NEW YORK
ORCHARD
From orchard to city.
ORCHARD is Du’MO’s autumn collection, inspired by an orchard at the end of the season. Deep colors, new textures, and forms that move naturally from the autumn landscape into an urban wardrobe.
This season, we’re heading to New York — a city with a personal connection to the brand.
Our City Guide is hosted by Sasha Kataieva, COO of Du’MO. She shares her New York through favorite places, art, music, and stories you won’t find in a typical travel guide.
Neue Galerie
1048 Fifth Avenue, New York
I used to spend a few months at a time in New York, and every visit brought something new. Most often, I discovered the city through art, music, people, and places that gradually became connected to personal memories. My interest in early 20th-century Austrian culture began with Klimt, Schiele, and Florian Illies’s book 1913: The Year Before the Storm. I love how the book explores art through people’s lives — their relationships, encounters, ambitions, and personal stories.
So when I first visited Neue Galerie, everything clicked. The museum is housed in a former mansion on Fifth Avenue, opposite Central Park. Its collection includes Austrian and German artists such as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Oskar Kokoschka. The building itself is worth visiting, too. Built in the early 20th century, it still has the atmosphere of old New York.
After exploring the galleries, I usually stop by Café Sabarsky. Coffee, breakfast, Viennese pastries — and for a little while, you can pretend you’re not in Manhattan.
WHY DO YOU LOVE THIS PLACE?
Art here doesn’t end with the paintings. It continues through the interiors, music, coffee, and people around you. And, of course, I’m never going to say no to a good Viennese dessert.
Tomi Jazz
239 E 53rd Street, New York
New York is a city where you sometimes have to wait in line for the good stuff. Jazz included. Tomi Jazz is a small Japanese jazz bar in Midtown East. It’s easy to miss from the street, but inside, it’s almost always packed.
It was once a private club, primarily for the Japanese community. Today, people come for live music, sake, Japanese whisky, and izakaya dishes. I love places like this: a small room, musicians playing just a few feet away, a glass of wine or whisky, and the chance to simply listen. Sometimes you have to wait to get in, but that’s a pretty normal New York experience.
Why do you love this place?
It’s all about the music. You can come alone, take a seat near the stage, and have a wonderful evening. The main challenge is getting through the door.
NEW YORK PLAYLIST
I also put together a small playlist for this guide — music for long walks, evening streets, and my version of New York.
The Campbell
15 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York
The Campbell is a bar inside Grand Central Terminal that was once the private office of financier John W. Campbell. The painted ceilings, wooden panels, large fireplace, and 1920s interiors are still there. It’s a beautiful place in its own right, but it became special to me for a completely different reason.
One evening, I met a bartender here. He offered me a glass of rosé, we started talking, and what was supposed to be an ordinary evening turned into a long conversation about life. Dreams, moving countries, living far from home, and how we each deal with our own circumstances. I love it when that happens. You walk in for a glass of wine and leave with a new story.
Why do you love this place?
For the unexpected encounters you could never plan. And for the reminder that sometimes the most interesting things in New York begin with a conversation with a stranger.
Sniffen Court
Sniffen Court, Murray Hill, New York
Sniffen Court is a tiny private alley in Murray Hill that looks as though it was accidentally transported here from another century. In the 1860s, ten brick stables and carriage houses were built here for wealthy families living in the neighborhood. They were later converted into private homes and artists’ studios.
One of the residents was sculptor Malvina Hoffman. Her reliefs depicting Greek horsemen can still be seen at the end of the alley.
I love New York’s old architecture, especially when it’s hidden somewhere you wouldn’t expect to find it. Sniffen Court is exactly that kind of place. Just a few minutes from Manhattan’s busy streets, you can find a little alley that has barely changed in more than 150 years.
Why do you love this place?
Because New York can still surprise you. Even when you think you’ve seen everything in a neighborhood, it’s worth turning the next corner.
