Our Story
The brand
CAYO knitwear is designed in Ireland and created in Italy by expert knitters with the finest quality premium, 100% Peruvian alpaca wool which is custom made for CAYO. A piece of CAYO knitwear is one of the softest, most luxurious and long lasting pieces you will ever own. A knitted piece you can enjoy for years to come and feel good about buying. We believe luxury doesn’t have to harm the planet and we commit to always be accountable and transparent.
The idea
The company was born out of an idea to create a unique, luxury product that you will have and love for years to come. Having a long lasting product, made in a considered way was essential for founder Orla Daly. After a trip to South America and discovering Alpaca wool Orla started looking into this wool more and wondered why it was not more widely available as it is a lot more sustainable to keep Alpacas than lots of other animals who yield luxury yarns such as Mohair rabbits, Angora or Cashmere goats. When we started doing some market research we were shocked to see the amount of clothes that contained 70% or more newly created plastic, there are many different types of plastic with names you might not even recognize as plastic. We decided our pieces would only be made from naturally derived or recycled materials. Our labels, swing tags and boxes are all made with natural, recyclable materials. Click here to read about some of the many reasons why our knitwear made with 100% premium Alpaca wool is a better choice.
Our values
Inline with our values our jumpers are season-less, we promote slow fashion, we want you to get lots of wear out of our pieces.
We can always do better so will continue to learn and look for ways to make our products and processes even more sustainable. Having great quality pieces made in a considered way will always be paramount for CAYO.
About the designer
Cayo is a brand born of passion, creativity, and a commitment to sustainability. Its journey began with a simple yet heartfelt gift—a sewing machine—given to founder Orla by her parents at just 15. “I started making my own clothes, not very well, but I enjoyed it,” she recalls. This small spark ignited a love for fashion as self-expression, which was further fuelled by her participation in the Junk Couture national competition, where she spent nearly a year creating an outfit from 100% recycled materials.
Today, Orla has transformed her early passion into Cayo, a brand defined by its timeless elegance and sustainable ethos. “Our collections aren’t bound by calendars,” she explains. “We create when we feel our customers will enjoy the new offering, with every piece designed to endure in both quality and style.”Cayo embodies a philosophy of thoughtful luxury, crafting pieces meant to be cherished for years, not just a season. Customer connection is a source of immense pride for Orla. “Hearing from customers who love their pieces or seeing a stockist sell out is incredibly fulfilling,” she shares. These moments affirm her mission to create designs that resonate deeply with people. Along with a team of very talented professionals, this brand was brought to life.