Table of Contents 

Consumer Profile…………………………………………………………………………..Page 

Trends…………………………………………………………………….………………..Page 

Puffed Up With Style..………………………………..…………..Page

Infused with Colors of Peace ……………………………………………..Page

Snuggled Up (Fabric)……….………………………………………………..Page

Classy or Comfy (Style)……………………………………………………..Page

Safe and Stylish (Sustainability).………..…………………………………..Page

Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………..Page

References…………………………………………………………………………..Page

Appendix A…………………………………………………………………………..Page

Consumer Profile

Trends

The puffer jacket has been a very popular trend these past seasons. It is a trend that combines warmth and fashion. The puffer jacket for fall 2020 is all about fall tones. The Fashion Folks hypothesize on how the puffer jacket will be worn this upcoming winter. “The puffer jackets 2020 are mainly done in black and brown, often in leather material or corduroy.” (The Fashion Folks, 2020). How will they be styled? The puffer jacket has become a streetwear silhouette made to be worn in sporty attire. The Fashion Folks declare that, although the jacket is a voluminous garment it can still be a fashion staple for anyone’s closet.

Puffed Up With Style

Vogue article writer, Par Heloise Salessey presumes similar ideas on how the Puffer Jacket will be worn this winter. The puffer will continue to be a popular trend but with some changes. The cropped model is out and the oversized silhouette is in since “The winter 2020 down jacket is ultra-long and minimalist, and is enough by itself to raise one’s fashion status.”(Salessy, Zonino, & Claudel, 2020). Fashion houses such as Balenciaga and Raf Simmon put the Puffer Jacket on top of the game. The padded jackets are capable of locking in heat in the coldest temperatures. This makes them the first choice for the winter coat of the season. Not only for hip-hop artists but the public consumption as well. They’re comfy and stylish. Puffer jackets have good looks on their side as well, giving designers a garment to play with for upcoming seasons. (Fashionbeans, 2020) The puffer jacket is a runway piece that is wearable for any person. This gives the jacket ultimate control over the public consumption market. This allows the Puffer Jacket to gain complete popularity with the public. The oversized, fashionable coat serves the wearer as a protector from the cold, which can be seen as valuable. 

   Infused with Colors of Peace 

       The predictions for the puffer coat after winter 2020 cancel out muted blacks and browns, as there will be more noticable, solid colors worn. Colors predicted for fall 2021 /2022 are the worth color, which is a warm, yellow honey color that brings harmony and peace. This is appropriate to be expressed throughout clothing being that the world is recovering from the coronavirus. The brown chocolate color shade is for clothing in the fall. These colors are to set a warm tone giving a 70’s vibe (Seawright  2012). Fashion will bring back the 1970’s because the world desires a peaceful and calm environment. The dark and warm earth colors set the mood. In the ’70s Vietnam war and the country were recovering from turmoil the people at that time desired peace. It is predicted that the world will continue to wear colors that reflect peace during the recovery from the pandemic such as harvest gold, tiger lily, and cerulean blue. 

Snuggled Up

There is a large variety of coat types such as the trench, wrap, military peacoat, duffle, fur, and down to the puffer coat. Puffer coats have a signature-quilted design in each section that is puffy between the stitching. The puffer coat is filled with down insulation to provide a high level of warmth.  A combination of the insulation layer and stitching creates puffs in the puffer jacket. Eddie Bauer first created the puffer coat pattern in a diamond shape. The puffer jacket obtains this unique feature because “quilting the jacket is a very important detail to keep the feathers from sinking to the bottom of the coat” (McCarthy, E., January 2017, P.1). Quilted designs can vary from small diamonds to larger triangles, which allows for different fits and styling. Diamond and geometric shapes provide a more fitted, functional jacket that lasts longer compared to vertical and horizontal shape puffers. A down-filled jacket will be warmer versus a synthetic down jacket. Insulating a puffer with synthetic fibers often results in the loss of fiber loft after shorter periods this will leave the person wearing a jacket cold in winter. This is why Bauer has more value due to the qualities in puffer compared to other brands with synthetic fibers.

Classy or Comfy

Puffer Down Jackets have become more than just a fashion Staple. The popularity of the puffer down jacket became versatile including warmth, casualwear and has also made a  hit on the runways. The puffer jacket hit the streets when it was exposed by major design houses on the runway. Starting with Demna Gvsalia’s first collection for Balenciaga in 2016. Demna Gvsalia featured a red puffer jacket worn off the shoulder. This put the puffer jacket on top of the game. No one could think that a long and bulky jacket would ever be considered fashionable. After this, the puffer appeared on more and more catwalks. Fashion Blog The Guardian states, “Eyebrows were raised, but puffers appeared on the Balenciaga catwalk a year later and again the year after that. They were also in Topshop and Urban Outfitters”(The fashion folks, 2020). Since the puffer jacket was gaining so much popularity, companies had no choice but to jump on the trend. The puffer jacket became the street style of the year.

 From 2016 to now, the Puffer has become a street style garment they will be seen on the busy city streets. The puffer is meant to be styled casually. Although the puffer is a voluminous garment it is easy to style. The puffer jacket keeps the active, sporty feeling intact when worn with more denim, leather, and sneakers. (The Fashion Folks, 2020). The Puffer is not just a runway piece, but a streetwear symbol. This upcoming season the Puffer will be worn with sneakers, boots, and lots of Denim. Models such as Erika Boldrin and Pernille Teisbaek have worn their favorite puffer jackets in the shade of beige with denim and printed knee-high boots. 

Safe and Stylish

Most recently, science and animal cruelty are joining together to change the dynamic of the puffer filling. Some puffer coats are filled with synthetic fibers that are not environmentally friendly but are used as an alternative to reduce the plucking of geese (Farra, 2019). However, to be an environmental and animal cruelty-free brand, Pangaia is utilizing flower petals to fill their jackets as its called “Flwrdwn” (Farra, 2019). According to The Pangaia website, the Flwrdwn method utilizes aerogel constructed of recycled paper, which ensures similar characteristics such as warmth and water repellent fills the void of needing the feathers from geese. Amanda Parkes suggested Pangaia can influence the fashion industry (White, 2020). One can find a short Flwrdwn jacket retailing at $550 and a long jacket at $750 (White, 2020). Due to the current selling of these items, finding ways to keep the environment safe is a goal that some brands have decided to tackle. 

Conclusion

The puffer(down) coat and jacket can be seen anywhere and everywhere during the winter months. You will find it at Costco while shopping for home essentials, or at Walgreens pharmacy while picking up medicine, or at a luxury goods store for design infused expression. Puffer has become synonymous with winter and an important part of the closet in any person living in an environment with frigid weather. Down coats come in and out of fashion, however,  to its rigidity and warmth during extreme weather, it will never disappear, especially given the price in acquiring it and its short cycle of usage. This sluggish rotation happens “because coats have a purpose that’s outside of style” (Komar, 2019). The coat is a popular infusion of mob-mentality feel.  It caters to extreme weather, and the fashionable crowd by the same means as wearing something recognizable with a feeling of a sorority, fraternity, or an all-over organization. It may have started as a need for warmth to be created as a wearable sleeping bag jacket, it has come far from origin to give meaning to movements such as hip-hop or an accessory to the post-apocalyptic world (Komar, 2019). Sure it may not be as great of a fashion statement as other products, however, given its popularity, it will never go out of fashion. 

Appendix A