Raxxy architectural down jacket, $2390, cultgaia.com
Puffers often get a bad rap, and deservedly so. Notwithstanding some exceptional iterations from designers like Rick Owens, Moncler Grenoble, Sacai, Prada, Miu Miu, Cult Gaia, and Heliot Emil, they can often be bulky, unflattering, banal, devoid of personality, ubiquitous, and unapologetically casual. But guess what? That is all part of their universal appeal.
“The puffer jacket Lily Allen is wearing on the cover (of her new album, “West End Girl”) is not just a pop of color in what may become an iconic album cover, it is also a sign of the times – underlining just how ubiquitous this jacket shape has become as winter arrives each year,” – Lauren Cochrane, The Guardian.
Rick Owens pink sequined funnel neck down jacket, $1843, thewebster.com
Puffer jackets and vests became incredibly popular over the last few years, transitioning from a functional item to a major high-fashion, streetwear staple, and cultural icon. When a trend reaches this level of widespread adoption across all demographics and price points, fashion insiders inevitably move on to less common styles to maintain an air of exclusivity and newness.
Rick Owens blue Porterville Anubis down jacket, $2985,ssense.com
In late 2023, Vogue Business noted, “we may have hit peak puff,” as new arrivals and sales activity declined after a 2022 boom. Each year, there’s another prophecy from one fashion authority or another that we’ve finally seen puffers running out of puff, predictions that tailored ‘smart’ coats are replacing them.
Vittoria Ceretti wears a custom Moncler puffer ensemble at the 2025 Met Gala
Contrary to predictions, puffers are not fading into obscurity. In fact, they are thriving, appearing in unexpected places and in couture-like renditions. This enduring popularity should reassure fashion enthusiasts of the puffer’s continued relevance and impact.
Jeff Goldblum wears ERL’s black puffer over his tuxedo, Photo by Fraser Harrison for Wire Image
Jeff Goldblum, the consummate showman whose wardrobe often revolves around ease and wearability, attended the 2025 Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles last month, wearing ERL’s cozy black puffer over his ruffled tuxedo shirt and sharply cut waistcoat. Of course, he added an antique diamond brooch to make a statement.
Al Pacino and Robert De Niro star in Warmer Together, Photo by Platon, courtesy Moncler
Moncler recently unveiled the new global statement, “Warmer Together”, bringing Al Pacino and Robert De Niro together for their first-ever shared campaign. The legendary actors and longtime pals pose for portraits in the Italian label’s padded winter jackets. They also shot several short—and somewhat sweet—black-and-white ad spots that gesture towards their decades-long bond.
“Warmth was never about the outside. It was always about what was happening on the inside,” says De Niro, who sports Moncler’s down-quilted Maya 70 jacket in the campaign. From the beginning, Moncler has known that genuine warmth is not only in the jackets we wear, but it comes from within. The ad is a reminder that genuine warmth is never solitary; it goes beyond insulation.
Rick Owens Mini Horus SL Jacket, $2730, farfetch.com
Our choice of clothing can deeply influence our emotions and behavior. Puffers, with their protective and comforting qualities, serve as a metaphorical armor against life’s challenges. This emotional symbolism creates a sense of connection and empathy among those who wear them.
“For Lily, the jacket was perfect, armor and comfort, protection and vulnerability, a garment that exists outside of traditional glamour. The everyday-ness of the puffer is part of why Lily Allen’s album portrait has struck a chord. I think people connect with the visual honesty.” – Nieves González
Lily Allen wears a Miu Miu puffer on the cover of her new album, West End Girl, in the form of an oil painting by Nieves González
Miu Miu’s oversized polka dot puffer jacket, featured on the cover art of Lily Allen’s new album, West End Girl, seamlessly articulates the album’s theme of self-preservation and captures Allen’s emotional state. Written and recorded in just 10 days, West End Girl is a real-time account of Allen’s shock, grief, confusion, and anger, as her four-year marriage to actor David Harbour fell apart, amid accusations of infidelity.
Rolling Stone Magazine calls it “The Most Brutal Album of the Year,” a masterful portrayal of modern love and loss that reveals unflinching honesty, prompting many listeners to reassess their own experiences.
29-year-old Spanish artist Nieves González was commissioned by Allen’s stylist, Leith Clark, to create the oil painting that serves as the album’s cover. It takes the form of a dignified Dutch Master’s portrait in the style of Vermeer and Rembrandt, praised for its artistic blend of classical portraiture with contemporary elements and for its evocation of strength and wisdom.
Our Mother, oil painting by Nieves González
Nieves González uses classical-style brushstrokes and saintly Catholic imagery, incorporating modern touches that ground the portrait in the present while creating a sense of distance and contemplation.
González, known for modernizing Spanish Baroque codes, regularly features puffers in her paintings, which typically draw on influences from 16th-and 17th-century portraiture, updated for now.
Nieves says the puffer jacket works because it is “an intensely contemporary object.” When placed within a compositional structure drawn from traditional painting, the puffer creates that productive tension the artist is interested in.
