The Right Puff

A handful of vintage jackets find new form in one-of-a-kind Colville vests.

Giving garments a second chance is second nature. “It was just really natural,” says Lucinda Chambers of why she and Molly Molloy decided from day one to incorporate upcycling into their five-year-old Milan-based brand, Colville. “It wasn’t a strategic decision or a buzzword for us.”

The pair not only share a passion for repurposing but also have notable industry pedigrees: Molloy was the design director at Marni, and Chambers held court for 25 years as the fashion director at British Vogue. Chambers’s singular, kaleidoscopic approach to styling culminated in a host of memorable images, and, to the delight of dressers who crave the unique, she often used vintage in her work.

So it’s no surprise that one finds a wealth of Colville pieces composed of stealthily sourced textiles, including floor-length patchwork dresses made from second-hand T-shirts and trench coats that are nattily cropped plus amusing gilets that would turn any old outing into a streetstyle occasion.

GETTING DOWN(FILLED) TO IT “Puffers in Italy are like T-shirts in North America,” Molloy notes of the jackets’ ubiquity. So, with assistance when things got too overwhelming, the pair trawled vintage markets, second-hand stores and eBay for the pristine-condition pieces that could eventually give shape to their one-size-fits-all design. The curated cache was arranged in the studio by colour groupings of five jackets per vest, from playfully primary to moody earth tones to neutrals mixed with bright fluoro pops.

Each tantalizing iteration reflects the trademark off-kilter colour-blocking for which both Chambers and Molloy—who collaborated together at Marni, where Chambers was a creative consultant—are much loved. The arrangement of various quilting patterns gives each gilet an added sense of novelty.

NAVIGATING NEW LEARNINGS THAT END IN EXCEPTIONAL RESULTS Using what the two describe as a “couture approach” to the days-long process of cutting and assembling the gilets, the designers—and the workers in the factory where the “ambitious” pieces are crafted—found themselves presented with a learning curve.

“I thought that they could just sew around and contain the feathers, but they couldn’t,” says Molloy, adding that those who worked with the down jackets wore shower caps to protect themselves from the flurry of feathers flying around throughout the transformation. “It’s been a challenge. What’s amazing is when you find people who want to go through that challenge with you.” ■