Paley Park
3 E 53rd Street, New York
Paley Park is a tiny park in Midtown, just a few steps from Fifth Avenue. It opened in 1967 as one of the first pocket parks — small public spaces tucked into densely built urban neighborhoods. Its main feature is a tall waterfall wall. The sound of the water is so loud that it almost completely drowns out the noise of the street. I like how simple that is. You’re still in the middle of Manhattan, but you can sit down, have a coffee, and spend a few minutes without any distractions.
For this guide, I also chose a musical excerpt from An Evening in Paley Park, a promotional demo for a new musical by Ethem Muslu, set in New York in 1973. The story follows a man who visits Paley Park every evening and gradually changes through unexpected encounters. I liked the idea of a real place becoming part of another story — this time, a musical one.
Why do you love this place?
For the chance to take a short break without leaving Midtown. Sometimes ten minutes by the waterfall is all you need.
Whispering Gallery
Grand Central Terminal, 89 E 42nd Street, New York
Whispering Gallery is one of my favorite New York stories. And I didn’t discover it through a travel guide. The gallery is located on the lower level of Grand Central Terminal, near the Oyster Bar. Its vaulted ceiling is covered in Guastavino tiles, and the shape of the arches creates an unusual acoustic effect. If two people stand in opposite corners and whisper into the wall, they can hear each other perfectly — even over the constant noise of the station.
Now, my story.
One day, a guy I was seeing invited me to lunch at Grand Central. Afterward, he took me to a corridor, asked me to stand in a corner, and told me to put my ear against the wall. I had absolutely no idea what was going on, but I decided to see where this was heading. He walked to the opposite corner, and suddenly I heard his voice as clearly as if he were standing right next to me. That was where he first told me he liked me. It turned out his mother had told him about the gallery. I loved that he remembered this little family story and decided to share it with me. Until that day, I had no idea this place existed. So yes, the effect worked — both acoustically and romantically.
WHY DO YOU LOVE THIS PLACE?
Because it’s such a New York thing: one of the busiest train stations in the world, thousands of people around you, and someone is whispering something personal to you through a wall. And now I have my own story connected to this place.
Why do you love this place?
Art here doesn’t end with the paintings. It continues through the interiors, music, coffee, and people around you. And, of course, I’m never going to say no to a good Viennese dessert.
Neue Galerie
1048 Fifth Avenue, New York
I used to spend a few months at a time in New York, and every visit brought something new. Most often, I discovered the city through art, music, people, and places that gradually became connected to personal memories. My interest in early 20th-century Austrian culture began with Klimt, Schiele, and Florian Illies’s book 1913: The Year Before the Storm. I love how the book explores art through people’s lives — their relationships, encounters, ambitions, and personal stories.
So when I first visited Neue Galerie, everything clicked. The museum is housed in a former mansion on Fifth Avenue, opposite Central Park. Its collection includes Austrian and German artists such as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Oskar Kokoschka. The building itself is worth visiting, too. Built in the early 20th century, it still has the atmosphere of old New York.
After exploring the galleries, I usually stop by Café Sabarsky. Coffee, breakfast, Viennese pastries — and for a little while, you can pretend you’re not in Manhattan.
Tomi Jazz
239 E 53rd Street, New York
New York is a city where you sometimes have to wait in line for the good stuff. Jazz included. Tomi Jazz is a small Japanese jazz bar in Midtown East. It’s easy to miss from the street, but inside, it’s almost always packed.
It was once a private club, primarily for the Japanese community. Today, people come for live music, sake, Japanese whisky, and izakaya dishes. I love places like this: a small room, musicians playing just a few feet away, a glass of wine or whisky, and the chance to simply listen. Sometimes you have to wait to get in, but that’s a pretty normal New York experience.
Why do you love this place?
It’s all about the music. You can come alone, take a seat near the stage, and have a wonderful evening. The main challenge is getting through the door.
