Flâneur Loungewear: Luxury and comfort combined

Sometimes change can arrive in the most unexpected fashion. A year ago, the new operation Private White V.C. had established in Manchester was turning out hundreds of high quality medical gowns and protective equipment for the NHS (National Health Service), but, as the government contracts were completed, production began to wind down.

The next question was what to do not simply with the factory, but those who had been recruited, trained and worked so hard there throughout the pandemic. Private White V.C. is the last working clothing factory in Manchester, so being responsible for shutting a facility is completely counter to everything for which the company stands.

However, as Private White V.C. CEO James Eden and his team explored the options, what seemed a dilemma became an opportunity. The complex specialist sewing machinery – such as flatbed, twin needle and five-thread overlockers – that had so ably produced gowns were ideal to be repurposed to produce luxury jersey.

Jersey is a soft, but surprisingly hardwearing material named after the island in the English Channel where it was produced for centuries. Originally made only from wool, cotton and synthetics and now more commonly used. The fabric can be either a single, plain knit, which leaves one side smooth, with the other piled; or double-knit, which creates a fabric that is smooth on both sides. Traditionally jersey was used for sportswear - hence ‘football jersey’ - or underwear, although in 1916, Coco Chanel controversially created coats and dresses from the material. She pioneered using jersey for a wider variety of everyday garments, such as the sweatshirts, t-shirts, joggers, hoodies and polo shirts to name just a few that are made from it today.

For Private White V.C. entering this territory, therefore, was not an endeavour to be undertaken lightly. Nor was it driven by the commonly held notion that since the pandemic, people have changed how they dress. As James explains it allowed Private White V.C. to offer yet another high-quality product that they had long considered producing: “Needless to say, we didn’t go into making gowns thinking we could then repurpose the machinery to make jersey, but I’ve always been frustrated to not be able to offer a beautiful t-shirt, polo, sweatpants or sweatshirt. Everyone has got their favourite. They are just synonymous with comfort.”

Part of that frustration was not being able to find the right level of quality from a make perspective. The harsh reality is that there is simply no one making jersey garments in the U.K. to the quality, finish and specification that the top end of the luxury market demands. As James defines it: “We’ve got a fanaticism for quality. If we make anything it has to be the best, which means you have to control both the supply chain and the production. Then you can have real confidence in what is being manufactured. Until now we’ve not been able to do that to the level that we need – now we can.”

One reason for this is that Private White V.C. have secured fabric made by the best, local suppliers. The yarn comes from North America and is spun in Dukinfield near Manchester, which is then knitted in Leicester to create a U.K. spun jersey fabric of the very finest quality.

In addition, Private White V.C. was able to utilise the long experience of garment making that Manchester and the north of England still retains. James approached Andrew Shane, who boasts over four decades of making jersey fabrics, creating garments for everyone over the years from Burberry to Sir Paul Smith. Being able to draw on this vast accumulated knowledge gave a head start in creating this first collection using jersey. Andrew was able to help on all aspects of the process, from converting the machinery and retraining the staff to offering detailed advice on everything from patterns to the tension required to knit certain fabrics to how jersey once cut should be left overnight to rest.

“The collar work on our jersey is the best I've ever seen.”

ANDREW SHANE, JERSEY SPECIALIST

This, combined with Private White V.C.’s characteristic attention to detail and skill at tailoring, has created something truly special. Andrew explains, “All materials have challenges to really use them well. Jersey has its own properties and personality that makes it entirely unlike other fabrics. It takes time to change how you work with it and how you handle it.
What I have seen here at Private White V.C. has been extremely exciting. The fantastic skills that we've got here have made these garments so beautiful. The pocket work, the placket work, the collar work on our jersey is the best I've ever seen. It is because we're coming not from a jersey angle, but from a tailoring one. The presentation of these products will be the best of anywhere. No doubt about it, because what we’re doing is taking the quality stitching of Private White V.C.'s finest products and bringing that to jersey.”

The jersey pieces will be part of the Flâneur Loungewear Collection launching this November. It is the culmination of this initiative to transform a factory that once mass producing PPE into a place that is now creating some of the most elegant menswear to be found anywhere.

Take The Cashblend Crewneck Sweatshirt for instance, which has all the hallmarks of 1950s American athletic wear with the classic ‘v’ on the collar, but is supplemented with pockets that have been integrated in to the side seams. It is further augmented by the jersey material itself. Private White V.C. have woven cashmere with the cotton for a piece that is the epitome of both style and softness. When allied with the matching drawstring sweatpants, created in the same material, it is the height of luxury.

As with the neck of the sweatshirt, a similar nod to athletic wear is made in the Private White V.C. Henley Shirt, which takes its name from the shirts once worn by oarsmen in the regattas on the River Thames. Again this classic is afforded unparalleled coziness by using the same cashmere and cotton material.

The jersey pieces in this collection also include a zip neck polo shirt, named in honour of Nick Ashley, one of the co-founders of Private White V.C.. Furthermore, the Ashley Polo connects with the distinctive iconography of the company with the characteristic copper coloured military grade zip, which chimes with such standards as the Ventile® Mac and Harrington Jacket. The same cashmere mix appears on the Jersey Shirt, which elevates the garment to give a tactile element that is combined with extreme comfort.

The Flâneur Loungewear Collection includes other pieces designed for stylish relaxation such as flannel blazers, shackets and drawstring trousers, all styled with the same soft lines and casual elegance. The Manchester 100% Merino t-shirts, in both long and short sleeve, are the best machine washable, wicking Merino it is possible to find. That other fundamental of snugness featured is the fleece, with Ventile® panels and textured bouclé woolen fabric.

The final element of this new collection is, of course, the classic white t-shirt. This staple is sold by the million from hundreds of shops, but in hands of Private White V.C. it becomes something completely different. James responds to the notion that surely one white t-shirt is the same as any other: “From afar perhaps, it’s hard to discern the difference. Up close you immediately notice the superior pattern and proportion of the shirt, but most of all you notice the fabric. We’ve created a UK spun jersey made with the very finest yarns. All our pieces at Private White V.C. are quite understated, but what makes them exceptional is the material. With these jersey pieces, as with everything we do, the cloth is everything.”