Oxbridge Flannel Launch - Maximilian Mogg Q&A
To mark the launch of the renewed Oxbridge Flannel bunch, we spoke with four tailors about the place of flannel in their work. From the decisions made at the cutting table to the qualities their clients return for, these conversations explore the cloth through the experience of those who cut, shape and make with it.
For Maximilian Mogg, flannel’s appeal begins with silhouette. Long jackets, pronounced waists and generous, high-waisted trousers define the approach he describes, with flannel offering the body to hold a line and the softness to bring it movement. We asked him about character, colour and why a great flannel garment becomes such a personal part of its wearer’s wardrobe.
Tailor: Maximilian Mogg
Instagram Tag: @maximilian.mogg
THE APPEAL OF FLANNEL
What makes flannel one of your favourite cloths to work with?
Flannel has character. It is soft without being flimsy, elegant without looking overly polished, and it has this wonderful depth of colour that very few other cloths can achieve. I also love that a flannel suit never looks as though it is trying too hard. You can wear a beautifully cut grey flannel suit and look extremely well dressed without looking particularly "dressed up". That is quite a rare quality.
What keeps your clients coming back to flannel?
Comfort, first of all. Once somebody has spent an autumn or winter in a proper flannel suit, it becomes very difficult to convince him that he should wear anything else.
But there is also something very forgiving about flannel. It gets better throughout the day. You can sit in it, travel in it, go to lunch, go back to the office, have dinner and probably a few drinks afterwards - and somehow it still looks charming. Perhaps not immaculate, but that is precisely the point.
What do you think separates a truly great flannel from an average one?
Depth, handle and recovery. A great flannel should feel substantial but not dead. It needs enough body for a tailor to create shape, while remaining soft enough to move beautifully.
And then there is the colour. Particularly with greys, a really good flannel has enormous depth. It shouldn't look like somebody simply selected "grey" on a computer. There should be life in it.
Why do you think flannel has remained such a timeless choice despite changing fashions?
Because it doesn't really belong to fashion. A flannel suit looked good in 1925, 1965 and 1995, and it will still look good in 2035.
The proportions may change, of course, but the cloth itself has an almost archetypal relationship with tailoring. When people imagine a proper autumn or winter suit, very often what they are imagining - whether they know it or not - is flannel.
FROM THE TAILOR'S PERSPECTIVE
What do you particularly enjoy about working with flannel?
It rewards shape. Our tailoring is very much about silhouette - a long jacket, a pronounced waist, strong lapels and high-waisted, generous trousers. Flannel works wonderfully with that because it has enough body to hold a line, but enough softness not to make the result look rigid.
It is a cloth that allows tailoring to look tailored without looking armoured.
Does flannel allow you to achieve a particular silhouette or drape?
Absolutely. I particularly like heavier flannels because they give trousers an extraordinary line.
We cut our trousers high and rather full, often with quite a bit of width towards the hem. In flannel, that creates movement rather than bulk.
The same applies to jackets. It gives us the possibility of creating a very defined silhouette while keeping the overall impression soft.
Are there particular tailoring details that flannel showcases particularly well?
Pleats and wide trousers look fantastic in flannel because the cloth has enough weight for them to fall properly. I also love big lapels in flannel - particularly on double-breasted suits - because the softness of the cloth stops them from becoming too aggressive.
FROM THE CUSTOMER'S PERSPECTIVE
Which clients are most drawn to flannel?
Interestingly, both very experienced tailoring clients and complete newcomers.
The experienced client understands how useful it is. He knows that a mid-grey flannel suit might end up being one of the hardest-working things in his wardrobe.
For the newcomer, the attraction is usually more emotional. He puts it on and immediately understands it. It feels comfortable, substantial and somehow familiar.
What do clients tend to say after wearing a flannel suit for the first time?
Usually something along the lines of: "Why didn't I do this earlier?"
How would you explain the appeal of flannel to someone who has never owned a flannel suit?
Imagine the elegance of a proper suit combined with some of the comfort and ease of your favourite knitwear. That is not technically what flannel is, of course, but emotionally it comes surprisingly close.
It is tailoring you actually want to live in.
What occasions do you particularly recommend flannel for?
Almost everything during the colder months. Office, lunch, travelling, dinner, drinks, weekends - depending on how you style it.
That versatility is one of its great strengths. A grey - for instance - flannel suit with a white shirt and tie can look extremely proper. Take off the tie, add knitwear or a polo shirt, and suddenly the same suit feels completely different.
MY PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE
What's the first flannel cloth that really impressed you?
It wasn't necessarily one particular bunch or cloth. What impressed me was discovering proper heavy flannel after having mostly known the lighter, smoother suiting cloths that dominate modern ready-to-wear.
Suddenly I understood why all those old photographs of men in flannel looked so good. The cloth was doing part of the work.
Do you have a favourite flannel suit you've made? What made it memorable?
There have been quite a few, but I am always drawn back to grey Prince-of-Wales Check or Glencheck flannels - especially as a double-breasted. It is almost impossible to improve upon.
Another love of mine, is rather dark charcoal or grey-black flannels cut as 6x2 double-breasted suits. There is something wonderfully severe about the colour and wonderfully relaxed about the cloth. That contradiction is very MAXIMILIAN MOGG.
If every customer could own one flannel garment, what would you recommend - and why?
Grey flannel trousers.
Not particularly revolutionary, I know, but there is a reason they have survived for so long. Wear them with a navy blazer, tweed jacket, knitwear, a shirt and tie, loafers, boots - almost anything.
Although, naturally, I would prefer to sell you the entire suit.
In three words, how would you describe the feeling of wearing a great flannel suit?
Soft. Powerful. Smexy.
AND FINALLY...
What does flannel mean to you as a tailor?
Flannel represents almost everything I love about tailoring. It has history without feeling historic, elegance without stiffness and luxury without shouting about it.
Most importantly, it allows clothes to have personality. A flannel suit doesn't have to remain immaculate to remain beautiful. It creases a little, it softens, it adapts to the person wearing it. Eventually it starts looking less like "a suit" and more like his suit. And perhaps that is the best thing tailoring can achieve.
