Lightweight puffers, a must-have for the first chill of the season, are back on the racks.
This year, however, they’re embracing sculptural silhouettes with defined waists and roomier shoulders.
Color options are widening as well. More brands are moving beyond the classic black and navy to include neutrals such as oatmeal and fog gray that pair easily with everyday clothing. With the jackets now worn as standalone outerwear in fall and as a layering piece in midwinter, design and ease of styling have become key purchasing factors, according to the industry.
That shift shows in how the jackets are being worn. A padded jacket does not have to look sporty. Actor Cha Jung-won paired a gray Fila Air-Flow Down jacket with loafers, pulling the look in a more polished direction.
Karina of aespa went with color, pairing MLB’s lavender Curve Air Shell hooded jacket in its LA Dodgers edition with brown-toned pieces for a romantic look. The lavender jacket she wore sold out its initial stock and has since been restocked in limited sizes.
Demand for lightweight puffers started building well before the cold arrived. On fashion platform Musinsa, sales in the lightweight padded jacket category rose 718 percent in August from a year earlier, according to the company’s data.
"Transaction volume for lightweight padded jackets has grown more than eightfold in August (year-on-year), signaling an unusually strong response from early-bird shoppers," a Musinsa official said.
Many fashion brands rolled out lightweight puffers to meet the demand, and several releases have already sold out.
New Balance is promoting its latest lightweight down with brand ambassador Winter of aespa. Its Flying 77 Superlight Hooded Lightweight Goose Down jacket sold out its initial stock within a day of going on sale on the brand's official online store on Oct. 9.
The jacket keeps the lightweight feel of the brand's earlier Flying down models while upgrading materials and colors. The color lineup includes Ash Blue, Butter Yellow and Charcoal. In the campaign, Winter wears the jacket in both city and outdoor settings, presenting it as everyday wear and outdoor gear alike.
Musinsa Standard, the platform's in-house label, is competing on price. Its City Leisure Hooded Light Down Jacket retails in the 100,000 won range. The Cloudy Blue colorway has sold out in all men's and women's sizes and ranked No. 1 in sales.
The North Face brought back last year's bestseller, the Ventus On Jacket. In 2025, its initial stock sold out in about 40 minutes despite a limit of one per customer. This year, the Real Black and Black colorways have again sold out in all sizes.
"Lightweight padded jackets have recently expanded beyond auxiliary outerwear for the outdoors or transitional seasons into a core fall-winter product. As consumers weigh silhouette, material and color on top of warmth and light weight, competition among brands to differentiate on design is intensifying," an industry official said.
yoohong@heraldcorp.com