FORMIA expands Delta Air Lines and Missoni partnership into branded bedding and textiles
This is a special feature from the September 2025 IFSA Global EXPO issue of PAX International, on page 50.
The Missoni bedding and products for Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines has introduced a new chapter in its collaboration with Italian luxury fashion house Missoni, moving beyond amenity kits to launch a fully branded bedding program for its Delta One premium cabin. The achievement, facilitated by FORMIA, marks the airline’s first major move into fully branded bedding and signals a broader trend toward integrated inflight comfort programs in premium travel.
“This launch is a milestone for all partners–expanding the Delta and Missoni partnership into a luxurious Delta One collection,” says Roland Grohmann, CEO & Managing Partner at FORMIA. “Our role was to bring Delta’s 100-year heritage and Missoni’s luxury design language together in a way that felt seamless and intentional.”
The collection includes a Missoni-designed bedding set, along with a refreshed amenity kit and other comfort items. It marks FORMIA’s first major project under its expanded branded product offering into bedding, which the supplier announced earlier this year.
Chevron beginnings
The partnership began with Missoni-designed amenity kits and has since expanded into bedding, with slippers set to follow soon.
“For the bedding, we worked closely with Delta to capture its vision for the sleep experience and with Missoni to adapt its aesthetic for the premium inflight setting, creating something that leaves a lasting impression and reinforces the Delta brand experience,” explains Niklas Sandor, Chief Commercial & Growth Officer. He notes that each introduction is part of a unified brand program rather than isolated product introductions.
On long-haul flights, bedding plays a critical role in passenger comfort and satisfaction.
“Delta One customers consistently rank sleep quality as their top priority, so that well-executed bedding can become both a signature of the airline and a driver of loyalty,” says Sandor. “With a brand like Missoni, it elevates rest into a distinctive part of the Delta journey.”
A cohesive design language
The Delta x Missoni program encompasses bedding, slippers, amenity kits and additional comfort items—all tied together through a carefully crafted visual identity.
“It starts with a unified design language,” notes Ben Read, Chief Creative Director. “FORMIA facilitated the creative process between Delta and Missoni. The result was the creation of a custom pattern and color palette inspired by the view from the window at 35,000 feet. Combining Delta’s heritage with Missoni’s aesthetic, the designs offer the Delta cabin a quiet sophistication and a distinctive sense of style.”
Each product expresses the design differently while remaining part of the same family, ensuring that the program feels connected without redundancy.
Adapting Missoni’s iconic style for the cabin
Bedding offers a much larger creative canvas than amenity kits, and Missoni’s signature chevron was thoughtfully reinterpreted for the inflight environment.
“We translated it into a tonal jacquard within an ivory base, tying it to the bags and other amenity pieces,” Read explains. “The softer ivory tones, rather than bright whites, create a calm, timeless effect, honoring Missoni’s tradition of rich colors and bold patterns while adapting it for the more intimate inflight Delta space.”
Durability and functionality are essential considerations. The bedding is crafted from RPET for soft touch, resilience and suitability for airline service.
“The construction was designed for longevity, with reinforced binding, gusseted pillowcases and stitching methods that maintain the product’s quality after repeated washes,” Read says.
A strategic evolution
For FORMIA, extending into branded bedding aligns with a growing demand from airlines for integrated comfort programs that go beyond amenity kits.
“Branded bedding has become a powerful differentiator in premium travel,” Grohmann says. “With Delta x Missoni, the goal is to create a memorable–but entirely distinct–connection, one that reflects Delta’s vision for the sleep experience.”
He adds, “When a bedding program is standout, it can stay in service for years and become part of the airline’s DNA. It is more than comfort–it is a statement that can inspire loyalty and even be a factor in choosing which airline to fly.”
A holistic brand experience
While the current program focuses on the Delta One cabin, FORMIA envisions broader opportunities to expand the brand collaboration across additional passenger touchpoints.
“For us, ‘holistic’ means creating a consistent brand presence across more moments in the passenger journey—from pre-flight lounges to the inflight experience and beyond,” says Grohmann.
