Coperni: Streamlined Chic on top of Montparnasse Tower

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Sep 29, 2020

The weather gods were cruel Coperni this season, but the creative muses were far kinder, as this French duo staged an excellent collection on the rooftop of La Tour Montparnasse – the first live runway show of Paris Fashion Week .

 
Normally this 59th floor offers stunning views of Paris, but on a dank Tuesday morning the weather closed in minutes before the show began; the vistas disappeared and the audience borrowed scores of umbrellas.
 
But if the atmosphere was suddenly gloomy, the collection was polished, punchy and protective.

“In lockdown we were thinking all lot of the need to protect with masks, and hence of the idea of creating clothes that protected women. Fabrics that had strength and stretch. Lots of extensions that still let a woman move,” explained Sébastien Meyer, standing beside design partner Arnaud Vaillant post-show.
 
The idea for the collection came back in March when the duo developed a tutorial on how to develop your own mask to help fight the spread of the virus. Energizing fashion students, sewers, stylists and pattern makers to create masks at a moment when France faced a sever shortage of face masks.  

 
The Coperni spring-summer 2021 collection featured a total of 32 looks, opening with Edie Campbell. The English equestrian model appearing fittingly in an all-white ensemble of micro bomber jacket and stretch jodhpurs.
 
Sculpted cocktails, sleek architectural suits and great off the shoulder shirts were the key to this collection, a modern streamlined style that recalled hints of the duo’s earlier work at Courrèges.  Plenty of what they called 3D fabrics, like knitted stretch. And one stunning all turquoise ensemble – made of strap legging pants, zippered windcheater jacket and matching chador. Talk about a fantastic Olympic Games opening look. Not a band way to celebrate Cathy Freeman, the Aboriginal, Baha’i believer who always raced with her head covered, during so when she won the 400 meters’ gold 20 years ago this month in Sydney
 
The duo also sent out some great, clean accessories, notably super cool platform sandals, as this brand expands its range. All told, a great day of work from Coperni and for this cast, whose finale in the light rain to the soaring synthesizers of Dedekind Cut’s De-Civilization, had a heroic air.