COPERNI

THE FOUNDERS AND THE IDENTITY OF COPERNI

Coperni is a French brand founded in 2013 by the two stylists Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant.

One can deduce from the name of the brand the reference to the scientific tradition, seen and considered, that there is a strong assonance with the name of the great Polish astronomer and mathematician Niccolò Copernicus, theorist of the heliocentric theory. It was Copernicus’ revolutionary ideas that inspired Meyer and Vaillant. In fact, they primarily want to bring something revolutionary to the fashion scene, capable of subsuming different disciplines such as design, art and science into the identity of their brand. So much so that, in one of their first interviews, they declare:

“We are very interested in everything that surrounds technology, both in terms of our inspirations and the silhouettes and cuts of our garments. It would be nice to invent new production techniques ”. 

THE ORIGINS

But let’s go back: the paths of these two brilliant minds crossed, because of their fashion studies at the Mod’Art school in Paris, in 2009.

The twos immediately chose each other, both at work and in private life. They began to collaborate professionally, combining their very different backgrounds. In fact, Sébastien is specialized in fashion design and modeling, while Arnaud in business and management.

Before the founding of their very personal brand they had gained experience with prominent Maisons such as Chanel and Balenciaga.

COPERNI IN STANDBY

In 2015 the Maison Courrèges appoints the duo of designers as its creative directors and this slows down the founding project of Coperni.
They found breath in 2018: this is the year in which their minimal chic dresses return to the catwalks.

THE STYLE

Their style is characterized by simplicity, but at the same time by an all-French elegance, actually Parisian, which makes the silhouettes graceful and sexy.

The combination of opposing elements made the brand extremely appreciated by the fashionistas of the new Gen-Z. This is also demonstrable by the fact that Coperni turned out to be one of the most clicked hashtags on TikTok, the social media preferred by Millennials.

COPERNI: AN ICON

Already in 2019 the brand is consecrated as iconic, thanks to the launch of the Swipe Bag, a rigid bag, characterized by an arched design, inspired by iPhone, as its name already reminds of.
The Swipe Bag has become a must in the wardrobe of every It-Girl like Dua Lipa and Kylie Jenner.

The It-Bag was proposed for Autumn-Winter 2022 in blown glass and for Spring-Summer 2023 in solid gold. The latter model is made on commission.

PASSION FOR INNOVATION

In 2021, Coperni launched a capsule collection in collaboration with actress and director Maisie Williams. The purpose of the capsule? Textile innovation. The two proposed models are composed of a new fiber, an alternative to leather, which is chemically obtained from the waste from apple production.

But that’s not all…

During PFW Spring-Summer 2023, the two designers have made parade Bella Hadid in a sprinkled dress. Yes, you got it right. The dress, optic white colored, was literally sprayed on the model, cut once the spray was dry and delicately placed two straps drooping from her shoulders.

The “spray” dress took six months of work. It was created in collaboration with Fabrican Ltd and the Spanish researcher Manuel Torre. Torre is the actual inventor of the spray, which is composed of fibers suspended in a solution of polymers, capable of evaporating in contact with surfaces.

THE POLEMICS

Although the dress fascinated everyone at the show, as well as the incredulous audience who followed the show on a delayed basis, some noticed a certain implicit reference to the Spring-Summer 1999 show by Alexander McQueen. Model Shalom Harlow paraded in a tulle dress, who had been sprayed with paint from two mechanical arms at the end of the show.