Hot sheet: the rise of aspirational bed linen

The bed. Tracey Emin made it art. Taylor Swift made hers the backdrop for the cover of her latest album. At Milan design week in April, high-fashion designer Thom Browne staged a performance based around the idea of making a perfect one. It is a place for sleep and for theatre and – no surprise – it is also a site for consumerism.

 

I am not above it. Blame the algorithm that constantly serves up fancy bedding brands or me for hovering a moment too long over ocean green linen sheets I can’t afford, but I, like many around me, am a sucker for the luxe bed sheets and accoutrements that have been blossoming in the last few years.

From soft brushed cotton to aspirationally rough linen; ticking stripes to bold, Instagram feed-friendly colours; scalloped-edges to the renaissance of the dust-collecting valance, beds are big business beyond the foundational mattress and frame. The domestic equivalent of picking what to wear, what you dress your bed in would ideally suit a mood, a season; it is an important part of the domestic jigsaw just as much – if not, arguably, more – than your sofa, kitchen tiles or rugs.

 

Cult brand Tekla is a frontrunner. Its towels and bathrobes are beloved of the likes of Harry Styles but it’s the bedding that is the backdrop of countless Instagram shots of perfectly styled bedrooms. This week it is launching its latest aspirational print in collaboration with heritage Finnish furniture manufacturer Artek – a collection of bedding inspired by pioneering architect and designer Aino Aalto featuring a Japanese cherry blossom motif.

 

At Toast, bed linen sales are up in general, but it is for the more “elevated styles” that demand is growing in particular, such as pillowcases with tie details and embroidered motifs. At Piglet in Bed, gingham and striped linen are proving hot property. Camomile London has seen a rise in customers buying more individual items for their beds beyond the duvet cases, such as their Kantha quilts. They don’t come cheap, but they sell out the quickest.

“The pandemic really made people fall in love with their homes again,” says Amy Hemmings-Batt, director of Coco&Wolf, a company that takes Liberty fabrics and makes them into duvet covers and pillowcases. “As such, we saw a shift in the investment people make into key pieces which elevate their every day.”