Next up in the Panache family, Cleo! The Cleo AW16 collection primarily features shades of blue and magenta, with pops of citrus yellow, tangerine orange and apple green.
Cleo Breeze in Geo Floral (pictures 1-2; 28-38 D-H) ; Cleo Della (picture 3; 28 E-H, 30-38 D-J)
As always, we have some lovely new darker floral styles in the Breeze and Della for this season. I loved the SS16 colourway of the Della, and this season’s colourway is a definite winner for me! I adore sets that have matching suspenders, and I think the combination of the bold black detailing over the soft floral is simply gorgeous.
Cleo Mimi in Rose Print (28-38 D-H) ; Cleo Marcie in Tangerine (28 E-H, 30-38 D-J)
The floral continues onto the Mimi, a muted blue bra features a floral in shades of peach and apple green, with the peach shade featured again on the new Marcie. The Marcie was a little hard to photograph, but in person it is a much softer, lighter peach shade than it looks here.
Cleo Piper Longline in Cobalt (pictures 1-2; 28-38 E-H, 30-38 D-J) ; Cleo Blake in Turquoise (28 F-H, 30-38 D-J) ; Cleo Morgan in Teal (28-38 D-H)
We also have shades of blue used across the new Piper, Blake and Morgan. I’m particularly excited about the Piper, which is a delectable new unpadded longline in a vibrant cobalt. Unlike most full-bust longlines, this is available in a fairly large size range (covering D-J cups), so this is definitely one I’ll have to try out!
Cleo Tilda in Magenta (pictures 1-2; 28-38 D-H) ; Cleo Skye in Magenta/Lime (picture 3; 28 F-H, 30-38 D-J) ; Cleo Hettie in Black/Pink (pictures 4-5; 28 E-H, 30-38 D-J)
Shades of magenta are popular, used here in the Tilda, Skye and Hettie. I particularly love the contrast of the lime and magenta in this season’s Skye colourway – it’s such a fun, eyegrabbing combination!
Cleo Koko Muse in Charcoal/Magenta (pictures 1-2; 28 E-GG, 30-38 D-H) ; Cleo Kali in Black/Pink (picture 3; 28 E-H, 30-38 D-J) ; Cleo Lexi in Black (pictures 4-5; 28-38 D-H)
Finally, we also have some new options for neutrals in the form of the Koko Muse, Kali and Lexi. The Lexi is a new version of the Maddie, also available in Latte (a beige nude shade). It features the same sort of shape and appearance, but with a smooth edge along the top to increase wearability. The continuity Maddie is still in production, but I imagine depending how sales go, it may be phased out in favour of this style.
Cleo Hattie Bandeau in Pink Aztec (28-38 D-G)
There are also a few new pieces in the Cleo Swim collection. The first is the Hattie, which comes this season in a candy pink/white “Aztec” print. Cleo, as much as I love you, I’m not a fan of appropriating Aztec culture and design for clothing, and I’m just not on board with this colourway. I feel like this trend has been around for a really long time now, and I’m seriously wishing brands would get a bit more inventive with their geometric prints – seriously, it doesn’t have to be labelled “Aztec” or “Indian” or “Zulu” to be appealing.
Cleo Suki Bandeau in Geo Floral (pictures 1-2; 28-38 D-G) ; Cleo Lucille Balconett in Geo Stripe (28-38 D-J)
The other two pieces of the swim collection are the Suki and Lucille, which both feature geometric stripes in navy and white, with the Suki featuring overlaying floral in shades of blue and yellow. I like how these two options have the same basic idea, but the different approaches to each result in two very different looks.
Overall I think this is a fairly cohesive collection from Cleo, with some really nice colour choices throughout. For some years now Cleo have had a fairly cutesie aesthetic, but since last season (SS16), it seems like they’ve been trying to reinvent themselves to be a bit more edgy. This collection doesn’t seem to really embody either of these visions, and instead seems more mature than the ones we’ve seen before. There are some pieces I’m definitely excited about (hello, unpadded longline up to J cups!), but I do feel like Cleo’s brand vision is a little vague at the moment, so I’m personally looking forward to seeing which direction they go next season!
What do you think of the collection? Any stand-out pieces for you? Any opinions on Cleo’s current direction? Let me know any thoughts in the comments below!
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Fab colours and I’m really excited to see a longline bra in larger sizes! Brilliant post- thanks for sharing
Hey Helen! I’m really excited for the new longline style, too – it’s such a cute style! xx
:O A longline to a J cup :O I want to try that one. I really want to try that one. Also I’m loving the colourway for the blake
I think I’m gonna have to try it out, too! I think the colours of the Blake are really cute – I love the spearmint-y blue combined with the black detailing! xx
I’m a little sad that Blake and Skye don’t come in my size (28E) since those are the two that look the most exciting to me. But I’m glad that those are the only two, last season I was worried they were phasing out my size!
I’m glad they’re not phasing out your size! One thing I am a little disappointed to see is that they seem to have phased out B-C cups after a very short period of having them, which was a really great thing for them to have available in 28-30 bands. Hopefully they’ll either expand or at least maintain size ranges in other styles! xx
I agree, small bands with small cups are such a hard range to find anything in!
The longline is reeeeally exciting! I loved many of the colors and models here, even though I agree with you, I wouldn’t guess half of them to be Cleos… let’s wait and see!
kiss kiss
Nádia
My Fashion Insider
It’s really cute, isn’t it? Just not quite an overall Cleo vibe I get from this collection, strangely enough. I’m looking forward to seeing which direction they go in next season
xx
Such a beautiful lingerie collection. Uggh, the theme, the clothes, the poses… all so perfect! So much good styling!
http://www.cosabella.com/en-us/lingerie
Finally a longline in a J cup YESSSSSSSSSSSS
I’m really excited, too! <3
A season without thong in most styles again though we never worn as many skinny/slim jeans as today. Cleo by panache is supposed to be fun. Cleo mimi in rose print is beautiful though. Cleo Skye looks interesting in the shape though I don’t really like the association of colours
Hmm, I’ll have a quick look through my brochure and check what brief styles are available.
Hettie, Tilda, Mimi, Koko, Koko Muse, Blake, Skye, Maddie: Brief only
Piper and Morgan: Brazilian Brief only
Lexi: Short only
Breeze, Kali, Lucy, Juna: Brief and Thong
Della: Brazilian Brief and Suspender Brief
Marcie: Brazilian Brief (Tangerine only) and Brief
I do think brazilian briefs tend to be quite good to wear under slim-fit clothes, as well as being way more comfortable than thongs, so I’m quite happy to see more of those. I can understand why you wish there were more thong styles, though!
thank you for this very complete reply