From the Classroom to the BEDroom
While many college students thrive off minimal sleep, these two best friends are making a business all about being in bed. BED, is an approachable high-end sleepwear company founded by two Strategic Brand Management master's students at the American University of Paris, launched in May 25, 2025.
Amy McDermott, 29, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Brooke Larney, 29, of Youngstown, Ohio, co-founded BED to combine their shared love for fashion and leisure with an emphasis on comfort and style.
This summer, they introduced their first two sleepwear sets in Midnight Blue and Bordeaux Burgundy in the United States. Priced at $125, each set is made with 100% satin with adjustable velvet ties on the top and bottom for a customizable style. To kick off their campaign, McDermott and Larney visited sororities across the country before returning to Paris to finish their courses at AUP.
The Beginning of BED
Larney and McDermott first met in New York City, where Larney later recommended McDermott for a position at an AI-fashion-tech company in Los Angeles. The fast-paced startup world proved to be both exhausting and rewarding, and after three years of challenges and successes, the two decided to embark on the journey of starting their own brand.
"We didn't want to be fashion designers, and we didn't want to be pigeonholed into fashion as well. That's not our passion," Larney said. "That's how we got into sleepwear, because we can create technical designs of like six sets of sleepwear and then change out the fabric."
Their demanding experience at a startup taught them to work quickly and efficiently and helped shape the foundation of their company. After three years of working long days and late nights, they learned to truly relish and appreciate their time in bed.
"It was an insane experience, but at the end of the day we would go lie in bed," Larney said. "It really has such a lazy, negative connotation, but that's the best part of my day."
Learning to Brand
To fill a gap in their skill set and gain a deeper understanding of branding, McDermott and Larney enrolled in AUP's Strategic Brand Management master's program in fall 2024.
"Our backgrounds mixed well, but we didn't have the branding component," Larney said. "The Strategic Brand Management curriculum is what kind of brought us to Paris."
Paris offered an ideal environment to develop a fashion-related brand with access to the city's creative energy, skilled photographers, and the prestige of launching an American brand in the world's fashion capital.
As part of the program, students can complete an internship, thesis or capstone project. Choosing the capstone project allowed McDermott and Larney to bring BED to life through their coursework, faculty mentorship, and peer support.
"Even if the project might not apply specifically to sleepwear or product-based branding, it is still making us think about it in a branding way," McDermott said. "It helps us create a holistic brand personality."
Their time at AUP has been monumental to the creation of their company, not only through the network and free advice of peers, but it has also pushed their brains to think in different ways than in the typical workplace.
"We couldn't have done this without being immersed back into an education environment," McDermott said. "It gives you this feeling like it's okay to make mistakes."
The Strategic Brand Management program requires 48 credits and typically takes 18 months to two years to complete. Students emerge with skills in marketing strategy, brand development, and communication.
Among their courses taken, Issues in Contemporary Brand Management and the module Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship in Fashion proved especially influential. Their impact was such that McDermott and Larney reached out to the module's professor for additional insight and mentorship on their projects.
Balancing School and Business
Since BED's launch in May, Larney and McDermott have been balancing their studies while running their company remotely. Transitioning to online-only marketing and sales posed challenges they had not foreseen when coming back to Paris this September. Today, consumers are flooded with advertisements, making it difficult for Instagram posts to stand out in a sea of other products.
"People now are social media and tech savvy. They know that you can make anything look good on the internet," McDermott said. "So, actually showing people our pajamas and sleepwear in person, we converted sales instantly."
It can be pricey to constantly put out targeted ads, and for small brands, it is vital to put boots, or slippers, on the ground. Fortunately, after finishing their finals in December, they plan to return to the U.S. to continue building their presence there.
The Future of BED
Looking ahead, BED is not restricting itself to sleepwear. McDermott and Larney hope to expand their team in the coming years and create the whole "BEDtime experience", a lifestyle brand that embodies comfort, relaxation, and the joy of slowing down.
As they continue to grow their company from the ground up, the co-founders are embracing the chaos and joy of each moment. They've approached every step with a "just try it" attitude, pouring their heart into a brand that reflects both their friendship and shared vision.
"We drove Brooke's mom's car around to the different universities," McDermott said. "We would get in the car, I'd be driving, and we would just look at each other and say, 'Whew, we're here. Let's do it!" It makes it so much more fun that we are best friends."
For McDermott and Larney, BED is more than a brand; it's a reflection of who they are as best friends chasing a dream, one sleepwear set at a time. Their mission remains simple: to create a space where people can love, rest and simply enjoy being in bed.
Find more information and shop BED at https://bedsleepwear.com/ and on their socials @maisonbedsleepwear.
