Behind the scenes: The making of Coperni’s next act – VOGUE BUSINESS
Fri 3 Mar
How could Coperni follow last season’s viral spray-on dress? With a pack of robot dogs in a theatrical performance with models on the runway, of course.
Staged at Théâtre National de la Danse, Coperni’s Autumn/Winter 2023 show was based on a reimagining of French fable Le Loup et l'Agneau (the wolf and the lamb) by Jean de la Fontaine.
The runway models took on the role of the lambs, while the wolves were replaced by five robot dogs, one of which visited influencers in the front row and later pulled a jacket off model Rianne Van Rompaey in a choreographed sequence, before returning it to symbolise harmony between the two. Later, the same one held on to Lila Moss’s mini swipe bag, before giving it back as she passed by. At the end, the robots took a bow, as models walked the finale. The collection built on Coperni’s techno-chic aesthetic, with its signature spandex tops redone in leather, rubber versions of its signature Bridge boot, emoji-inspired silver brooches gathering draped tops and blanket coats.
Expectations for Coperni were high this season, after the brand created
the most viral moment of 2022, presenting a spray-on dress on supermodel Bella Hadid last September. “It was just crazy, we could never have expected the reaction,” says creative director and co-founder Sébastien Meyer, speaking at the brand’s new 400m² Paris HQ, three days out from the AW23 show. Coperni gained over 300,000 followers overnight and sales grew
“significantly” on the previous season, both from wholesale and Coperni’s e-commerce store, where the brand couldn’t restock fast enough. “Our Instagram just broke,” Coperni CEO and co-founder Arnaud Vaillant says. “We couldn’t believe it.” The duo, partners in life and work, have since been cooking up their next act, while grappling with intense new demand and pressure from the industry.
Coperni was already on a strong growth trajectory before the spray-on dress.
Sales had doubled every season since 2021, reaching a few million in 2022,
which is all Vaillant will disclose. But SS23 was an acceleration of Coperni’s
brand awareness on a global scale, says Stefano Martinetto, CEO of
accelerator Tomorrow Ltd that works with Coperni among other brands. It
took the brand from a buzzy up-and-comer known amongst fashion insiders
to a globally recognised label, the founders say.
“We didn't want to compete with the [spray-on dress] moment last season.
Because it was so unique, so magical, so strong,” says Vaillant. “We didn't
want to do a big finale with a supermodel. We really wanted an evolution.
We're fascinated by tech, so we always try to have experiences and technology
in our shows.”
Other brands, observing the viral attention of the Coperni moment, set out to
create their own this season, from Division’s tablecloth dress at Copenhagen
Fashion Week AW23 to Heliot Emil’s man on fire in Paris on Tuesday.
Seeking internet buzz to reach new audiences and markets has become a way
for often emerging brands to use the runway as a stage to gain global
attention. That’s come with some kick back. In cities including Milan
and New York, others have made a statement in their simplicity, focusing
purely on the clothes over spectacle.
For Coperni, these show concepts aren’t about tricking the internet into
breaking. “It was organic. It wasn’t manufactured by men in suits in a
boardroom,” says Martinetto. That said, planning another “wow” moment is
difficult. “This will be an important show [for Coperni] because it's a
manifestation of the quality of the product and the solid direction of the
brand, above and beyond an opportunity of viral marketing,” he says.
“Effectively, they haven't modified the strategy after that [SS23] moment.”
Coperni did have to modify their direct-to-consumer operations, however, to
meet the unprecedented demand, according to Tomorrow, which replenished
the online store with all held stock available for sale, used their strong supplier
relationships to secure quick turnaround re-orders on hero items like the swipe
bag, spandex tops and bridge boots and set up a pre-order system, as to not
disappoint online customers searching for sold-out pieces.