While travelling throughout Western Europe this month, as temperatures continue to linger around the minus area, it’s no surprise that the latest fashion craze blowing up: is the long-lined puffer jacket. Particularly in Paris – because it’s seen rocked by most ages, the influence is immediately felt throughout the city. While it’s a crucial piece of winter wear for anybody’s apparel; more notably, it’s the decisive component that bridges the gap between the youth’s imagination and the elder’s productivity.
It also proves that most items of clothing that were considered a fashion ‘trend’ at one point, if you survive long enough; you’ll see it become fashionable again, and that’s exactly what we have here. And perhaps this is also why the older generation has connected with the puffer trend equally as much as the newer gen; they’ve already seen this trend before, they were all for it then and still are. While the style exploded onto the scene during the early 90s; after a short hiatus during the early 2000s, it’s comeback has been bigger than ever.
While this style was originally made for backpacking experiences; surprisingly, it was soon established as a staple in the streets of New York. As inner-city family houses became too populated, this leads to most of them spending a lot of their time outside; and being outside in New York winter isn’t for the faint-hearted, you weren’t leaving the house without a sizeable coat. And before long, puffer jackets became synonymous with New York fashion and essentially streetwear was born. Of course, this spread to the mainstream and by the end of the decade, anybody from rappers, to office workers were seen sporting this look.
Most recently, they were all over New York Fashion Week: Balenciaga’s creative director Demna Gvasalia provided a modest red puffer for the runway, while R13 displayed them in a bold white and chill camo, alongside Pyer Moss; who presented a lively variant in bright yellow, as Jamie Mizrahi went for a more luxurious velour in a distant red. It’s clearly puffer season on the runway too.
Puffer coats are evidently here to stay. The only real issue is that the extra puffiness can be uncomplimentary on certain body types, leading to some people staying away from them altogether. However, It’s all about finding what best suits your figure. Taller, yet slimmer bodies are perfect for the long-lined style; while smaller frames should look for the more traditional sizes. Because not only are these puffers durable, they’re also fashion-forward, and even when they eventually go out of style again; hold on to it, treasure it, because there’s no doubting that the trend will be right back before you even think about ditching the puffer.
Words by Charlie Miller
Graphics by Séverine Denis-Lessard
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