Can you tell us about your latest product, Dreamsoft?
Dreamsoft is a revolutionary new material that not only looks and feels incredibly luxurious, but also has twice the lifecycle of other spa materials. For hotel and spa operators, it can also deliver between 50-60 per cent savings on laundry costs, which after staff salaries, is the biggest running expense they face. Two other relevant points: the life of the product is more or less doubled compared to other products, and the softness is more or less similar to silk for the lifetime of the product.
When did it launch?
We launched the product exclusively at Guerlain’s new flagship beauty institute on the Champs-Elysee in Paris in late 2013. A few months after that, we started our global rollout of the product for both Guerlain and other leading clients. For example, over the past year, we’ve completed Dreamsoft projects for Guerlain in Versailles, Prague, Moscow, St Petersburg, Vienna, Amsterdam and Zurich, as well as at worldwide locations with our client Ritz-Carlton and its many hotel and spa brands.
What’s so special about the Dreamsoft product?
To begin with, it’s two fabrics in one – but that does not mean that two different layers are bonded together – it’s a single layer of fabric that keeps products extremely light and versatile.
Spa robes are 100 per cent super absorbent cotton on the inside, with ultra-light Wellsoft velour on the outside. The fabric has the look of a 600 GSM weight, whereas it’s actually only 350 GSM. This makes it very comfortable for clients to wear, and hotels and spas only need half the storage space for their robes and linens. You really have to see and feel the product to believe it.
Have there been any new developments since its launch?
Yes, for Guerlain we launched Dreamsoft in classic white and have also been providing the product in lighter colours for clients, including Peninsula Hotels.
Last year, our long-term client Sofitel approached us to create a bespoke colour – a dark taupe – for its flagship thalasso and spa hotel Quiberon in Brittany, France.
Because Dreamsoft is made up of different fibres that each require a different dying process, and in turn each of those fibres are double dyed, producing Dreamsoft in darker colours is a lengthy and complicated process.
We spent months in R & D to produce the bespoke colour for Sofitel, and the end result was outstanding. Even we were surprised that Dreamsoft had an even more luxurious look in a dark colour!
What has been your most recent project with Dreamsoft?
We’ve just completed a project at the Bulgari Hotel spa in Knightsbridge, London. This hotel has a very exclusive clientele, but its original sets of spa linens were something that you could find at a dozens other spas, and not really suitable for the quality of the Bulgari brand. We’d met the spa director Shelley at several trade events, and began talking seriously about a project for them earlier this year.
We’re very proud of what has been achieved. It’s a complete set of Dreamsoft and RKF linen products that elevate the client experience to a whole new level.
Firstly, we’ve recreated the brand’s exclusive “Bulgari Grey” in Dreamsoft.
Each treatment room has a heavyweight cotton, waterproof valance made to fit perfectly over the bed. There are waterproof mattress covers and Dreamsoft sheets for clients to lie between, duvets and a super-soft waterproof pillow.
There are towels in all different sizes, and the spa robes are style like a beautiful cashmere coat. It’s a very flattering shape, and they come in several different sizes.
Our attention to detail meant that we measured and tailored everything in the Dreamsoft set down to the last millimetre.
Is Dreamsoft much more expensive than other materials for spas?
No. In the lighter colours, Dreamsoft is around 15 per cent more expensive than regular cotton towelling, but operators can easily recoup that extra cost with the savings they make after around 10-12 laundry cycles.
The darker colours involve a more complicated process and are created as bespoke colours for clients, so this cost is also a bit higher – but those extra costs can still be recouped starting from around the 10th wash cycle.
What’s next for RKF Luxury Linen?
Dreamsoft, of course, is not our only product – we cater for all the linen needs of luxury brands. We’re expanding our partnerships with leading hotels and spas, and we’ve also recently opened a Middle East office in Doha, Qatar.
With our client Sofitel and its SoSPA brand, there’ll be 24 new openings this year, meaning that clients will be experiencing Dreamsoft as far and wide as the Fiji Islands, Azerbaijan and Brazil.
Contact RKF Luxury Linen
Call +33 3 84 90 08 56
Fax: +33 3 84 90 08 29
Web: www.rkf.fr
