Design Spotlight: The Making of Our Luxe Collection

At Zinus, we own every step in the manufacturing of our mattresses, including the production of our own foams through highly efficient and innovative processes. And in 2021, after perfecting our craft in locations all around the world, we opened our very first state-of-the-art production facility here in the USA.

Some of the first mattresses to come out of that facility are our Bliss and Winter Cloud Memory Foam Mattresses, otherwise known as the first members of our Luxe Collection. And before they made their way to the U.S., our skilled team of designers spent over a year curating them. The finished products are nothing short of immaculate, and a true culmination of our expertise and insights paired with cutting-edge industry trends.

The beginning

In 2020, our Korean product design team, led by director Jiyun Kim, was tasked with elevating and innovating two of our most beloved and highly rated mattresses: the Cloud Memory Foam Mattress and the Ultima Memory Foam Mattress. To get a better sense of what makes each of them so special, they spent about two months conducting market research and diving deep into our existing customer reviews.

“Customers who prefer soft and fluffy elements [stood] out for Cloud,” Design Lead Hyewon Jeong recalled. And when it came to the Ultima Mattress, rave reviews often mentioned outstanding support.

Another trend they noticed while assessing reviews was customers’ overwhelming demand for cooling benefits and better temperature regulation from their mattress.

The design team moved forward from here with two goals in mind:

1. To integrate cooling benefits and enhanced freshness into each mattress, while preserving each one’s core strengths—plushness for Cloud, and support for Ultima
2. To create visually stunning looks and textures distinct to each mattress

Enhancing cooling and freshness from the inside out

Understanding the individual strengths of the original Cloud and Ultima mattresses, the design team was careful to maintain the feel and firmness that earned them such glowing reputations among our customers. While keeping their core foam structures largely intact, premium infusions and high-performance fabrics were selected to boost the sleep-enhancing benefits in each one.

To preserve the famed plushness of our original Cloud mattress, generous microfiber top quilting and memory foam layers were maintained in the Winter Cloud design. And for Ultima, the proprietary 7-zone pressure-relief layer—or series of targeted, permeable zones bored into strategic areas of the foam that better support the hips, shoulders, knees, and spine—remained an integral part of the upgraded Bliss mattress to provide consistent pressure-relief.

When it came to our customers’ high demand for better cooling benefits, the design team chose some of our most tried and true technologies and paired them with cutting-edge trends. To start, generous layers of our cooling gel-infused memory foam were used in both mattresses to ensure enhanced air circulation. This specialized formula allows body heat to escape, resulting in a cooler, more optimal sleeping temperature all night long.

From here, they focused on the covers, choosing unique, cool-feeling fabrics that would offer relief for different kinds of sleepers.

For the Winter Cloud, a Cool-to-Touch Soft-Knit cover was selected. As the name implies, this innovative fabric features a distinct chilly feeling that you’ll notice the moment your head hits the surface. When it comes to cooling, breathability, and a luxurious feel, this one checks every single box.

When it came to the Bliss mattress, the team explored sustainable fabric options. In the end, they chose TENCEL™, a fabric made from natural fibers harvested from raw wood through an efficient, closed-loop process. In addition to being derived from an easily renewable source, TENCEL™ is renowned for its superb softness and breathability. The addition of TENCEL™ to the fabric was a no-brainer for our luxe line, and since it’s naturally moisture-wicking and absorbent, it’s an excellent choice for sweaty sleepers.

Zinus’ signature green tea foam infusion also played a significant role in defining the team’s concepts of calmness and stability across the entire collection. We’ve used pure and natural green tea in our memory foam for years to enhance the feeling of consistent freshness in our mattresses (our #1 bestselling Green Tea Memory Foam Mattress is still a customer favorite to this day.). As Design Lead Eun bi Kang explains, “green tea ingredients extracted from nature are the most representative characteristic of Zinus.” Aside from the amazing natural benefits it delivers, green tea embodies our mission of providing happiness and harmony to our customers through better sleep. For these reasons, the Korean team went beyond memory foam to develop Green Tea Comfort Foam and Green Tea Base Foam as supporting layers for the Luxe Collection mattresses. As a result, Bliss and Winter Cloud are some of our first mattresses fully infused with premium green tea from top to bottom.

Creating beautiful aesthetics and luxurious textures

It was important to our Korean team that the premium quality feel of each Luxe Collection mattress was aesthetically conveyed with the right fabrics and color schemes.

After exploring how current industry trends could be woven in with Zinus’ unique style, the team developed a theme that guided their design process: conscious clarity. Hyewon describes this concept as when “our energy is recharged and our mind is cleared”. To convey this message, they focused on soft color palettes and patterns that were minimalist, yet refined, which would visually stabilize both the mind and body. Pairing this notion with the key strengths of plushness for Winter Cloud and comfort for Bliss, they came away with two distinct looks.

“For Winter Cloud, our goal was to deliver a cool and flush message. The shape and spacing of quilting were studied to show the product's function with a rich sense of volume,” Eun bi explains. “The image of the cloud is expressed with pure white fabric and round quilting…with a soft flowing pattern.”

And when it came to Bliss, the team utilized exquisitely soft TENCEL™ blend fabric with a textured pattern. Creating an aesthetic that would convey that softness was a must, so they tested many different textures and colors before landing on the final design. The finished product features a cushiony fabric with a curved line pattern, abundant fibers, and a two-tone light grey color scheme.

The end result

When asked what they’re particularly proud of in this collection, Associate Designer Hyun ho Hwang tells us that they created a unique story of “calm and stability” which was expressed through fabric and cover designs in a way that’s never been done before. And with the impressive craftsmanship, innovative foams, and high-performance fabrics of these mattresses, we’re confident that our customers will find exactly that (and more) in our Luxe lines.