AFTER closing his Fabulous Linens shop back in 2002, Whang Sung Lin is making a comeback next month with a new boutique - and an old French brand of luxury bedlinen.

Oh, how pleased the tai tais will be.

D Porthault, the brand in question, was founded in 1920 and is the fine linen of choice for chi chi New York ladies. The Paris-based company - now owned by Americans - has flagship stores in Paris, New York, Dallas and Dubai. And its products have been used in the Kennedy White House and the country homes of British royalty.

'Jackie Kennedy used Porthault sheets in the White House and one of the souvenirs at the White House state dinners was a Porthault napkin,' explains Mr Whang. 'That put the Porthault name in the spotlight, by which time a lot of French aristocrats were already familiar with it. It's one of those quiet brands because they don't produce a lot, and when they do it's quite pricey. But its American owner wants to make it more democratic and is looking for younger customers. This is where high finance meets old brands.'

The younger target audience, however, will have to be able to stomach prices from $2,000 for a set of bedlinen comprising a duvet cover, flat sheet and two pillow cases - and up to $30,000 for made-to-order varieties complete with luxe lace.

Still, there should not be a dearth of shoppers at the 900 sq ft shop at Palais Renaissance, what with the booming economy and appetite for luxury homes.

'Porthault keeps its mainline designs year in and out, but does seasonal collections twice a year,' says Mr Whang. 'At the core of it, the people who put it together in their French workshop are still artisans. They are famous for their laces, which are very durable and machine washable.'

Fabulous Linens - which used to carry the century-old top-end Italian label Pratesi, and whose prices used to be a novelty - will also sell bedlinen by Casa Bianca, an old family-owned Italian artisanal operation near Milan. Prices start from $1,200 for an entry-level bedlinen set and go all the way up to $5,000 for a top-of-the-line version.

But beyond the eyebrow-raising prices, Mr Whang is determined to point out that what makes bedlinen truly luxurious is simply 'a really great fabric'.

'The fabric should be light and smooth. And as they age, really great fabrics feel peachy, almost chamois-like, soft, smooth and cool to the touch,' he says. And contrary to popular belief, thread count isn't the be all and end all of bedlinen quality.

'People think that the higher the thread count the better,' he says. 'But it's just one of the elements manufacturers look at when they choose a fabric, just like horsepower in a car. It came about because a lot of Americans buy over the Net and they simply go by thread count. You can have a sateen fabric with a high thread count, but its construction may not be very strong. And that's not good as sheets should last very long. Also, a few manufacturers are known to go by units per 10 square centimetres. So if you see 400 thread count per 10 sq cm, it's really only about 250 per sq inch.'

The good thing, however, is that folks today are so much more aware of luxury bedlinen - thanks to greater economic power, the grapevine, Internet, travelling and 'girly' (read: socialite) groups.

'I travel a lot and stay in hotels,' muses Mr Whang. 'But before I open my eyes in the morning, the feel of my sheets lets me know when I'm home.'

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