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 NegroniDressing Gown takes the familiar stylings of our unlined dressing gowns andrealises them in a cloth Hranek describes as being able to "take a hitacross 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 withcold mornings and evenings in Upstate New York in mind, when you just want towrap 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.

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

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 paletteof 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.