Craig Green Quilted Jacket, SS20.

You have to wonder if there is a psychological advantage to wearing a Craig Green quilted jacket. The quilted sections are like soft armour plates to protect you from the outside world, and when seen in a pink colourway, they look vaguely like the sinewy muscles on an anatomical illustration of the body. The utilitarian detailing with cinching waist tapes, drawstrings, and reinforced eyelets look vaguely like they have a purpose that will ensure your safety at all times. And in past seasons when versions have appeared in dark colours, the quilted fabrics and hanging cords and tapes give the impression of someone who may know martial arts.

The quilted jackets in the Craig Green Spring-Summer 2020 collection were shown in dusty pink and light mint green colourways and were filled with small details and clever construction techniques. The tapes that travel around the body go through eyelets that reinforce the fabric, but the height of the tape is ultimately controlled by horizontal waist channels at either side to stop the tape from drooping.

In a way, it is as though this is a garment considered inside out from how a men’s jacket is usually constructed. Usually, the main shell of the garment is made in a woven fabric, with a thinner lining fabric coating the inside. In this case, the main shell of the garment is the semi-transparent base layer of fabric that makes up the main shape of the jacket, but the structure is given by the quilted panels which are applied on top. These quilted panels appear to be created by layering the semi-sheer fabric over the top of a white or light coloured wadding, which is what gives the garment the translucent quality as the lightness of the wadding shows through the fabric. These quilted panels appear to be bound around the outside edge with a narrow binding.

Other details to note – the top collar appears to be cut in two pieces, with a seam down the centre back (CB). This may be because the fabric is pre-quilted with straight lines, so by putting a seam at the centre back, this allows you to cut the pieces of the collar so that the quilting runs straight against the short edges of the collar. Also, placing pockets in this jacket requires more careful consideration than normal, as the sheer fabric would likely rip under the wear and tear of normal pocket use. Instead, an inseam pocket is hidden along the outside edge of the quilted section where the wadding helps to give the fabric support and strength. This quilted plate also hangs from the shoulder seam, so the weight created by putting the hands in the pockets spreads up through the body of the garment, rather than being concentrated in one point where the fabric would easily tear.

You can see more examples of quilting» or view how the layers of quilting» are constructed.

Craig Green catwalk images from Craig-Green.com»
Craig Green Quilted Jacket images from Browns.com in pink» and green»