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.
Prepping under pressure
On Tuesday, three days before the show, the pressure was on and energy was high at Coperni HQ. Vaillant and Meyer were casting models, while the Boston Dynamics team charged and tested the robot dogs. (Models were told not to take photos, to protect the surprise.) Friends passed through, their miniature greyhound (named Neo after The Matrix protagonist) roamed around and both Meyer and Vaillant’s parents were on hand to help, occasionally filming their sons and the robots. Normally, casting would be further along by that point, Vaillant said. But Coperni’s casting director Samuel Ellis (DM Casting) also casts for Schiaparelli and Paco Rabanne, who both returned to the PFW calendar this season, pushing things back.
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