Oh, so you like puffer jackets? Everyone does! And that's because they're really quite good; warm, practical, and usually on the quieter side of the whole gorpcore thing. Because while your shirts and hoodies are so often the usual vessels of "wowee, look at you!", puffer jackets are solid, sensible outer shells in solid, sensible colors. There are wilder choices, of course. But it is economical and thus sage and prudent to get something that gets a lot of wear.
A$AP Rocky also really likes puffer jackets. His are a bit different though. They're mad, in a good way, much like everything else in his wardrobe, and they fly in the face of the go-muted-get-mileage doctrine. This has been happening for a long time. In 2017, the former Esquire cover star fanboyed for Burberry in a cushiony, swollen, color-blocked puffer. This is not a staple. In 2020, he was one of the chosen few to get his hands on Gucci's august collab with The North Face. All-over monograms: we repeat, this is not a staple. He likes 'em long or short, bright or bold, and in abundance, the most recent example debuting over the weekend from New York in the form of a cropped, marbled, patchwork puffer that moves from tangerine to Barbie pink in a disorderly lava lamp fashion. Absolutely not a staple.
And yet this is good stuff. On par with the wear-everywhere muted puffer jacket, actually. For while the latter is quietly reliable, A$AP shows off. This is a puffer jacket that doesn't only want to be talked about, but gets menswear's chattering classes actually talking. Not all of it will be in appraisal. Trolls have to eat. But in an age when we're moving to the left-field and taking risks, getting weird with a puffer jacket is a way to have some good clean fun, and throw caution to the wind. Menswear doesn't always have to be a loud-quiet balancing act.
It can be. If that's your thing, there's plenty to choose from. But for those that like their puffer jackets with a side of raised eyebrow and hype, A$AP Rocky wants you to keep the neutrals indoors, and get weirded out.
From: Esquire UK
