Vollebak has never been particularly interested in subtlety, but even by its standards, the new Full Metal Puffer looks like something that escaped from a science-fiction prop department.
It shimmers, ripples and bends light like liquid metal, and has the unsettling presence of a jacket that might start communicating with satellites if left alone for too long.
And yet, beneath the sci-fi theatrics, this is one of the brand’s most practical pieces to date.
Liquid metal, solid intentions
The Full Metal Puffer is the high-performance evolution of the company’s award-winning Full Metal Jacket, now bigger, warmer, and designed explicitly for deep winter conditions.
Instead of being a conceptual outer shell, it’s a fully fledged puffer engineered to handle sub-zero temperatures without sacrificing the brand’s trademark obsession with experimental materials.
The outer fabric contains 60% copper, lending the jacket its unique look.
Vollebak has long been fascinated by the metal’s potential in intelligent clothing, thanks to its natural antimicrobial properties and its use in advanced engineering applications both on Earth and in space.
When the theatrics stop, the engineering starts
Underneath that metallic shell, things get reassuringly serious. A next-generation breathable membrane is said to adapt to changing conditions while remaining fully waterproof and windproof.
Plus, the jacket is insulated with 100% recycled down to deliver proper cold-weather warmth, designed to be worn when the weather turns properly hostile.
That combination is what makes the Full Metal Puffer interesting, even by Vollebak standards.
It’s still gloriously over-engineered and visually outrageous, but it also represents a shift towards turning the brand’s most extreme ideas into clothing you could realistically rely on through winter.
Knowing all this, it's probably no surprise that the company calls the Full Metal Puffer “the future of winter”.
It might look ridiculous now, but if history has taught us anything, today’s sci-fi Vollebak jacket often becomes tomorrow’s normal.
The Full Metal Puffer is available now at Vollebak in Copper or Black, priced at £1,995 / €2,295 / $2,495 / AU$3,895.
