Downlite Debuts Samantha Brown, Tommy Bahama

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 9/8/2008 12:00:00 AM

Mason, Ohio —

Samantha and Tommy B will be the stars of the show at Downlite during next week's New York Home Fashions Market.

Samantha Brown — star of Travel Channel's "Passport to Great Weekends" — becomes Downlite's new personality brand.

"She has the experience of staying in the most fantastic hotels around the world," said Jyl Davis, marketing director, Downlite. The collection is about taking the experience of a luxury hotel home with you, she added.

The Samantha Brown collection is positioned as "attainable luxury," Davis said, and packaging will feature Brown's tag line: "Go ahead, jump in." Packaging will resemble luggage, a play on the travel experience.

The collection includes pillows, comforters, mattress pads, blankets and throws in damask signature stripe. The pillow also features printed gussets. The Samantha Brown collection also includes giftables: a travel kit with sleep mask, travel pillow and throw; or a kit with sleep mask, travel pillow and "caring wrap," which resembles a filled shawl.

In another licensing move this market, Downlite has become a licensee for Tommy Bahama and will debut two collections.

Tommy Bahama Relax — aimed at the better segment of the market — is casual and whimsical, featuring bolder palettes. Filled with premium white down, Relax features a seaside strip in 350-count cotton with seersucker gussets on the pillows.

Tommy Bahama Home — aimed at the "best" end of assortments — has a more "indulgent" look, with a softer palette, Davis said. Filled with white goose down, Home features a 400-count sateen shell in a Tencel/cotton blend with a linen trim.

Both Tommy Bahama collections will include comforters, standard and Euro pillows, blankets and mattress toppers.

"The idea of both is to stand with essence of Tommy Bahama as a brand," said Davis.