IENKI IENKI: the fashion set’s favourite puffer jacket brand is going from strength to strength

If one had to pick a coat trend that dominated 2018, it would undoubtedly be the puffer jacket.

Epically warm and universally flattering, it’s perhaps unsurprising the popularity of the puffer shows no signs of abating for 2019.

And when it comes to the fashion set, there is one brand that’s emerged as firm favourite: IENKI IENKI.

Pronounced ‘yenki yenki,’ the brand was launched at the end of 2016 when Ukranian Dmitry Ievenko, the co-founder of Asthik Group (one of Ukraine’s fastest-growing luxury retail companies), noticed a gap in the market for well-made, striking puffers with exaggerated silhouettes. “I could not find any brands that had puffers like the design I had in mind: high-quality and bright, warm but body flattering, simple but recognizable,” he says.

The debut line of 300 puffer coats, all made from 100 per cent goose down and all manufactured in the Ukraine, sold out on Instagram within a month, with everyone from Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski and Kourtney Kardashian to Natalie Joos and Vanessa Hong seen embracing the new power puff.

In its first season the brand picked up 80 stockists, including the likes of Browns, Farfetch and Harrods, and in just two years this number has risen to over 150 doors worldwide.

“We were one of the first to pick up this Ukrainian brand,” says Jennifer Bishop, womenswear buyer at Browns. “We immediately knew our customer would love the pop colours and the oversized fashion silhouettes.”

The brand has grown triple digit figures year on year for Browns, “and we see sales really peak when the temperature drops. Colours sell out faster however there is also lots of interest in the more subtle black styles.”

The overwhelming success of the brand is thanks to its oversized styles and attention-grabbing colourways, which make for perfect Instagram fodder.

And yet, while the shapes are bulky (the first ever coat, the Michlin, was inspired by The Michelin Man – “his shape, his character struck a chord with me, so I always kept him in my mind,” says the designer), design details manage to make them look svelte. “I wanted them to look not only stylish but graceful as well,” says Ievenko. “With the help of a belt, a slightly clumsy garment was transformed into a surprisingly feminine piece.”

Ievenko, who grew up in the Ukraine, is influenced by imagery and designs from the USSR era and archives, which “left a strong impression” on him as a teenager. “For example, in the second-hand markets, I was taught that a high-quality zipper is a sign of a great brand. When I started my own brand, it was fundamentally important for me to work with Riri and no one else, despite the price being much higher than average.”

For the second collection, autumn 2018/19, Ienki Ienki added metallic, leopard and camo to the colour palette, and created some seriously sharp skiwear in the process.

The brand also expanded into puffer accessories with a puffer bag, which could be worn cross body or as a belt, and a cape-like ‘Stingray’ scarf with diamond quilting and neck tie which tied perfectly into this winter’s trend for duvet scarves. 

This spring, the brand also launched its first garment made without goose-down, an Anorak that comes in six colours, including a super striking reflective fabric.

Knitwear is in the pipeline for next year, along with further outerwear iterations. “We want, ultimately, to be a brand that is known for innovation within the outerwear category, where so much has already been said and done,” says Ievenko. “Therefore, the future for us will involve many experiments in design, fabrication and style that, we hope, will change the outerwear scene as we know it today.” 

Something tells us this isn’t the last we’ve seen of these power puffers.