EXCLUSIVE: Coperni to Skip Catwalk in Favor of Apple Store Talk
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THINK DIFFERENT: For their second collection since relaunching the Coperni brand, Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant are skipping the runway in favor of a public talk at the Apple store on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
“We really enjoy taking risks and challenging the traditional runway format. We believe this type of presentation is more suited to a young brand like ours in 2019,” Vaillant told WWD.
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For its relaunch last season, the brand staged a presentation in an art gallery featuring modular furniture by Swiss manufacturer USM, which is also partnering with the brand on pop-ups this month at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City and Le Bon Marché in Paris.
Its “Fashion and Innovation” presentation, scheduled for Sept. 24 at 12:30 p.m., will feature a video presentation of the spring collection, followed by a conversation with the designers about the materials and technology used in the development of their clothes, often characterized by clean, architectural lines.
Members of the public can sign up on the Apple web site for the event, part of a series of workshops being held under the Today at Apple banner, alongside a music lab with producer Swizz Beatz, or a photo workshop with Bilal El Kadhi, among others.
It’s not the first time the Coperni designers have flirted with the tech world. In their previous job as creative directors of Courrèges, they staged a runway show that had the flavor of a mini Apple product launch, with garments that included coats with heating pads powered by a battery that plugged into an iPhone charger.
“We’ve always been passionate about Apple,” added Vaillant, noting that Coperni’s fall collection features a bag dubbed the Swipe, whose curved shape was inspired by the slider icon on the iPhone. Meyer said the brand’s spring line was based on the idea of connection and would feature Wi-Fi and Bluetooth symbols.
Nowadays, he sketches all his creations using the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, launched in 2015.
“Today, we use it to draw, but obviously in the near future, it will go from the sketch to modeling the clothes in 3-D and perhaps even, in 10 years’ time, printing the clothes in 3-D. What’s interesting is that this is clearly only the beginning, and it’s super exciting, because it forces us to reconsider our job as designers,” he said.
Still, what they really look forward to is a human connection. “We like to tell the story of the collection, talk to people and create a real interaction. We think this is important today,” Meyer said.
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