The whole world is choosing this iconic jacket from the USSR in 2025.

In the section “A Minute of High Fashion on iPhones.ru” today is His Majesty Cavadion. Oh, no, that’s what this jacket was called in the Eastern Roman Empire a long time ago. In our country, such an element of clothing has taken root under the name “quilted jacket” or “quilted jacket”.

Why a quilted jacket became a symbol of the USSR, who invented it and how to wear a padded jacket in 2025 – find out in this post. For those who like to watch rather than read, we made a video review, watch and like:

To all those infected – welcome to history.

A modern quilted jacket is stylish

A modern quilted jacket creates a masculine image.

A quilted jacket with a soft synthetic padding lining occupies a rather ancient place in modern fashion. Continuing the shape of the iconic Soviet quilted jacket, these clothes look unusually stylish in 2025.

Defiantly stylish.

Vatnik is generally experiencing some kind of rebirth this season. There are many examples on the Internet of how to combine this jacket with other clothes and not look like… a padded jacket.

The women’s version is generally top.

But if you still need to order a designer version of a quilted jacket, wait and pay money for it, then the original “quilted jacket” can be requested and found on well-known marketplaces, for example here:

🛒 Women’s version for 7791 rubles.
🛒 Men’s version for 3444 rubles.

As you can see, a quilted jacket is a clothing that is relevant at all times. But why did this happen and where did this quilted jacket even come from? Let’s figure it out.

Where did the quilted jacket come from in Russia?

Byzantine kabadion, prototype of a quilted jacket.

It is believed that the prototype of the Soviet quilted jacket could have appeared in Rus’ as early as the 11th century, thanks to the Byzantine Empire, whose warriors wore kabadion, or “linen armor.” It was a jacket made of simple layers of felt or linen.

Later, our ancestors fought with the Mongol army, in which quilted robes with a slanting smell and quilted trousers were used as common clothes. In their appearance and likeness, tegilyai already appeared in Rus’ – outerwear, which was a caftan cut with short sleeves and lined with horsehair or hemp, quilted through and through.

Mongol warrior sample 1200-1300.

In the 19th century, a mechanical machine was invented, which accelerated and reduced the cost of processing and improvement, so that in Russia, quilted outerwear lined with cotton became very widespread and was called flounce. Shuttlecocks were in demand among coachmen and coachmen, and even merchants did not disdain such a warm and comfortable jacket.

True, natural fur was used to trim such flounces for rich gentlemen, and such clothing was already called “Siberian”.

Old Moscow, coachman in a shuttlecock.

However, all these jackets were just the ancestors of the padded jacket before us. The modern, familiar version of this clothing appeared in Russia during the Russo-Japanese War, when soldiers of the Russian army, after demobilization, returned from Manchuria wearing warm cotton jackets, which were widespread among the local residents.

So these Chinese soul-greys dispersed throughout the Russian Empire.

How the quilted jacket became a symbol of the USSR

Padded jacket, quilted jacket, jacket… as soon as this jacket was called in Soviet times.

In the fall of 1932, the standardization committee of the People’s Commissariat of Light Industry of the USSR came up with and approved the outerwear standard “Telogreika”, also known as a quilted jacket.

The description clearly states that the padded jacket is a cotton single-breasted jacket, straight cut, fastened along the side to the top with 4 buttons, allowing it to be placed in the left side with original sewing loops (loop loops). The floors are straight without darts, with side patch pockets quilted through the top, wadding and lining with parallel machine stitches. The distance between stitches is 6 cm. The back is straight, solid or with a split seam in the middle, and is fastened at the waist with ties with a metal buckle.

Archival photo from the construction of the White Sea Canal.

The result was the perfect garment, suitable for any conditions in peacetime or war. Padded jackets form steel clothing for the builders of the White Sea Canal, and so they became popular among the people.

Later, the Great Patriotic War turned the padded jacket into a real cult, representing it as the clothing of the victors. This element of clothing has survived to this day.

New life of the iconic quilted jacket

This season’s trend in the editorial office.

Thanks to the efforts of designers, the classic body jacket is visible in everyday and work looks. Yes, the materials and appearance change a little, but in many modern jackets you can recognize the good old padded jacket.

We decided not to look for an analogue, but to show you a classic padded jacket, virtually unchanged since the Great Patriotic War. Surprisingly, there are a lot of offers on marketplaces, the price starts from two and ends at six thousand rubles.

In appearance, a modern-made quilted jacket is a warm jacket stuffed with synthetic padding. It is quite comfortable and warm, and if desired, it can be slightly “fitted” across with ties.

Nice and warm.

When using accessories such as a scarf or belt, a padded jacket can look very modern, and it will definitely attract the eye. At the very least, the view is unusual in 2025.

So, if you want to diversify your look, a quilted jacket is an ideal option that definitely makes an impression, the price and the question of just a couple of thousand rubles literally require you to try the simple and iconic jacket of the USSR. It’s a pity that there are no internal pockets, but the external ones can easily accommodate an iPhone of the MAX version; a larger size is not necessary.

Zaitseslav Yaitsev, fashion manager at iPhones.ru, was in touch.

📸 All photos in the article: