Wearing nothing but nude underwear, Bella Hadid posed on a lit platform, ready to showcase the closing look for Parisian brand, Coperni, at their Spring Summer 2023 show at Paris Fashion Week. A seemingly fabric dress was formed out of what initially appeared to be spray paint, leaving everyone asking- what was really inside those ‘cans’?
By Gemma Harris
Established in 2013, the Parisian brand has already won ANDAM’s creative label prize in 2014 as well as being a finalist for the LVMH prize in 2015. More recently however, Vaillant told Elle UK in an interview that the brand was named after the renaissance-era astronomer Copernicus, as the brand is inspired by ‘science’ and ‘technology’.
Coperni designers, Sebatien Meyer and Arnaud Valliant teamed up with Spanish designer and scientist, Manel Torres and his team at London’s Bioscience Innovation Centre to develop the futuristic show that later took place.
Bella Hadid effortlessly stood there as scientists sprayed her near naked body- which would eventually leave her wearing a stunning white dress. Coperni has already become synonymous with merging scientific innovation and fashion following their experimentation with hand-blown glass handbags earlier this year. However, Coperni really outdid themselves for SS23 by formulating a spray with Manel Torres, that contained fibres poised in a polymer solution which evaporated once they contacted the body as well as having the ability to turn back into a solution afterwards and re-used.
Although the brand knew that they would not make any money from this, they wanted to display a moment which captured the audience’s attention in the most beautiful and extravagant way.
Bella Hadid’s exquisite body stood in the centre of everyone’s attention during the full fifteen-minute performance which transformed her from near nude, into wearing the most flattering white bodycon dress. Once the polymer solution had been fully sprayed onto the model’s skin, a Coperni employee began to cut and adjust the spray on fabric formed, by adding a slit down the side of the leg, shortening the length, as well as carefully draping the straps to fall off Hadid’s shoulders. Once her dress had been sprayed on and adjusted, the model sauntered sophisticatedly across the room, filled with spectators in disbelief. The dress which hung to her body was said to of had a suede-like texture.
Not only could this science be used to make a dress for a world class model such as Bella Hadid, but it can also be used to customise or repair garments, which may be the way forward for its implementation into the future of fashion.
The impact of the performance lead to it becoming viral on social media platforms, as well as accumulating many posts showing appreciation to the up-and-coming techno-fashion brand.
TikTok showing the dress being sprayed on:
spoiled-nation.com 