We sit down with author, style icon, adventurer,
and the man behind WM Brown, Matt Hranek to talk about his second collaboration
with us — the Negroni Dressing Gown, made in an exclusive Fox Brothers flannel
created by Hranek himself. The gown is cut in the same unique "Travel
Gown" block that he designed for his first collaboration with us, which
has a shorter length, slimmer cuffs and a useful inside pocket.

Working with the heritage British mill Fox
Brothers, Hranek turned to the unmistakable colour palette of his favourite
cocktail, the Negroni, for inspiration, drawing off of the rich reds garnished
with orange highlights found in the beloved drink and interweaving them with
deeper earthy tones to create the unique check pattern seen in our gown.

Woven into a hearty flannel cloth, the Negroni
Dressing Gown takes the familiar stylings of our unlined dressing gowns and
realises them in a cloth Hranek describes as being able to "take a hit
across the board" when worn, meaning it is not as delicate as a silk or
cashmere piece, but still extremely soft to the touch. This is a gown made with
cold mornings and evenings in Upstate New York in mind, when you just want to
wrap yourself in something cozy and enjoy a drink, maybe by a warm fire.

To mark the launch of our new collaboration gown,
we caught up with Matt about the thinking behind the gown, a new cocktail
recipe (surprisingly not a Negroni variation) and everything else he has going
on.

New & Lingwood

To start, introduce me to the new Negroni Dressing
Gown you have designed with us.

Matt Hranek

I think the whole journey starts with this Fox
Brothers flannel, which is the third in the series of Negroni cloth that I’ve
done with Fox. This is the Negroni Flannel, which highlights the colour palette
of my favourite drink — bits of orange, bits of red… I think this flannel is
hearty and luxurious.

It’s not so precious and of course, put within the
construction of a New & Lingwood robe, it’s just an amazing accessory to
have in your life. It’s one of those objects that functions really well in a
practical sensibility. Like, I keep one in my house in the county. It’s the
perfect thing to throw on to make coffee or have breakfast in but I think it
also takes over as a smoking jacket as well that you could easily wear over a
tuxedo shirt and black tie.

New & Lingwood

Is there a scenario of setting you had in mind when
designing this piece?

Matt Hranek

I love the fact that it doesn’t have too much
cloth. It’s not overbuilt. You wear it more than it wears you. It feels very
practical and super cozy.

I am in the country in Upstate New York and it’s the
perfect thing to throw on on a cold morning. We shot it for this recent launch;
I was making coffee and a classic American breakfast sandwich with it
— bacon, egg and cheese — and I wasn’t going to knock into a Negroni
before 11 o’clock, so I built another of my favourite red drinks which is a
Bloody Mary. You’re not limited only to Negronis in the robe.

New & Lingwood

It was a good subversion of expectation, making a
Bloody Mary for a Negroni gown photoshoot. What goes into your Bloody Mary?

Matt Hranek

I build it off the classics that found its birth in
Harry’s Bar in Paris. That is the historical reference that I believe in. It’s
very straightforward; salt and pepper, Worcestershire, the one occasion I drink
vodka, I like to use 100-proof vodka with it; very very good quality tomato
juice (the best you can find).

I don’t like those big brunchy, ice-filled,
chicken wing garnished Bloody Marys. I was taught really early on the joys of
drinking them shaken and up in a coop and I do think it’s my favourite way to
have them. You don’t get too much of that watery dilution.

I like it garnished
with just a bit of lemon and that’s about it. This is one of those drinks that
just gets everything but the kitchen sink put into it — bacon, fried chicken, a
piece of waffle, a green olive — it’s ridiculous. That drink is a culturally
acceptable morning drink.

New & Lingwood

Did you have a style icon in mind for the Negroni
gown? It looks to me like something Clark Gable might wear.

Matt Hranek

There is something really old Hollywood-feeling
when you wear a dressing gown like that. It’s not your hotel terry robe. It’s
much more of a garment than it is this kind of bathrobe. It reads more smoking
jacket and almost a blazer than it does a hotel spa robe. I don’t think I would
throw that on coming out of the shower but I would put it on in the evening for
cocktails as well as smart morning dressing.

New & Lingwood

People might be surprised by how robust it is
compared to some of our more lightweight silk gowns.

Matt Hranek

Yeah, it’s a much heartier solution than that. The
only thing you really have to protect it from is the moths. It can take a hit
across the board I think. I’ve also packed it as a solution or an alternative
to not having to just rely on the hotel terrycloth robe and having it be
acceptable to just walk down to the lobby for a morning coffee or late-night
cocktail. I would like people to get into the habit of that. I hate seeing
people in white terry cloth robes and slippers when you go to these spa culture
destinations. I don’t want to walk down to the hotel bar from the spa in that
sort of thing but I think you could acceptably do that in a New & Lingwood
dressing gown.

New & Lingwood

What else have you got going on at the moment? I
saw you were on Jimmy Fallon’s show recently.

Matt Hranek

That was pretty amazing. Life goals. The "Man and His Kitchen" cookbook is
out right now which will have a recipe for the Bloody Mary and the Classic
American Breakfast Sandwich in it because that’s a big part of how we live and
entertain at William Brown Farm, where that was photographed. WM Brown Magazine
is full force producing our next Winter/Spring issue which will be out shortly.
And just navigating the world with as much style as possible.

Longtime friend of the brand and author David
Coggins has been working on a new project for us — the Weekend Edition — an
in-print catchup with our friends—artists, gallery dealers, writers and editors
that will be available soon.

For the first edition, we asked five people what
they do on the weekends, how they unwind, how they host guests, and how they
carry themselves when they’re not in the public eye. Which is, we can agree, a
good way to get to know somebody.

As a preview of this new series, Matt Hranek has
shared two recipes from his new cookbook, "A Man and His Kitchen"
(Artisan). In the book, he shares his favourite recipes from his house in the
Catskills, in Upstate New York. Here are a few that are perfect for the
weekend, whether you’re hungover or not.