CLO: How a High-End Fashion-Tech Company Speaks Through Space

What if you could make clothing with just a few clicks? CLO Virtual Fashion (hereafter "CLO"), a fashion-tech company that operates 3D garment design software and a community platform, is a company that turns that very idea into reality through technology. It lets you complete a garment by stitching fabric just like the real thing, dress an avatar in it to stage a runway, or share your workflow on a cloud-based platform. CLO also offers a curriculum so that anyone can easily get started in fashion design, and runs a marketplace where digital assets can be traded. Across design, simulation, education, and distribution, CLO is leading the digital transformation of the fashion industry as a whole.

CLO wanted an office that would symbolize technological innovation while also serving as a place where a wide range of users could interact naturally. SPACEBASE designed an environment where internal collaboration and external experience come together organically, embedding CLO's identity at the meeting point of "fashion" and "digital" into the space itself. The core challenge was to create a space that intuitively conveys CLO's direction and brings innovators together in one place.

A "Relationship-Oriented" Office That Embraces Users on Both Sides

The people who use this space fall broadly into two groups. One group consists of external visitors who want to experience CLO's technology and direction; the other consists of internal members who work across diverse fields. SPACEBASE designed the entire space with the characteristics of both user groups and their purposes for using the space in mind.

CLO's core value lies in a "user-friendly" corporate culture. Building on CLO's philosophy, SPACEBASE created a space where both external and internal users can experience the brand in their own way. Grounded in a design that imprints the company's identity, the space was carefully arranged to suit the nature of each task and the purpose of its use. As a result, simply by observing the space closely, you can understand what kind of relationship CLO seeks to build with its users.

The Main Sequence That Conveys Brand Identity

Many different types of visitors come and go at CLO's headquarters. Among them, SPACEBASE focused on how to clearly present CLO's identity to those encountering the brand for the first time. Because CLO is a company that handles the very latest within the trend-driven fashion industry, there was a conviction that showcasing the brand through intuitive yet striking design elements would be the most effective approach. That is how CLO's core spaces came to be designed.

(1) Entrance: A Digital Narrative That Shapes the First Impression

A 3D rendering of the video hall you encounter upon entering through the main entrance. A range of CLO products are demonstrated here.

The hall as actually built.

Visitors stepping off the elevator are met by a space where video plays on an enormous scale. This video hall, fitted with an 8m curved panel, plays CLO's product showcases and corporate introduction videos. It is a device that lets you feel CLO's business identity—fusing digital technology into the fashion industry—exactly as it is.

(2) Premium Lounge: A Warm and Dignified Welcome

A 3D rendering created with the visitor's path in mind, after passing through the video hall and entering the lounge.

The lounge as actually built. Its open views and warm, modern color palette leave a strong impression.

Passing through the video hall and entering the lounge, visitors are met with a stunning view that takes in all of central Seoul at a glance. Much like arriving at a luxury hotel, the lofty vantage—spanning the Gangnam district of Seoul, the Han River, Yeouido, Namsan Tower, and Ttukseom—draws out an involuntary gasp of admiration. To match its role as a space that welcomes outside visitors, a generally bright color palette was used so that it would feel formal yet not overly heavy. As a result, the space leaves a lively, composed impression, as if floating above the clouds.

The view from the window side. The formality reminiscent of a hotel lounge is never lost.

This lounge is also the space CLO weighed most heavily. SPACEBASE carefully selected the lounge's design elements so that, during a visitor's brief stay, CLO's identity—encompassing the keywords "fashion" and "technology"—could come through.

A 3D rendering of the lounge in full view. Delicate design elements stand out, including a vertical multi-vision display, a distinctive wall, and lighting.

(Left) The view from the entrance side. The multi-vision screen installed on the stairway wall draws the eye. (Right) Across from the multi-vision, the fabric-pattern wall installed on the left-hand wall.

The large vertical multi-vision display installed on the lounge's stairway wall presents CLO's news and works. The distinctive fabric-pattern wall used on one side intuitively expresses CLO's identity as a fashion company that works with "cloth." Wherever the gaze of a first-time visitor falls, devices imbued with the brand's character are placed throughout.

(3) Town Hall: A Space for Creative Encounters

A large-scale town hall that makes use of a void space.

The town hall was created with a balanced consideration of how both external and internal users would make use of it. A void area of roughly 7m was turned into a large-scale town hall capable of holding 200 people. It is used for education sessions for external users and as a venue for large meetings of members working across multiple branch offices.

The town hall seen from another angle. A bright, warm color palette was used to complement the open views.

