Bella Hadid, the 25-year-old American model, made history in the Spring/summer 2023 Coperni fashion show. Towards the show finale, Hadid strutted to the middle of the room, half-naked, only using her arm to cover her breast. She only wore a nude thong underwear and a pair of white kitten heels. Many fashion leaders, such as the Kardashian-Jenner family and other influencers and editors, were present in the room to witness the surreal moment.
Valliant and Sebastien Meyer are the design duo behind Coperni. Founded in 2013, the Parisian brand is named after the Renaissance mathematician and astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus. The two founders describe fashion as pragmatical and magical. One studied business and the other studied design in Mod’International Paris. Together they cultivated the idea of combining technology and science with fashion. Their fashion items are ahead of the industry in the 20th century. In addition to bringing back Y2K fashion, such as mini dresses, low-slung belt, sheer materials, tube top, and baggy jeans, Coperni also invent new innovations for this generation. Their blown glass bag, featuring glassware brand Heven, was famously worn by celebrities such as Doja Cat, Kylie Jenner, and Kim Kardashian. As well as the micro baguette version of the Swipe bag worn by Zendaya and Alexa Demie.
The AW22 show centred the idea of maturing from teenager to adult. Their fashion items are elegant, tailored, beautifully cut, and embordering. On the fashion show, they collaborated with Fabrican, a London-based, spray-on fabric company. The dress was transformed from spider-web like, thickened fibrous layers, to dried pebbled fabric. The whole process was less than 10 minutes. After they mummified Hadid, Coperni’s head of design, Charlotte Raymond walked onstage, carefully put the straps down Hadid’s shoulders to convert the dress into an off-shoulder dress. Then readjusted it by cutting the edge of the dress to stand out her beautiful body curve. Hadid then walked around the room to give a close look for audiences. From the picture, the fabric appears to be silk or cotton. The texture is soft and elastic, but rouge. According to Coperni’s chief executive Arnaud Valliant, the fabric can be hung or washed and then can be put back into the bottle of its original solution to regenerate. Although the dress is not for sale, and the production is expensive. It is a performance of art in a dramatic creation kind of way.
Hadid is not the first model to be sprayed in a live-on-the-runway show. In spring 1999 show, the Canadian model Shalom Harlow wore a white dress in the Alexander McQueen show finale. She was sprayed on colourful ink by two robots. However, Valliant emphasised they are different. They had the inventor Manel Torres and the member of his Fabrican team spraying Hadid under the square dim light. And their design is more sophisticated with patented spray-on fabric. This performance was also more challenging. They only had five opportunities to practice on models or Hadid because Hadid’s busy schedule in Paris Fashion Week did not allow her to rehearse. The show was her first time doing the performance. It was nerve-wrecking for Hadid but you can never tell if she was shaking inside with her confidence and elegance on stage.
The Coperni show can be acknowledged as Hadid’s pinnacle moment in her career. She defines raw beauty. The show will no doubt be recorded in the history of fashion.
Search Bella Hadid in the Coperni show online. The pictures and video of the whole process are worth watching. Mind blown is underrated for the work of art. Would you dare to wear a sprayed- on cloth?
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