Coperni Reaches for the Stars
Review of Coperni Fall 2024 Fashion Show
By Mark Wittmer
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
For Fall 2024, Coperni’s creative director duo of Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant sought to augment their penchant for playing on futuristic technology with more far-flung sci-fi aspirations – but they weren’t quite able to take it to infinity and beyond.
The brand cleverly teased the runway show with videos on their Instagram page that used digital animation to create “found footage” of 2001-esque monoliths appearing in the skies above New York, Tokyo, and Paris. These teaser videos appeared alongside previews of the collection’s star pieces (no pun intended): the snakeskin binder clutch, the star stilettos, and, most impressively, a version of the brand’s signature Swipe bag made of NASA’s nanomaterial silica aerogel, the lightest solid on planet Earth. This delicate nanomaterial has been used by NASA to capture stardust. Coperni’s Air Swipe bag is the biggest ever object made of this space technology nanomaterial, weighing in at 33 grams with a composition of 99% air and 1% glass. The bag was developed by Ioannis Michaloudis, a researcher and artist who bridges the worlds of art and science, and was the first to create fine art objects out of the material.
The latest in the brand’s series of technological stunts (which include the spray-on dress, the show that featured robotic police dogs dressing and undressing the models, and last season’s less gimmicky sound-centric design), the aerogel Swipe did appear alongside one of the collection’s looks, but it’s currently unclear whether it is practically functional and will be put into production. That bit of disconnect between futuristic ambitions and wearable reality was characteristic of much of the collection; while it had some interesting material choices, it felt like a mixed bag of a fairly standard Coperni outing.
The astronautical inspiration could be most detected in the silver and sheer white fabrics that could have been part of a spacesuit, as well as the foil dress that seemed salvaged from heat shielding or a crazy conspiracy theorist’s collection of hats. Blazers without lapels felt vaguely dystopian. Technical closures referenced seatbelts, while tailored jumpsuits and bodysuits riffed on the garments astronauts wear under their spacesuits and really pushed the emphasis on long legs. Furry mantles and sculpturally rolled dress hems evoked the rings of Saturn.
Still, the collection never really felt futuristic or fantastical. It is probably a conscious choice on the part of the designers to make clothes that are wearable but with an obvious little twist rather than truly imaginative and out there, and this might be a sound business decision – but teased by the wow factor of that one bag and the promise of alien coolness, it’s hard not to feel a bit disappointed.
THE BUZZWORDS
Up to 3 key words (five max) that encapsulate the collection
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Look #6
Though not the biggest and boldest look of the collection, this look felt like one of the strongest through its purity and its combination of future-minded materials with classically cool simplicity.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
It is exciting to see a relatively young fashion brand so interested in technological innovation and working to find new ways to embrace it each season. Yet these themes of futurism and technology often don’t translate into the house’s actual output, and can thus sometimes feel like flashy stunts to cover up the fact that the clothing itself isn’t so innovative and imaginative. The brand has a strong aesthetic identity that is also tuned into trends, and this collection was another example of that. But if the brand’s gimmicky approach becomes stale, as it feels like it might be beginning to do, it could find its lofty ambitions burn up on reentry.
