CO | A Minimalist, Structured Quiet Luxury Brand Founded by Hollywood Filmmakers
Browsing SKP Select, I came across this brand, immediately drawn to its minimalist designs and neutral colors, with some standout fabrics in a few pieces. Like other brands in the quiet luxury trend, CO offers a broad range, not as specialized as niche labels like Hender Scheme or Doen. Without buying or detailing its materials, it’s hard to support a full article about such brands.
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CO is a renowned minimalist brand from Los Angeles, founded in 2011 by designers Stephanie Danan and Justin Kern. Focusing on high-end yet practical everyday wear, CO embraces a refined aesthetic with clean designs, such as hidden plackets to cover buttons or zippers and using hook-and-eye closures for a seamless look. Pockets are seamlessly integrated into side seams or as front jetted pockets. CO’s collection is typically in muted, neutral tones, with structured cuts in fabrics ranging from cotton and viscose to virgin wool, making their pieces timelessly stylish and versatile across seasons.
CO’s Development Timeline:
2011: CO was founded in Los Angeles by Stephanie Danan and Justin Kern, inspired by their background in Hollywood film production and a desire to convey a lifestyle of minimalist luxury, focusing on women’s clothing.
2014: CO launched a premium ready-to-wear collection, gaining market recognition and becoming a go-to for minimalist fashion enthusiasts.
2018: Expanded its product line to include knitwear and additional ready-to-wear items, further unifying its sophisticated, minimalist aesthetic.
2021: As global interest in minimalism grew, CO expanded internationally and strengthened its presence in high-end department stores and luxury fashion platforms.
2023: Committed to sustainability, CO began integrating recycled materials (e.g., recycled cashmere) and eco-friendly production processes, embedding sustainability into its minimalist design ethos.
Over the years, CO has stayed out of the traditional fashion show circuit, opting instead to showcase its collections via lookbooks and showrooms. The last brand I saw with such a clean, series-focused lookbook was Nehera and Khaite.
The images below feature four selections from CO’s 2024 collection and a preview of the 2025 spring line, with a focus on skirts, tops, coats, and trousers.
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On its official shop, skirts rank first after the essentials series, followed by cashmere and knits. I was introduced to CO through a cashmere sweater, which I found impressive for its quality and fashion-forward cut—unlike most cashmere sweater designs in the domestic market.
CO’s prices start at around ¥4,000 for thinner cashmere sweaters, cotton shirts, and cotton/acetate/viscose skirts, while thicker sweaters, long dresses, wool pants, and cotton-nylon blend trench coats are in the ¥7,000 range. Thickened cashmere cardigans and wool coats/capes reach around ¥10,000. For a luxury brand, CO’s pricing is moderate, comparable to Toteme , Joseph and Nehera , but less than The Row , Khaite and Gabriela Hearst.
At SKP-Select outlets, CO items are often available at a 50% discount, bringing prices in line with full-priced domestic brands like Erdos and Zhihe. International brands tend to have a significantly higher profit margin compared to domestic ones. Among CO’s cashmere sweaters, the most distinctive design is the second item in the second row, which shares the same silhouette as the fourth item in that row. This piece has integrated 3/4 sleeves, an asymmetrical hem, and is crafted from ultra-light, ultra-thin cashmere, showcasing both thoughtful design and luxurious material choice.
Dress Collection: CO’s essential dresses fall into two categories: 100% cotton dresses with a wide silhouette for a rural vibe, and 90% viscose or acetate crepe dresses with streamlined cuts for a refined, urban look.
Both the crepe and cotton dresses come in black and white only.
CO’s cotton shirts and dresses are produced domestically, and occasionally, some original pieces may appear on export-oriented Taobao shops.
From this simple cotton shirt below, you can see CO’s craftsmanship and attention to tailoring. Even though it’s made of standard cotton and has some natural wrinkling, the overall silhouette still reflects a refined, quiet luxury aesthetic.
CO’s most iconic shirt, seen in the first image on the left, is a basic design featuring mother-of-pearl buttons and a hidden placket, giving it a cleaner look. The website suggests wearing it tucked into pants or skirts rather than left open. When styled with leather pants, the cotton fabric’s natural wrinkles complement its structured and slightly stiff texture, creating a relaxed yet sophisticated look.
Tailoring Highlights: Coats, Trench Coats, and Blazers
The blazers are currently only available in black, typically crafted from over 98% virgin wool with silk linings. For tailored womenswear, I recommend Joseph and Nehera and Gabriela Hearst for their distinct styles.
