On a recent visit to a chilly Milan, the most noticeable aspect of street style was the puffa jacket in all shapes and colours. Men, women and children sported duvet coats, long and short, and even dogs were belted into stylish padded jackets for their trips into town.
The puffa is now a fashionable alternative to a conventional winter coat and one of the strongest outerwear trends this winter. Many attribute its sudden surge in popularity to Balenciaga in 2016 who ruled the runway with a bright red puffa slung open into a V shape at the neck, revealing a crystal studded sweater underneath – like a new version of an opera coat.
Demna Gvasalia, the Georgian designer at Balenciaga and founder of Vetements, knows how to make an impact and jackets sell online for more than €2,000. But the quilted down jacket has been around for over 80 years, having first appeared as a Skyliner in 1936. Since then designers have played with padded down and feathered coats: Charles James gave it eveningwear elegance, Norma Kamali called hers a sleeping-bag coat in the 1970s, and others such as Helmut Lang produced their own versions in the 1990s.
In 2002 it appeared in Dior Haute Couture and since then everyone from Prada, JW Anderson, McQueen, Raf Simon and Acne have sent their own versions down the catwalk.
Now the puffa is pervasive. Wearable, light and warm, it suits most figures whether belted, fastened with studs, zipped, or worn loosely and casually in what Italians call the “sprezzatura” manner (studied casualness). H&M does several versions and, at the luxury end, Moncler commissions artists to decorate its puffas. Here is a selection of some current favourites.