The bright color palette that harmonizes with the expansive view is also striking. SPACEBASE used a variety of colors, finely tuning them so that the decoration would not be excessive and so that strong contrast would not add visual fatigue to the space. The result is a warm yet modern spatial branding that captures the brand's freshness. In addition, considering that this is a space where long education sessions and meetings take place, the furniture and stair dimensions were designed to match human proportions, raising the overall quality of the space.

Workspaces That Strengthen Members' Sense of Pride

CLO's office spaces, which continue upward along the stairs, are filled with elements that show clear consideration for members' sustained focus. Wasted circulation was minimized, creating an environment where various departments can communicate flexibly and stay immersed in their work. SPACEBASE designed an efficient and healthy office while carefully accounting for the dispositions, work types, and interactions of CLO's members.

(1) Meeting Spaces Imbued with Diversity and Flexibility

CLO's office is equipped with meeting spaces subdivided to suit each purpose. Internal members working on projects often tend to stay only at their own desks. To encourage natural collaboration among members, SPACEBASE created various types of meeting spaces. These are flexible spaces where members can immerse themselves in their own work by project or job function, while still being able to communicate casually with other departments at any time.

The hot desk zone is a space designed for efficient work and meetings through complete focus. At a single-person seat partitioned off, you can handle important tasks or join a high-concentration video call. Teams with varied headcounts and departmental makeups frequently use the U-shaped tables. Placed in an open area, this meeting space reduces the sense of pressure that can arise in a closed meeting room and creates an atmosphere where free communication is possible.

The open meeting zone was positioned so that departments with frequent meetings can reach it with minimal circulation. In particular, the meeting space is fitted with writable walls, which play an effective role in capturing and structuring ideas that arise spontaneously. Beyond this, team-specific meeting rooms were also arranged so that each team can use them efficiently, raising both the meeting focus and the movement efficiency of members.

A training room for instructors teaching software technology.

Meeting spaces that draw on CLO's industry character are also in place. A prime example is the sample room, which embodies the identity of a fashion company. As a dedicated space for experimenting with fabric and developing garments, it allows testing of fabric texture, weight, resistance, and more, giving workers a very high level of immersion. Right next to the sample room is a dedicated training room for CLO users. It functions as an always-available space for teaching the software to those who want to experience CLO's technology. What is striking is that these two spaces—symbolizing CLO's core identities of "fashion" and "digital technology"—are arranged side by side.

(2) An Open Office That Restores Inspiration

CLO presents services that fuse cutting-edge technology with fashion. The creative thinking of its members, spanning both technology and art, matters more than anything. To support this, SPACEBASE considered devices that would help maintain continuous work immersion through appropriate relief of tension and rest. The pride of CLO's headquarters, located on the upper floors of a high-rise building, is the open, sweeping view that looks out over central Seoul at a glance. Members who need a shift in thinking or a change of mood naturally head toward this space that holds such an expansive view.

(Left) A group zone where people can communicate while looking out over the view. (Right) A comfort zone created across from the group zone. Bright colors suited to natural light add vitality to the space.

A massage room responsible for members' rest.

First, a group zone—a meeting space for 4 to 6 people, slightly smaller than the meeting spaces introduced earlier—is placed by the windows. The group zone is designed by making use of the back of the town hall stairs. Being close to a window that showcases CLO's prized excellent view, it allows meetings to be held while enjoying a wonderful borrowed scenery. In particular, the massage room placed between these group zones lets members recover from the tension and fatigue built up through work, making it one of the most favored spaces among internal members.

A view of the cafeteria. People can take a relaxed break in this open space.

The cafeteria, where bright, clean white is used together with warm colors.

The cafeteria, along with the group zone, is the space internal members use most comfortably. As with the design direction applied to the town hall, bright colors that take CLO's fresh brand color into account were mainly used. So that it could function as a place to recover one's work rhythm, colors carrying a modern yet warm atmosphere were carefully chosen.

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The CLO office was born out of a holistic consideration of the company's culture, its internal members, and the diverse visitors who pass through it. While pursuing the visual identity of an innovating company, at its center lay a care for the "user." An attitude that prioritizes the experience of the people involved without losing the brand's identity may well be an essential virtue of a company that leads its industry.

SPACEBASE sought to express this corporate philosophy clearly throughout the entire space. The team worked to ensure that the view taking in the cityscape at a glance would not serve merely as a display to show off the space, and added intuitive, boundary-free design elements so that anyone experiencing the brand could blend into the office. The office completed in this way became a spatial solution that defines the relationship between users and the company.

In this way, SPACEBASE views and designs space as a messenger that conveys a company's philosophy to its various brand stakeholders. Carrying something beyond the values of mere convenience or beauty, please keep an eye on SPACEBASE's journey as it expands the possibilities of office design!

*Photos and design provided by the SPACEBASE team