Our superfine cotton sateen and Greek cotton terry have been engineered from scratch, which makes Cleverly an outlier in an industry that defaults to sourcing off-the-shelf.
Conceived by art dealer Roshana Lewis and architect Amelia McPhee, the genius of Cleverly is this dovetail of art and science. The co-founders first crossed paths in the art world, but it wasn’t until 2013 that the two committed to a lofty yet precise objective: towels and sheets like nothing else.
The duo relished an opportunity to rethink cotton – in terms of its texture and performance.
But first, fabric. Deceptively simple, Cleverly towels and sheets are a decade in the making. It was in the mills of Portugal that the founders gained an intimate understanding of the textile region’s heritage techniques and best practice sustainability. This immersive education equipped them with the audacity to innovate; rules were questioned and refined, genius details were dreamt up then stress-tested.
Roshana and Amelia are patient yet relentless in their pursuit of uncommon quality; they care deeply about how the fabrics feel, function and endure. Working closely with their expert team, they specify the yarns, the weaves, the weight, the twist of the loops, the washing temperatures, the timings. Nothing escapes their attention or imagination.
This rigorous approach has reaped tangible results – the sheer joy of correctly weighted terry for a seriously efficient dry. The greater surface area of Cleverly’s extra-long loops and a particular twist work together to swiftly absorb water.
This same attention to detail applies to our cotton sateen sheets. Long-staple fibres have been reshaped to achieve an almost silken texture, the structure of the yarns relaxed to encourage airflow, even the weave is oriented to make gliding into bed a seriously smooth manoeuvre.
The universal appeal of this singular quality would go on to debunk category norms, a thesis proven out when Cleverly launched on Mr Porter in 2017.
Rather than ‘newness’ the focus is cleverness, because the beauty of original thinking is that it stays fresh, season after season.
Absolutely irreplaceable, Cleverly feels different.
