Veilance Cloud Down Jacket
At long last, the first full women’s Veilance collection is here. We must admit that we were worried we’d never actually see women’s come to fruition, as it feels like we’ve been waiting forever since we saw a few grainy leaked photos of the Cloud Down Coat, Lota Skirt, and some other prototypes.
Taka “announced” the women’s line (and System A?) in an interview with organiclab.zip last year, and led us to believe that it would be different from men’s Veilance. He was right. The women’s collection is different, but upholds the core principles that define Veilance as a brand like technicality, urban performance, and shape. The women’s forms are voluminous yet effortless, and the materials quiet and featherlight. They don’t “do squish squish,” to quote Taka.
As if the very idea of women’s Veilance wasn’t exciting enough, Arc’Teryx debuted the line with a pre-launch event for the SS22 collection in May. We were a little confused about debuting the line with SS22 pieces given that FW21 was right around the corner, but understood it as a way to drum up some hype without fully letting the cat out of the bag. The event featured four styles from the collection, which we discussed on our podcast.
We’ll discuss the full collection in more detail on the podcast, but suffice it to say that we are very impressed. Taka delivered on his promise of a different collection, and Veilance has entered (created?) the marketplace for performance womenswear with a bang. While we like nearly every piece in the collection, we want to offer up a full review of our favorite style: the Cloud Down Jacket.
Aesthetics
There are down puffers geared towards outdoor performance, and puffers geared toward fashion. Down puffers produced by the outdoor industry tend not to be the most flattering (sorry Frank) garments, and aside from a few choice styles haven’t really been integrated into the gorpcore lexicon.
Fashion puffers are a different story. They’re a dime a dozen, since the insulation can be used to create interesting shapes and goose down is associated with luxury, despite being widely adopted by affordable brands like Uniqlo and Aritzia. Generally speaking, puffers in the fashion world look strong and protective, like a coat of armor.
The Cloud jacket defies these conventions. The lack of exposed baffles, which is in the tradition of the men’s Anneal and Altus jackets, makes it appear more subtle and elegant than other down jackets. The silhouette is puffy (obviously) and cocoon-like, but upholds the minimalist precision that defines Veilance tailoring.
Veilance’s brand of minimalism can toe the line of appearing cold and lifeless, which is something we’ve criticized recent men’s collections for. We want Veilance to be cool and effortless, not stiff and deadening. The Cloud jacket (and the collection in general) is exactly what we’ve been looking for from the brand. It has some fantastic details, some that can be appreciated from afar and some only up close, but the whole package looks clean and beautiful.
The high and spacious collar, while reminiscent of the men’s Euler styles, has a very different visual effect on the Cloud’s silhouette. It’s an attention-grabber for sure, but still looks easy and clean, unlike the aggressive (and ironic?) look of the similarly shaped Rick Owens Mountain jackets. The collar also looks nice and relaxed when undone. The hood is surprisingly roomy and gives the jacket an interesting shape in profile, not to mention a superb amount of coverage when donned. The cuffs flare the right amount, and the hem adjusters allow one to alter the silhouette for a cropped look.
Materials
The outer shell of the Cloud jacket is composed of a 115 gsm Polartec Neoshell. This is Veilance’s first time using this fabric, which was chosen for its light, soft, and quiet properties. Although it’s listed as a soft shell, its thickness and handfeel are reminiscent of Gore laminates, especially the 2L fabrics utilized on the men’s Anneal and Euler. While not marketed as waterproof, the fabric is quite robust under heavy rain. The Cloud has more than enough water resistance for a thick down jacket that you probably won’t be wearing in the rain anyway.
The insulation is mostly composed of 850 fill European goose down. The Cloud is much puffier than men’s Veilance down jackets, but our impression is that the down is less dense than on the heavier men’s jackets like the Node and Monitor. It’s still stupid warm, and the space between the feathers is necessary for making a wearable jacket with the volume and shape of the Cloud.
The Cloud utilizes Veilance’s signature Down Composite mapping, in which 100 gsm Coreloft-S insulation is used in warmer and high-moisture areas like the armpits. Coreloft armpits means less risk of sweat penetrating the backer and disintegrating the feathers, and having to take the risk of ruining the jacket by having to machine wash it. For what it’s worth, we recommend laundering Veilance down jackets as little as possible, and taking them to the dry cleaners if it’s absolutely necessary.
Interestingly, the sleeves and hood are also insulated with Coreloft-S, unlike men’s Veilance down jackets which all feature down in these areas. We assume that the Coreloft is utilized in these areas firstly to lighten and shape the jacket (and maybe cheapen?), and secondly for temperature regulation. This makes the jacket look de-lofted when hanging but fine when worn. We’re not mad about this, since Veilance down sleeves tend to be really hot.
Hardware, Features, Construction
The Cloud’s central Excella zip ends at the base of the neck, unlike the men’s Euler which zips all the way up. The collar is fastened by three hidden Cobrax Zero snaps, which look good and give some nice styling options. The two hand pockets have watertight coil zippers, and the webbing on all the zipper pulls is thinner and longer than on the men’s Veilance jackets.
The eyelets of the hood cinch are white, and the Veilance logo is on the hood cinch webbing (no “locker loop,” as some Veilance fans are calling the branded webbing found on most styles). The hem has a cinch cord that can seal out wind and create a cropped effect, and is easy to adjust.
The hand pockets are reasonably sized but not quite big enough to fit the wide cuffs. The pockets are lined with a soft microfiber, and unlike the Cloud Down Coat are not insulated. There’s one big internal pocket cut into the insulation on the left side (this should keep your phone from freezing). The sleeves have an internal gasket for optimal fit, which is made of a new material that we can’t yet identify.
The hood is roomy and the coverage is great. When fully done up, only the eyes are exposed. Looks cool.
The shoulders use raglan construction, the underarms are gusseted, and the sleeves are articulated. Mobility is not an issue at all despite the Cloud’s thickness and oversized fit. Taped seams throughout. We’re not 100% sure, but we think the bottom baffle is bigger than the rest to shape the jacket and create the illusion that that area of the jacket is puffier.
The Cloud is insanely light for what it is. Veilance undoubtedly met their goal of creating a light yet warm and protective down jacket.
Sizing
Sizing is tricky. Please take what we suggest with a grain of salt because we’re men.
The whole jacket runs big. The body is loose and the sleeves are long. Women might have issues with the jacket being too big overall, and men will most likely have issues with the length of the jacket and sleeves. Our best recommendation is that women size down, and men go TTS or size up.
Conclusion
The Cloud Down Jacket is the standout piece of the first women’s Veilance collection, and maybe the entirety of Veilance FW21. It does what Veilance always does, but in a more interesting and aesthetically pleasing way. The Chumps approve, and we’re very excited to see what’s in store for future Veilance collections.
As for colors, Moonbeam is cool but a trap. Think twice before buying white outerwear, especially if it can’t easily be washed. Black is the way to go and it certainly suits the style.