SONOMA, Calif. – COLT Studio Group has tapped Los Angeles-based fashion company Timoteo to redesign and re-launch the COLT Basics apparel line. Creative director and co-owner Timoteo Ocampo will lead the effort under the brand name COLT Collection.

Timoteo LLC also will be the exclusive wholesale representative for stores worldwide.

According to COLT President and Creative Director John Rutherford, all design and manufacturing for the apparel line will be based in the U.S. Fit, fabrication and quality are of paramount importance, he said.

“I have been impressed with watching what Timoteo Ocampo and his partner Joel Johnson have been producing for some time now,” Rutherford said. “We have been using their main Timoteo and CellBlock 13 line of clothing for our shoots and have been very aware of their high quality and excellent reputation.

“As the Playboy of the all-male adult world, COLT is a lifestyle brand that our customers are proud to wear at the gym, at the clubs, in the street and everywhere worldwide where men take care of their physiques and have the COLT Man masculine image,” he added. “I know every brick-and-mortar and online shop will demand this all-new quality COLT Collection apparel, and we will not disappoint.”

Founded in 1967 by Jim French — whose classic, original artwork will appear on the collection’s T-shirts and underwear — COLT has created some of the most powerfully erotic images of the male nude, in the process blurring the lines between fine art and erotica. The Timoteo brand launched in 2001 as a small storefront in West Hollywood, Calif., and has evolved into one of the largest gay brands in the world. Ocampo counts Yves St. Laurent and COLT among his biggest influences.

“Ever since I was a young adult, I have been an huge fan of COLT,” he said. “They were an inspiration to me when I came out as a gay man. I had a COLT Man Steve Kelso poster in my room, which gave me the confidence to be myself and come out, and now being able to bring my designs to COLT is a dream come true.

“Being able to brainstorm new and creative ways to utilize the iconic artwork of Jim French and the new COLT creative team with the COLT brand couldn’t make a designer any happier,” Ocampo continued. “This is truly an honor for me as a designer and such an acknowledgement of my skills that John and his team would want to partner with me and my company.”

The COLT Collection will be available in the COLT Studio Store, which pays sales commissions through the Buddy Profits affiliate program.