Founded in 2003 by Claudia Ochoa, CLO intimo is a New York-based brand inspired by all the wonderful colors of the designer’s native Colombia, and which she describes as “elevated everyday fashion lingerie for young-minded women of any age.”
Growing up in Medellín above her family’s small sewing company, Ochoa would spend her afternoons after school helping out in the atelier, or staging fashion shows of her own designs which her parents would then sell to local businesses. Naturally, she went on to obtain a degree in fashion design and then spent a decade honing her craft in Colombia, before moving to NYC, drawn by the promise of greater opportunities in the world of fashion.
She initially freelanced for companies including Victoria’s Secret but was soon persuaded to launch her own lingerie label, one that would combine the ‘ultra-sexiness’ of Colombian aesthetics with the practical everyday fashions of constantly-on-the-go New Yorkers.
The resulting CLO intimo range is a padding-free collection of bra sets, bodysuits and nightwear in mesh, microfiber and exclusively designed stretch laces such as the Selva range’s lace pattern, inspired by the foliage of the Amazon jungle and all finished with a subtle, signature semi-precious stone detail.
The color palette ranges from assorted neutrals to bolder tones such as chili-pepper red, rich purple and saturated sky blue. “I look to my native Colombia for color and design inspiration,” says Ochoa, “There are vivid colors everywhere: birds, architecture, flowers. It’s a very colorful and vibrant place.”
The upcoming FW26 collection, Salento La Montaña pictured here, launches next month and is inspired by the town of Salento. Located in the so-called “coffee triangle”, a mountainous region known for cultivating coffee as well as cocoa, Salento is particularly famous for the multi-colored homes that line its streets, painted in bold blues, yellows, pinks, greens and reds.
Standout pieces include a cropped lace camisole in various colors (my favorite is the butter yellow), a bodysuit printed with multiple blooms in shades of pink, and a new red iteration of the brand’s popular Fortuna lace ‘vest’ with its racer-cut back and front hook-and-eye closure.
Colombian girls, Ochoa says, are no stranger to the lingerie as outerwear trend, and she loves to wear this piece as top as well as a bra. It works both with casual styling for daytime, and dressed up for a night at the club.
CLO intimo lingerie is all made in Colombia, and is available in a size range of S-XL and 32B-38DD for the handful of cup-sized bras. Prices begin at $24 for bottoms or $50 for bras, and go up to $192 in nightwear. The brand is available via its website or at 60+ US stockists, including Anthropologie.
