We explore how the duvet was first introduced to the UK, and its evolution ever since.
Duvets are a relatively new part of our bed dressing and yet for some they will only ever have known sleeping under a duvet. They were first introduced to the UK in the 1960s – just over 60 years ago. British designer Sir Terence Conran, the founder of Habitat, mass marketed the duvet from London after trying one in Sweden. Ever since sleeping under it, he was convinced it was the best cover for deep sleep.
Viewed as a continental luxury, duvets promised to save bed-making time when compared with the longstanding tradition of dressing beds with layered sheets and blankets, complete with those ‘hospital corners’.
The name ‘duvet’ derives from the French word for ‘down’, meaning feathers. This is because Eiderdown was traditionally seen as the fill of choice for thermal insulation across Europe.
Despite duvets becoming more and more covetable, they were still an expensive luxury for most people in the UK.
Times have changed, and as the duvet has become a mainstay of bedrooms, we’ve come to learn so much more about the science and routine of slumber. This includes what we choose to fill our duvets with.
The luxury bedding industry still favours feathers and down as the ultimate duvet fill. But we know better. While feathers are good at thermal insulation, they lack breathability, trapping moisture which can lead to clamminess and overheating.
So we set out to craft an entirely new bedding fill to reset sleep luxury, using a patented protected and pioneering fill of cashmere guard hair and wool.
Cashmere is at the very top of the hierarchy chain of luxurious natural fibres. It’s regenerative. Hypoallergenic. Breathable. And completely compostable, giving a nitrogen rich source back to soil.
But most importantly, it reacts to and with our body temperature – keeping us warm when we’re feeling cold, and cool when we feel too hot. This natural ability enables us to stay in our optimal thermal comfort zone for sleep. This zone promotes deep sleep for longer, offering the steady flow of REM sleep the body needs to naturally restore itself each night.
With our knowledge of the cashmere industry, we knew that 70% of the cashmere clip - known as ‘cashmere guard hair’ - is underused, considered too straight to weave for the luxury market. Why let such a precious fibre be forgotten? When blended with sumptuous Scottish wool, we found that the flat lying cashmere guard hair has incredible sleep promoting benefits. In one study, over 90% were sleeping better under an Ava Innes cashmere guard hair duvet.
It’s our ongoing mission to revolutionise sleep with new product developments, rooted in our commitment to working with nature’s most precious fibres. We invite you to join us as we write the next chapter of sleep wellness, right here in the UK.
