Buh-Bye, Puffer Coats—It Girls Like Alexa Chung Are Opting for This Rich-Looking Alternative Coat Trend Instead
Alexa Chung exhausts me sometimes because she is always wearing something that I didn't know I needed, and my credit card just can't handle it. Most recently, it was a custom floral opera coat with repurposed vintage mink fur. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I saw it, and now I don't know how I can live without one of my own.
The jacket was created by Bulgarian designer Viktor Gichev, who works at One of a Kind vintage archive in London's Portobello Market, while also building a brand out of his bedroom. He spends his days surrounded by Galliano-era Dior and '90s Alexander McQueen and his nights creating pieces out of upcycled fabrics and textiles, like Chung's.
Chung wore the opera jacket, fashioned out of floral curtains, to Mike Skinner's Christmas dinner. What I particularly love about Chung's personal style is that it is always evolving. This piece feels entirely like her but still unlike anything she's ever worn before. But perhaps the best thing about Chung's style is that it always makes me question preconceived notions I have about some garment or pattern or color or accessory because she always finds an interesting way to wear it that feels unconventional yet perfect.
So why aren't we all wearing floral coats in the winter? It may be dark and dreary and cold out, but the hopeful print clearly looks just as good on a coat as it does on a tube top or slip skirt. And while Chung's exact coat is custom, I'll be keeping tabs on Gichev's Instagram until further notice, and finding a floral coat to wear for the rest of the season in the meantime.
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