Stand-out down jackets and luxury winter wear – from Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Moncler and more – to keep you snug until spring
Down jackets are ruling the runways – from Demna Gvasalia’s reinvention of the puffer for Balenciaga to Moncler Genius’ daring collabs and more everyday items from Chloé, Tod’s, Loewe, Ermenegildo Zegna and Salvatore Ferragamo
If winter’s got you down, then you’re totally on trend, if you catch our drift – because down jackets and items of a puffy, feather-filled ilk dominated the runways this season. These luxury labels got our attention.
This season, Demna Gvasalia’s reinvention of the puffer continues for Balenciaga since he started toying with the concept in 2016, with incarnations even more riotous than his early efforts for the French brand. A cerulean men’s puffer had its back yoke pulled heavenwards almost to ear level as if its wearer had forgotten to remove the hanger before putting it on, while two women’s versions saw their hems pulled down to ankle level. The one in fuchsia featured typical horizontal quilting and an oversized cocoon shape, while the other in baby pink satin had the look and feel of luxury bedding, yet was also reminiscent of the exaggerated capes worn by royalty in eras past. Gvasalia experimented with similar ideas, from wavelike quilting on a robe-like sea foam coat to leg-of-mutton sleeves on a rainproof parka.
While Gvasalia is on a one-man mission to redefine the puffer jacket, Moncler has been trying to show the world just how versatile the concept is, churning out just about every puffy item the mind can conceive, from canine couture to collaborations with other designers.
Through the Moncler Genius programme, the brand works with names ranging from Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli to streetwear legend Hiroshi Fujiwara on a riot of designs – this year, we saw a Palm Angels riff on the letterman jacket with a foil-like finish, Simone Rocha’s blatantly feminine “tent capes” decorated with ruffles and florals, and Richard Quinn’s wild experiments with rainbows and loud prints, none of which were for the faint of heart. Moncler is available in Antonia at Macau’s Shoppes at Parisian.
Of course, there were also more understated ideas hailing from other corners of the fashion world, mostly playing on ideas of alternative fabrication.
At Chloé, Natacha Ramsay-Levi gave us a heritage check spun in red and blue, in a short length with a big collar. The boys needn’t be jealous – Tod’s released an equally lust-worthy plaid puffer for them, in mahogany with a discreet green and red check.
