Timoteo is made for the stylish athlete who seeks the ultimate in comfort and design. Best known for their Clubhouse Athlete Jock– the first brief to feature the ass-less back – Timoteo is unleashing several new lines this season. So far, their Rugby line is getting the most attention. Produced in striking colors of blue, yellow and white, with a custom designed waist-band boldly emphasizing the brief’s strength, Rugby is taking the ‘play’ from the locker room into the bedroom.
"Rugby may just become the ‘it’ underwear this spring," predicts Timoteo Ocampo, the company’s founder and head designer. Before launching Timoteo, Ocampo worked as a designer; first for XOXO and later at Baby Phat, where he helped launch the brand with Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee. "The collection is infusing fashion into fitness wear by combining high quality fabrics, vibrant colors, and a fit that accentuates a well-toned body."
"Design is about attending to the littlest details," he continues. "Color, texture, fit and construction all have to compliment one another. Ultimately, Timoteo is about looking and feeling good in clothes."
Timoteo launched ten years ago as a small storefront in West Hollywood that manufactured select fashion pieces for men. It has since evolved into a fun and hip brand that produces a full line of product across multiple categories including denim, sports tees, tank tops, underwear, swim and athletic wear.
"I love designing for men who like fashion," says Ocampo. "My job is to provide guys with gear that enables them to play hard in this game we call life."
GC: What do guys want in their fitness gear?
TO: Timoteo O’Campo: They want clothes that fit well and look good.
GC: Is that what Timoteo offers?
TO: Timoteo is all about great fashion design for the modern guy. I design everything with our customers in mind.
GC: What inspires you when you’re creating a new line?
TO: Inspiration comes from what I see in the world: art, architecture, design, and photography. Also, travel: seeing how people live in the world inspires me.
GC: Do customers influence your collections?
TO: Yes, we listen and respond to customers as well as the buyers who bring our merchandise into their stores.
GC: What kind of man does Timoteo cater to?
TO: We cater to men who take care of themselves and how they look. Fashionable and fit guys who go to the gym and enjoy a healthy social life. They understand and follow trends but avoid gimmicky fashion fads.
GC: Timoteo, the company, turned ten this year. How has the company evolved since it’s beginning?
TO: We’ve grown from a small store front into a brand that now produces a full line of product across multiple categories including underwear, swimwear, active wear, denim, and sportswear. It is a great feeling and sense of accomplishment to create a brand that didn’t exist ten years ago.
GC: What has been the secret to your success?
TO: Brand integrity is important to us and essential to our success. Customers love our design, they like the way our clothes fit. They also agree with our philosophy that fitness wear doesn’t have to be boring and should be original. The guys that buy Timoteo don’t want to look like everyone else working out in the gym.
GC: How has being a ‘made in the USA’ company helped Timoteo?
TO: We constantly hear from buyers and customers how they love that all of our merchandise is made in the USA. Being locally made allows us to have consistency with production that many of our competitors do not. We can closely monitor how a collection is doing and produce only what is needed. We’re careful not to over produce as it would devalue the brand and hurt our retailers.
GC: What is Timoteo introducing in 2012?
TO: New underwear styles. New swimwear, active wear, sportswear, denim styles and accessories. This season, Timoteo is more cohesive across all product lines.
GC: What’s new in underwear?
TO: Rugby is all the rage right now. It is the follow up underwear line to our best selling Clubhouse collection.
GC: Timoteo’s Super Sport underwear is another favorite.
TO: We are preparing to launch the second generation. We’ve updated Super Sport with an even sportier feel, new colors and more details in each pair.
GC: Of course, everyone loves your classic Black & White.
TO: We’ve updated that line too with a high tech mesh. That particular line is for the man who wants something stylish and comfortable and a little sexy.
GC: We’re seeing a lot of mesh in Timoteo this season.
TO: That’s true. Our Water Polo swim brief is a traditional cut with a sporty design and stretch mesh details.
GC: What else is new in swimwear?
TO: Malibu is our traditional brief. It’s coming out in new pop colors this season. We also have our new Zip board short, a relaxed fit board short with zippers on the sides that open to reveal a coordinating color. Both feature our Timoteo Surf patch. And then we have new Cargo swim shorts, which are neat, and a Convertible swim brief that can be worn inside and out. Two suits in one!
GC: What are some of the favorites from last year that we will see again?
TO: The Resort Board Short is coming back in black and royal blue. Speedster, a tailored brief, is also coming back in new colors. And our most popular style, Matador, will return. It’s a fashion square cut for the guy who likes a snugger fit.
GC: How do you choose the colors for the collections?
TO: Like all fashion designers, we follow trends and forecasting. Color is influenced by art, fashion and design. The colors we chose for 2012 are bright, subtle, rich and classic.
GC: What advantages does a smaller company like Timoteo have over the bigger brands?
TO: We can produce with more frequency and variety. If something is working, we can update it quickly in new colors and/or fabrics. We are also very quick to communicate virally with our customers. We frequently poll guys on what they want and then we bring it to market in a short time. It sets us apart from larger brands that only design two or three times a year.
GC: Variety and frequency seem to be key to staying relevant with consumers.
TO: Exactly. We don’t outsource to anyone for any of our creative. We even shoot 90% of our marketing campaigns in-house. Our new headquarters in downtown Los Angeles has a designated photo studio.
GC: Sounds like it takes a lot of hard sweat to compete in today’s fitness-fashion world.
TO: We’re lucky. We have the perfect gear to wear to play hard and win.