If you go to bed in ochre-red sheets, do you improve your chances of amorous activity? Is Sunday reading enhanced while reclining on a sun-dappled duvet the shade of a Granny Smith? Would a sky-blue pillowcase inspire you to leap, rather than roll out of bed in the morning?

They’re questions inspired by a new Antipodean textile brand daring to do things a little differently.

“There’s so much emotion when it comes to the bed,” says Kate Fowler, who with Rukaiya Daud, the hunter-gatherer behind design store Fourth St, co-founded Sutram, which launched its organic cotton range of bedwear this week.

While there are “prim” neutrals in the range, including cream and grey, and matte finishing to soften some of the bolder hues, the colourways feel as vibrant as the blossoming spring, challenging the New Zealand love affair with whites and muted tones.

“The bed is such a big object in our homes too,” Kate adds. “Animating it with a bit of colour can really shift your mood.”

The pair met through Kate's younger sister, Georgia Fowler, the internationally successful NZ-Australian model and previous Viva cover star (best known for her campaigns with Victoria's Secret), who is a close friend of Rukaiya's.

Since school days, Rukaiya says she’d spend a lot of time at the Fowlers’ house, during which time she and Kate, also a successful model, bonded over their love for design.

Initially they’d planned on producing a furniture range, but having realised the storage and shipping constraints and having spotted a lack of colourful cotton offerings in New Zealand soon turned their attention to bedwear. The brand is named for a Sanskrit or Tamil word meaning overarching formula, plan, string, or thread.

“The linen category has reigned supreme over cotton for a while,” says Rukaiya. “We like that cotton as a fabric is quite humble and sturdy but still so classic and beautiful. It’s not trying to be fancy, although it does have that crisp, hotel feel. I think it’s been forgotten a little bit and we wanted to do it justice to see how we could make it a bit more expressive.”

They also looked to their shopping bugbears: why was it that when seeking out a new duvet and pillowcases you often had to opt for the full matching set?

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Hence the option to colour-block by mixing and matching individual pieces. The range has been ethically made in India, with colours added using dyes free of azo (a chemical known to contaminate wastewater).

Sutram also produces valances and cushion bolsters which are made by an organisation that upskills vulnerable women, says Rukaiya, providing them with financial independence.

Rukaiya is in the process of editing her Fourth St offerings (a mix of contemporary and antique pieces) so the new Sutram range is a separate entity that will be available from its website, Studio-sutram.com, and Simon James concept store.

Meanwhile, for Kate, whose background is in advertising, Sutram has provided an exciting creative outlet following years of working as a model and raising her two young daughters, Alexa and Saachi, with her ex, hospitality entrepreneur Justin Hemmes.

While both Rukaiya and Kate say they have strong ties to New Zealand with Kate adding it’s a running joke she’ll fly home for birthday parties, engagements or any excuse her friends give her it was Kate who encouraged Rukaiya to live in Bondi, where the pair agree the lure of winter swims make them feel like they’re always on holiday.

“It’s been such a great process to work with Rukaiya,” says Kate. “She’s refined her aesthetic through Fourth St for so long, and we’ve always resonated.”

Rukaiya and Kate also gelled when it came to marketing the brand. Rather than feature a series of static bedroom scenes, they juxtaposed the soft bedwear with industrial environments, a citrus-yellow duvet on an oily barge, cornflower-blue sheets in an artist’s studio.

“We both knew we didn’t want a beautiful model with a full face of makeup in an expensive house,” says Kate. “That’s not what aspirational is to us. We wanted it to be more human and real."

“The bed hosts so much of life’s moments,” adds Kate. “The open book by your bed, and the un-drunk cup of tea when you wake up in the morning. It’s such rich territory. We wanted to really tap into that emotion so everyone can relate to it.”

Kate and Rukaiya’s top tips for a beautiful boudoir

1. Pillow play Feel free to err from convention with your pillow formations. A euro on a single bed is great. As is a row of three across a king bed. We also love the simplicity of two pillows lying flat with a duvet slung low.

2. Turn down Try folding down your duvet for added volume. It will make your pillows appear nestled-in and can also give your fitted sheet more of a moment.

3. Size up If you happen to be starting from scratch, try opting for a duvet one size bigger than your mattress for a more generous look.

4. Groundwork Don't be afraid to experiment with darker tones. The graphic contrast of a darker-coloured flat sheet or pillow can work to ground the palette and make the other colours in your scene really sing.

5. Gently gently If you’re looking to fold a colour into your scene but want to keep the overall look fairly neutral, fitted and flat sheets are a great way to quietly introduce colour.