NEW YORK PLAYLIST
I also put together a small playlist for this guide — music for long walks, evening streets, and my version of New York.
Why do you love this place?
For the unexpected encounters you could never plan. And for the reminder that sometimes the most interesting things in New York begin with a conversation with a stranger.
The Campbell
15 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York
The Campbell is a bar inside Grand Central Terminal that was once the private office of financier John W. Campbell. The painted ceilings, wooden panels, large fireplace, and 1920s interiors are still there. It’s a beautiful place in its own right, but it became special to me for a completely different reason.
One evening, I met a bartender here. He offered me a glass of rosé, we started talking, and what was supposed to be an ordinary evening turned into a long conversation about life. Dreams, moving countries, living far from home, and how we each deal with our own circumstances. I love it when that happens. You walk in for a glass of wine and leave with a new story.
Sniffen Court
Sniffen Court, Murray Hill, New York
Sniffen Court is a tiny private alley in Murray Hill that looks as though it was accidentally transported here from another century. In the 1860s, ten brick stables and carriage houses were built here for wealthy families living in the neighborhood. They were later converted into private homes and artists’ studios.
One of the residents was sculptor Malvina Hoffman. Her reliefs depicting Greek horsemen can still be seen at the end of the alley.
I love New York’s old architecture, especially when it’s hidden somewhere you wouldn’t expect to find it. Sniffen Court is exactly that kind of place.
Just a few minutes from Manhattan’s busy streets, you can find a little alley that has barely changed in more than 150 years.
Why do you love this place?
Because New York can still surprise you. Even when you think you’ve seen everything in a neighborhood, it’s worth turning the next corner.
Paley Park
3 E 53rd Street, New York
Paley Park is a tiny park in Midtown, just a few steps from Fifth Avenue. It opened in 1967 as one of the first pocket parks — small public spaces tucked into densely built urban neighborhoods. Its main feature is a tall waterfall wall. The sound of the water is so loud that it almost completely drowns out the noise of the street. I like how simple that is. You’re still in the middle of Manhattan, but you can sit down, have a coffee, and spend a few minutes without any distractions.
For this guide, I also chose a musical excerpt from An Evening in Paley Park, a promotional demo for a new musical by Ethem Muslu, set in New York in 1973. The story follows a man who visits Paley Park every evening and gradually changes through unexpected encounters. I liked the idea of a real place becoming part of another story — this time, a musical one.
Why do you love this place?
For the chance to take a short break without leaving Midtown. Sometimes ten minutes by the waterfall is all you need.
Why do you love this place?
Because it’s such a New York thing: one of the busiest train stations in the world, thousands of people around you, and someone is whispering something personal to you through a wall. And now I have my own story connected to this place.
Whispering Gallery
Grand Central Terminal, 89 E 42nd Street, New York
Whispering Gallery is one of my favorite New York stories. And I didn’t discover it through a travel guide. The gallery is located on the lower level of Grand Central Terminal, near the Oyster Bar. Its vaulted ceiling is covered in Guastavino tiles, and the shape of the arches creates an unusual acoustic effect. If two people stand in opposite corners and whisper into the wall, they can hear each other perfectly — even over the constant noise of the station.
Now, my story.
One day, a guy I was seeing invited me to lunch at Grand Central. Afterward, he took me to a corridor, asked me to stand in a corner, and told me to put my ear against the wall. I had absolutely no idea what was going on, but I decided to see where this was heading. He walked to the opposite corner, and suddenly I heard his voice as clearly as if he were standing right next to me. That was where he first told me he liked me. It turned out his mother had told him about the gallery. I loved that he remembered this little family story and decided to share it with me. Until that day, I had no idea this place existed. So yes, the effect worked — both acoustically and romantically.
Follow Sasha’s Route
Manhattan
FOLLOW SASHA’S ROUTE
MANHATTAN
SIX PLACES I LOVE RETURNING TO
Interactive map with all six locations.
