Puffers as a Total Look Are a Thing for Italian Outerwear Brands
The latest round of Milan shows said it loud and clear: Next fall’s statement outerwear is the overcoat. Yet even marquee names still sent puffers and more technical pieces down the runway.
For one, Prada’s cropped and collarless padded bolero jacket with a matching midi skirt and Jil Sander’s various windbreakers, anoraks and pants in lightweight technical fabrics suggested consumers aren’t done with utilitarian outerwear just yet.
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The category’s specialists capitalized on the endurance of practicality in defining consumers’ adoption of winter jackets and sought inventive ways to update them, something offering padded total looks.
Premium contemporary brand Duvetica is rejigging its offering in hope of striking a balance between its positioning as a brand complementary to designer fashion and its performance-leaning spirit.
“Our goal is to increasingly tap into outdoor lovers; it’s more about broadening our reach than repositioning the brand,” said the company’s chief executive officer Luca Piani.
As the company grows its European footprint, mainly via the wholesale channel, and makes a stronger push in the Asian market, with 30 new directly operated stores lined up to open in South Korea before September and 20 stores in China, the brand added more carryover pieces.
Cropped, or long and belted, puffers come in a variety of patterns and finishes, from the horizontally padded hooded numbers in shimmering pastels, to the ladylike A-line pieces with matte diamond-shaped motifs. In keeping with the outdoorsy ambition, the brand introduced the après-ski range called Snowland, which featured puffers and padded vests, as well as pants and skirts in matching embossed motifs.
Building on its heritage in performance outerwear geared toward urban life, Herno’s fall collection expanded the notion of lifestyle fashion it has been championing for a few seasons, striking a balance between the practicality of performance padding with the flair of tailored jackets and coats.
Glossy puffers and padded jackets were layered under cashmere black capes or herringbone topcoats, while ankle-length trenchcoats came with down-filled padding. In an upside-down approach, ‘60s miniskirts were paired with sartorial peacoats and tactile knits, often styled with rib-knit balaclavas.
Charting a fashion-savvy course is also in part the aim of Add, which hosted a product-less presentation to introduce its collaboration with Who Decides War, the New York-based fashion label founded by Ev Bravado and Tela D’Amore.
The pair reworked signature Add pieces with a utilitarian bent; think hooded parkas and collarless vests with a streetwear-inflected spin, adding graphic lines, ropes and even prints reminiscent of church windows. It debuted on the brand’s runway show during New York Fashion Week.
Meanwhile Add’s fall collection had knee-long outerwear aplenty, with mixed-media pieces combining a padded windbreaker top half and padded parka-like bottom half, or puffer parkas crafted from heavy cotton cinched at the waist via drawstrings to reveal a full skirt. Each new piece featured a wave-shielding pocket intended for smartphones, meant to protect customers from radiation.
As part of the Milan schedule, Bacon introduced a capsule collection in collaboration with Arezzo, Italy-based retailer Sugar. The brand reworked its waterproof Dada puffer and bomber jacket Storm, the latter padded with recycled down, done in matte and shiny colors, respectively.
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