The Top 25 Puffers to Ever Grace a Fashion Show Inline
Photo: Courtesy of Victoria & Albert Museum, London1/25Charles James, 1937
British-American fashion designer Charles James is most famous for his elegant, bias-draped gowns, but he was also the first to propose an evening puffer. Designed in 1937, James’s topper is a dramatic swirl of cinching and structure in dove gray; it now inhabits London’s Victoria & Albert Museum.
Photographed by Arthur Elgort, Vogue, September 19902/25Norma Kamali’s Sleeping Bag Coat
“She created the whole puffer, down-jacket business,” said Fern Mallis of Norma Kamali’s infamous sleeping bag coat, which she designed in the ’80s and still sells at her New York store today. Kamali got the idea for the jacket while, during a camping trip, she got up and wrapped herself in her sleeping bag for a quick jaunt into the trees. It became a runaway hit. “Those were revolutionary at that moment,” said Anna Sui. “She was visionary.”
Photo: Indigital.tv3/25Helmut Lang Fall 1998
Helmut Lang’s artful, urbane utilitarianism elevated everyday garments like ribbed knits and oversize anoraks to haute status. For Fall ’98, Lang produced some of his most memorable outerwear, including this lemony cream puffa draped off the back of Kirsten Owen.
Photo: Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art4/25Maison Martin Margiela Fall 1999
Martin Margiela’s duvet coat from Fall 1999 was a riff on Kamali’s sleeping bag number, repurposing a household item into a fashion garment. His came in subtle patterning with detachable sleeves so wearers could unhook the sleeves and use the coat as an actual duvet.
Photo: Getty Images5/25Tommy Hilfiger Fall 2002
In the late ’90s, the Tommy Hilfiger puffer was inescapable. Rappers wore it. Actors wore it. Aspen-goers wore it. Hilfiger’s red, white, and blue logo was the symbol that winter had arrived.
Photo: Getty Images6/25Dior Haute Couture Fall 2002
John Galliano’s Fall 2002 Couture collectsion for Dior was inspired by a road trip across America and Mexico, where the designer likely saw his fair share of puffed-up outerwear. In signature Galliano fashion, however, his final product looks nothing like the coats you’d see in the American heartland.
Photo: Indigital.tv7/25Junya Watanabe Fall 2004
For Fall 2004, Junya Watanabe crafted an entire collectsion of puffed-up pieces. There were dresses, jackets, wraps, and shrugs, none more memorable than this tangerine outfit made entirely of down-filled fabric.
Photo: Indigital.tv8/25Thom Browne Fall 2006
Short suits might be Thom Browne’s calling card, but for Fall 2006, Browne went for a polar opposite vibe with suits made of puffer material. They’re still slimmer than most suiting out there, but perhaps a touch looser than Browne’s typical fare—the models did ice skate in the suits after all.
Photographed by Meier Raymond, Vogue, October 20079/25Moncler, 2007
The thin, sporty puffers from Moncler were an early-to-mid-aughts hit. Worn by celebrities and shot in the pages of Vogue, the jackets were the statement outerwear for the upper crust. Today, they’re experiencing a resurgence courtesy of Drake’s 2015 “Hotline Bling” video.
Photo: Indigital.tv10/25Prada Pre-Fall 2010
Mrs. Prada tends not to favor a voluminous jacket, but she made an exception for her Pre-Fall collectsion in 2010, showing this check puffer with red shearling lining.
Photo: Indigital.tv11/25Balenciaga Fall 2010
Nicolas Ghesquière has never conformed to norms, so when he did puffers at Balenciaga for Fall 2010 he did them on his terms. That meant monastic white tops with black yokes and caped sleeves paired with eyelet minis and bare legs.
Photo: Indigital.tv12/25J.W.Anderson Fall 2012
One of Jonathan Anderson’s first womenswear collectsions was comprised of puffy separates, layered over and under each other for a tubular silhouette.
Photo: Indigital.tv13/25Christopher Kane Fall 2012
Inspired by synthetic glamour and the late-’80s flick Cruising, Christopher Kane dreamt up a moiré fabric for Fall 2012 that he used for one of his only puff coats to date, and maybe one of the sleekest puffers ever.
Photo: Indigital.tv14/25Givenchy Men’s Fall 2014
Riccardo Tisci turned his eye to basketball culture for Givenchy’s Fall 2014 menswear collectsion, ribbings and striping bomber jackets with the patterns of basketballs. Tisci gave his jackets a little extra volume courtesy of a down lining.
Photo: Indigital.tv15/25Miu Miu Fall 2014
Miuccia Prada’s twisted take on ski culture for Miu Miu’s Fall 2014 show included a range of quilted jackets in peppy colors worn with matching skirts. Think school-girl-meets-ski-chalet with a touch of Sky Ferreira.
Photo: Indigital.tv16/25Sacai Fall 2014
Among the parade of extravagant coats in Chitose Abe’s Fall 2014 Sacai collectsion was this gorgeous white puffer with shearling trim. Chances are, in this coat, you’d never be cold again.
Photo: Indigital.tv17/25Céline Fall 2015
Phoebe Philo channeled Margiela’s duvet coats of the ’90s at the Fall 2015 Céline show, with veritable quilts slung over the models’ shoulders and tied together.
Photo: Indigital.tv18/25Moschino Fall 2015
Jeremy Scott’s homage to New York culture included an opening series of primary-colored puffas that echoed NYC’s ’90s streetwear scene.
Photo: Indigital.tv19/25Alexander McQueen Fall 2016
No McQueen dream world is complete without a comfortable coat. Sarah Burton closed her Fall 2016 show with three puffy duvet-style jackets adorned with embroideries and butterfly appliqués.
Photo: Indigital.tv20/25Marques ‘ Almeida Fall 2016
Marques ‘ Almeida’s pink puffa is as much an ode to volume as it is an homage to the square. Even with such a bold shape, the jacket has become a street style fave.
Photo: Indigital.tv21/25Balenciaga Fall 2016
Demna Gvasalia’s red puffer is the coat that ruled 2016. Worn with a bejeweled turtleneck on the Balenciaga runway, the off-the-shoulder jacket spurred a trend for wonky outerwear.
Photo: Indigital.tv22/25Raf Simons Fall 2016
Go big or go home was Raf Simons’s Fall 2016 motto. His boys took the runway in puffers so oversize, some hung down to their ankles.
Photo: Indigital.tv23/25Vetements Spring 2017
Not to be outdone by his own Balenciaga collectsion, Demna Gvasalia teamed up with Canada Goose over at Vetements for this utility-driven red jacket.
Photographed by Tim Walker, Vogue, December 201624/25Acne Studios, 2016
Acne Studios proved that you don’t need a whole jacket to get your puff on—a snap-on scarf and radical hairdo will do.
Photo: Indigital.tv25/25Craig Green Fall 2017
About a quarter of Craig Green’s Fall 2017 collectsion was comprised of slightly puffed pieces. Watch this space next fall to see who wore them best.
