She's like, these bras show me, show people that I have a waist because it was all just hanging out. And now she's like lifted and supported and she looks great. And her confidence is completely changed. Yeah. Let's have a bra revolution, guys. Please, please. Crazy. What's exciting you right now? Is there a project you're working on? And then also what's exciting you about the future of sustainability?

38:40What do you think chapter two or the next chapter should look like? I'm excited by a lot of our... We're doing a lot more bespoke this year. The clients are really letting me guide them more and I'm getting to be a bit more creative where I'd say originally a lot of those projects were more execution-based, but I think people are really trusting us and trusting the vision that we've created. And so I'm getting to sketch into my ideas, my direction a bit more. So I'm really excited about that. And from a sustainability standpoint, I mean, I love seeing you were asking about brands that are doing it right.

39:11Like I loved seeing Miu Miu doing like more upcycling. That to me is great. Did you see that Chanel just launched a recycled materials business? No. Yeah. So it's not even a program under Chanel. It's a separate business entity that Chanel owns. It's called Neveld, like never old. And I guess that their hope is to right now, I guess that they're incorporating recycled materials into their tweed and then their classic Chanel sling back, the heel of it is actually made from recycled materials. Great. And they're hoping long-term to be able to take those materials and then be able to sell them to other businesses too.

39:50So not just use them at Chanel, but also hopefully sell them to other luxury businesses. I think that's so incredible. And I found, you know, one of the biggest thing in sustainability is not to gatekeep. You know, there are some bigger brands that were like keeping sustainable materials proprietary, not sharing. Because I know because I would reach out to Gabriella Hearst, hey, we're interested in this product. We'd love to find a way to use it. Sorry, it's exclusive to so-and-so brand. And that's the antithesis of sustainability. Like we need to information share and resource share as much as we can.

40:21That's why I'm not shy if people want to know what mills we work with, go see them if you can. Like I want people to know about it and other brands to work with them. But I think it's incredibly smart to really use what's already there, as we said, but also to share that with other brands. I hope it goes a far way. I hope so too. It's also so expensive to invest in that it's like share the wealth if you can. Yes, absolutely. Thank you for coming on the show. It was a treat to finally get to meet you and talk about this business that I love so much. Thank you. Such a Pleasure. Thank you for having me.

41:21Thank you.