How a Puffer Coat Became a Sundance Status Symbol

You’re more likely to see stars sporting winter gear than chic red carpet attire at Sundance Film Festival, but as a New York Times piece points out, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a highly exclusive item of clothing attendees are desperate to get their hands on.

Canada Goose, a sponsor of the festival, is gifting 400 directors and judges with a limited edition gray puffer jacket with reflective panels and a Sundance 2020 logo on the sleeve, and as the Times notes, those who have been lucky enough to get one are seen as the festival’s elite because they have “a special badge of in-dom and status that advertises the wearer as part of a privileged group.”

“I am starting to see people who have one, and I know they are in the gang,” filmmaker Erica Tremblay told the publication. “I love being part of the group. We all understand what it took to get here and get the jacket.”

The jackets are handed out at a special VIP suite, and only one person may enter at a time. They are then assisted by a Canada Goose stylist, who helps them select the proper size. “This festival has hundreds of thousands of people, but in this room you are the only one there,” Calum Walter, who received a puffer jacket, told the Times.

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