Having staged their spring show on the roof of La Tour Montparnasse, Paris’s highest skyscraper, Coperni’s Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant were disinclined to do something virtual for Fall/Winter 2021.
For this Fall/Winter, Coperni co-founders Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant staged what is believed to be Paris’ first drive-in fashion show. They ushered in a fleet of 36 cars carrying 70 guests into the 20,100-seat AccorHotels Arena in Paris. Drivers used their headlights to illuminate models walking down between them in the brand’s Fall/Winter 2021 collection.
“We live in an ultra-digital world where there’s not much humanity left. We wanted to create a real experience, so the idea of cars came naturally”, Meyer said. “This period is a little sad, so it’s up to us to be even more creative and to make people dream”, Vaillant added.
The collection, the designers explained, was a two-pronged ode to the night, inspired by both Paris’ pre-COVID-19 nightlife scene (the techno soundtrack was sorted by Clara 3000, a DJ and friend of the duo) and the comfort of a night in.
“Frank and dynamic cuts on classic silhouettes let us glimpse the skin lying beneath. The shoulders were raised, the arms were slender – ready to enter into the darkness. Sensuality arised from a play on zipped draping. Second skin mesh opposed the moving fringes. Bags in the shape of a padlock suggested something locked away in darkness. Maxima-lease forms led us towards calmness, reconciliation and time for ourselves. Softness protected the body and light became therapy”.