This 95% virgin wool suit from CO emphasizes a feeling of ease and lightness, steering clear of any restrictive weight. When it comes to blazers and coats, this is an essential feature. I’ve tried structured shoulder coats before, and they often feel uncomfortable, restricting arm movement. Some regular heavy cashmere coats lack the softness and lightness of high-quality cashmere, making them feel burdensome and awkward. In contrast, CO’s description for this black blazer highlights that it’s “Impeccably tailored without feeling heavy or restricted.”
The jacket features a peak lapel for a sharp, elegant look and has front jetted pockets, leaving just a slim black line that adds to the minimalist design. There’s also a pocket at the chest.
The matching trousers in the same fabric are designed as floor-grazing pants, with a slight flare from the knee down. CO’s official styling suggests letting these pants drape along the floor. For most people, though, unless they commute primarily by car, opting for a slightly shorter hemline might be more practical.
The essential line from CO also includes a wool coat and a cotton-nylon trench. In my experience, the best quiet luxury brands excel even without a full suit lineup; their strength often lies in standout items like coats, trenches, dresses, and cashmere. For well-crafted labels, these core pieces are defining. For example, La Collection’s wool cape, Khaite’s silk dresses and cashmere sweaters, and Toteme’s scarf coats have become iconic. When a brand also offers standout bags or shoes, it levels up into a higher luxury tier. Among the top three quiet luxury brands, all excel not just in clothing but also in accessories.
In China, brands like Zhihe’s Lu Zhu trench and Xiao Huan Xi’s cashmere coat have propelled these names into prominence, occasionally adding well-designed pants. Even if their suits and bags are more average, these large statement pieces strengthen their brand profile. Erdos, on the other hand, lacks highly structured pieces, but its premium cashmere remains a strong draw in the market.
For smaller or lesser-known brands, the lack of statement outerwear or dresses, or a limited presence in the market, can make it harder to reach wider consumer awareness.
This particular CO coat, made of 90% wool and 10% cashmere, has a simple, streamlined design. It’s an open-front, belt-style coat with side-seam pockets along the sides. In China, this kind of coat is often called a “robe style,” and with the model tying the belt, the CO wool coat does indeed resemble a luxurious robe.
I included a picture of the back because with blazers, coats, and trench coats, you need to check the back construction as well. Quality garments have durable back seams and well-crafted underarm areas.
Below, the piece on the left is ¥2,000 and on the right, ¥20,000. Apart from the obvious differences in the cashmere’s softness, sheen, and fiber fineness, notice the difference in the underarm construction and the back stitching. The piece on the left has a rougher finish, with the underarm area looking unnaturally indented. Meanwhile, the one on the right has added seams along the back, resulting in a more refined silhouette.
During the recent Double 11 shopping event, I tried a few pieces from Taobao and ended up returning them all, disappointed. Even if the pictures looked similar to in-store pieces, the actual fit and structure were miles apart. With outerwear and coats like these, it’s better to shop in person. The coat on the right, by contrast, is from the 1436 Zhizhen series, made from the finest white cashmere.
This CO short jacket, made from a blend of 70% viscose and 30% wool, has intricate back detailing, similar to the meticulous craftsmanship seen in the 1436 series, with additional finishing steps for a refined look.
The jacket features a bold center seam, a hidden front placket that conceals the zipper for a minimalist effect, and unique rounded cuffs. It also has front patch pockets, adding a subtle detail to its streamlined design.
The fabric has a texture similar to CO’s crepe series, with a clean, straight-lined look often achieved using viscose. Recently, I noticed several viscose-based designs at Sandro—while the fabric quality wasn’t as high, the cuts and styling were impressive, highlighting viscose’s suitability for structured designs. CO uses a weft faille finish for this jacket, giving it a polished sheen. The weft faille weave is ideal for achieving a structured silhouette, enhancing the jacket’s shape and luster.
CO’s best-selling burgundy wool cape can be styled as a coat or a cape. For those who appreciate relaxed wool capes, La Collection offers similar styles that I’ve highlighted in my Exploring Over 300 Brands to Curate the 30 Best Niche Cashmere and Quiet Luxury Brandsarticle.
Postscript
That’s my overview of CO—a brand whose lookbooks I admire for their clean, cohesive presentation. I look forward to finding a CO cashmere sweater that fits perfectly; my favorite items are their cashmere series, and wool pants come second. Currently, SKP-Select only carries CO’s smaller knits and cardigans, but I hope to see more of their core pieces in the future.
by: pamperherself
