Padded jackets take center stage for fall/winter 2018

As dresses, playsuits and other summer essentials head back into wardrobes, snug outerwear is creeping onto the fashion scene just in time for fall. This season, padded jackets will be back in a big way, in even more comfortable and chic styles for 2018.

Seen all over the catwalks last February and March, this winter classic looks set to be a womenswear must-have for fall, combining sporty style with feminine details. 

In line with fashion's sportswear trend, lots of labels showed classic padded jackets in XXL cuts, and sometimes quilted, on the runways of the fall/winter 2018-2019 fashion shows.

The Annakiki label showed an imposing two-tone model, in both long and short versions, while Marco de Vincenzo and Maison Margiela opted for iridescent creations, again with oversized cuts. The trend was also spotted on the Victoria/Tomas catwalk in Paris. This kind of jacket can be worn just as well with a sporty look as with casual attire, or even with a sophisticated outfit, over a stylish dress and matched with heels.

Some fashion houses used the padded jacket as a starting point for reinterpreted styles with contemporary and even futuristic shapes. Designers worked with cuts, asymmetric designs, materials and, above all, proportions, to create unique models.

This was seen at Junya Watanabe, Poiret and Masha Ma, all of whom totally revisited the padded jacket with various colors and materials, sometimes creating unique items of clothing.

The prize for originality goes to Sacai, whose hybrid padded jackets shone during Paris Fashion Week with their asymmetrical designs and mixing of fabrics. This gave rise to some spectacular creations, as if straight out of the future.

Some fashion houses headed off the beaten track by bringing prints, vibrant colors and refined details to their padded jackets. Lucio Vanotti showed a bright pink model featuring various zips, notably creating openings at the elbows.

Burberry showed a rainbow flag jacket and Cristiano Burani added a line of fur to the padded jacket, running from the back to the top of the hood. In Milan, Albino Teodoro stood out with a duvet-like creation, worn off the shoulders and with no sleeves for an even more dramatic effect.