Down: the very thought of it invokes comfort and warmth. We sleep with down pillows and down comforters and we wear down coats to keep us warm and comfy. Everyone has their down parka they wear all the time.
That’s not what you will find here. This is about designers who taken down to the next level, who’ve reinvented and reimagined it into different shapes, styles, uses, and items. These Fashion Houses have made it about design, sculpture, living art. They take you away from wearing the same boring coat or vest you wore year after year. These Designers are giving you new ways to wear down indoors, as well as, outdoors.
Down Parkas or Puffers first started out as a very utilitarian clothing item. Mostly seen on the ski slopes. I think we could all place our wagers on the question of the person who invented the Down Parka…Eddie Bauer! He invented it when he was camping and almost froze to death. So out of this basic life threatening need to stay warm, came the down parka.
It was reimagined by Charles James in the 1960s and transformed into a gorgeously fitted and 3 dimensional swirling piece of couture. If you think about it, down makes things three-dimensional, so why not use it to make living sculpture? From there came many incarnations. Norma Kamali made her Sleeping Bag Coat famous in the 80s and she’s bringing it back again. She designed the coat after going camping and getting really cold, so voila! Another brainchild born from experiencing the elements. Down is multi cultural, having no socioeconomic boundaries. If you live in a cold environment, you must be Down With Winter!
Here are a selection of the more Avant-Garde designs. Rick Owens has given us several this season: Rick Owens’ Cotton-blend down coat, Rick Owens hooded leather down jacket, or Rick Owens women’s down crop puffer jacket, which has a dramatic funnel neck. His designs are all interesting, oversized, overstuffed down, yet have very dramatic and sleek Silhouettes. The Marques’ Alemeida Asymmetric Quilted Down Coat has unexpected features: the shoulders are cut away and open and it closes with a large safety pin wherever you want it to. The premier reigning house of Down, Moncler, has done something interesting and experimental. They have different guest designers reimagine down in a line they call: MONCLER GENIUS PROJECT Some of my favorite Designers from this project are: Pierpaolo Piccioli, Simone Rocha, Kei Ninomiya, to name a few. View two of their dresses and other items from The Genius Project below!
Here is where you can stylishly bring down indoors! Some fun, interesting, and unexpected shapes are the three-quarter short sleeve and capped sleeve down coats and vests. ADD down jackets have really amazing Komono like sleeves with a Mandarin band collar. Herno short sleeve pepper puffer jacket has a really wide stand up interesting neck and is a very dramatic color. ADD black down Aminta coat’s nylon satin three-quarter length sleeves with a standup collar is a great layering piece.
I have had my Ralph Lauren RLX fitted down vest with capped sleeves for 10 years. I haven’t seen anything like it until this year. Whenever I wear it, people always ask me about it, think it’s such a great idea, and ask me where they can get one. Of course, that’s Ralph Lauren’s creative brilliance!
Down below the equator…The waist is a great place for a down as well. Let’s take a look at the lower part of the body. They SKHOOP Maud Mid Down Skirt has great features: two way zipper on the right and lower left side, pockets with zippers, and still has a beautiful Chevron design with the optical illusion of length. There are several other skirts below to choose from below.
Now that you’re Down With Winter, let’s get Down with Accessories! Valextra reversible mini puffer bag jacket has exaggerated quilting and is a great piece to take on vacation, on a plane, or anywhere to sit on or lean against. There are many down scarves this year. For example the Think Royln Original Puffer scarf is 2 in 1, as it is reversible. I have a down scarf and wouldn’t go through a winter with out one. Cold hands or want to make a statement, there are many down mittens and gloves which can solve that fashion need.
These and more selections are beckoning you to get Down With Winter!
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1. Ermanno Scervino – Down jackets
4. Glamorous – Synthetic Down Jacket
6. Rick Owens – Hooded Puffer Vest
7. Invicta – Synthetic Down Jackets
8. Asos – Design Copped Puffer Jacket
9. Moncler – Stockholm Zip-Sleeve Puffer Jacket
10. Comme Des Garcons – Women’s Zip-Sleeve Down Puffer Jacket
11. Valextra – Reversible Mini Puffer Bag Jacket
12. Think Royln – Women’s Queens Metallic Puffer Hoodie
13. DKNY – Quilted Puffer Mittens
15. Think Royln – Original Puffer Scarf
16. Rick Owens – Women’s Down Crop Puffer Jacket
17. Avec Les Filles – Wrap Puffer Jacket
18. Herno – Shortsleeved Puffer Jacket
19. Herno – Quilted Down Jacket
20. Mackage – Women’s Petra Water-Repellent Down Jacket
21. Rick Owens – Black Hooded Liner Down Jacket
22. INVICTA – Synthetic Down Jackets
23. INVICTA – Synthetic Down Jackets – Blue
24. Biancoghiaccio – Synthetic Down Jackets
27. ADD – Down jackets – Khaki
28. ADD – Down jackets – Green
29. boohoo – Metallic Hood Zip Padded Jacket
30. Moncler – Nylon & Wool Knit Gloves
31. Moncler – Pierpaolo Piccioli Women’s Down-Filled Long Gloves
32. Think Royln – Downtown Crown Metallic Quilted Hat w/ Ribbed Cuff
34. Cordillera – Chamonix Insulated Skirt
35. Moncler – Stole
36. Moncler – Noir kei Ninomiya
37. Moncler – Pierpaolo Piccioli Dress
38. Moncler – Down-padded scarf
When Winter comes I literally live in my down vests, my down jackets, my down Coats and of course, my down comforter. So I am so glad to see all these great styles and colors in down.
Thank you for your post!
Glad you’re Down With Winter!