Puffy jackets have been around for a while; in fact, if you live in a cold city, you probably see too many of these designs on the streets.
Always on the forefront of cutting-edge design, Calvin Klein introduced a fashion-forward alternative to these jackets with a modern twist at their Menswear Fall 2009 runway show in New York Fashion Week. The boxy-looking jacket design in question is actually inspired by bike seats!
"It’s a new technique. It’s a technique they use in one place in Italy not for clothes, but to do seats for bikes," explains designer Italo Zucchelli. "I saw it and thought it was very interesting and I wanted to apply it to my clothes. It’s foam inside of it. And I bonded the foam with fabric — wool — and used a heat-molding process to create patterns and those indented stripes. It was a very nice way to express modernism."
The new design targets young metropolitans who dare to think outside of the box.
"It’s very sleek. It looks modern. It looks good. It’s for a younger guy that wants to be different," Zucchelli added.
Puffy Jacket Makeovers
Calvin Klein's Bike Seat-Inspired Winter Jackets for Fall 09
Trend Themes
1. Puffy Jacket Makeovers - Calvin Klein's bike seat-inspired puffy jacket design introduces a modern twist to the traditional jacket.
2. Foam-fabric Bonding - The use of foam bonded with fabric and heat-molding process in jacket design presents disruptive innovation opportunities in the fashion industry.
3. Expressing Modernism Through Design - The incorporation of indented stripes and patterns in jackets showcases a creative way to express modernism in fashion.
Industry Implications
1. Fashion - The fashion industry can explore innovative techniques like foam-fabric bonding and heat-molding for creating unique jacket designs.
2. Outdoor Apparel - The outdoor apparel industry can capitalize on the trend of puffy jacket makeovers to offer stylish and functional winter wear for urban settings.
3. Sports Equipment - The sports equipment industry can consider incorporating design elements from bike seats into their products, creating a fusion of fashion and functionality.