Berg & Berg has built a loyal following offering what Larsson describes as clothes and accessories inspired by the rich heritage of classic style but adapted to a modern customer. However, as he continues, it’s not an overnight success story but more of a brick by brick approach.
— We have never spent any significant sums on marketing and have gained most of our customers by word of mouth. Since the beginning, we have added new product categories and improved our selection season by season, and we have a large share of repeat customers.
According to Larsson, the flannel offering is Berg & Berg’s way of innovating a century-old fabric — by looking to the past.
— Most flannels today are quite loose and spongy, he tells — we wanted something more compact. In cooperation with a reputable mill in Yorkshire, England, we created a rich, compact woolen flannel with beautiful color variation, fuzzy texture, classic look, soft hand, and an old-school substantial feel. What is really interesting about this is that by making an arguably classic fabric we get some very modern properties. The way this fabric can hold a crease and look crisp after 4 hours in a plane seat, after a commute or a day at the office, is quite impressive and something you might expect from a modern performance fabric. Our flannel, however, is 100 % natural wool, woven the old school way in an over 100-year-old mill in England. The cloth is made with 100 % merino wool yarn, sourced from Australia and New Zealand. In order to achieve our flannel finish, the cloth is milled using the natural felting properties of wool. Next, a combination of machinery is used to accurately control the mechanical removal of residual water and then dried using a gas-fired dryer. It is then cropped to remove the surface fibres to improve the look and performance, then stabilized using continuous high temperature setting to achieve a high level of continuity and permanent finish.
What else do you have coming?
— We are really interested in creating a collection of high-quality casual basics. This season we launched our new jeans collection, as many of our customers requested jeans with a high rise, straight leg, and a clean expression made to easily pair with tailoring, but also knitwear and casual shirts. Next season, we will introduce our jersey programme, which has been in development for quite a long time. We will present a range of polos, T-shirts, and raglan sweatshirts, items that look to military and collegiate styles for inspiration, but, as always, are created for a modern customer, Larsson concludes.