Robots took over Coperni’s fall 2023 show during ParisFashionWeek. See every moment from the runway:
Halfway through this show, just like the rest of the audience, I found myself transfixed by the yoga posings of five Boston Dynamics robo-dogs—all named Spot—that were the same vibrant yellow as a 1980s Sony Walkman Sports. At first unsettling and then distracting yet entrancing, their cameo at tonight’s Coperni show was the latest tech-lead coup de théâtre from Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant.
Backstage beforehand, the designers reflected on last season’s viral Bella Hadid spray-on dress, a gesture that was both totally in line with their deeper tech-friendly philosophy yet was also a stunt that spread Coperni brand awareness beyond their wildest dreams. “Last season was magical, a once in a lifetime experience, and now we are going to take it chill,” said Vaillant.
Glossing over the fact that De la Fontaine’s original is actually a pretty brutal demonstration of the relationship between force and self-justification—spoiler: the lamb gets it—this was a nice literary device for tonight’s performance. The collection featured a loose underlying riff on Red Riding Hood.
Next came Rianne Van Rompaey, swathed in a blanket, to perform the key interaction with the one Spot who carried a robo-arm on top of its body. She and Spot engaged in a sort of snake-charm eye lock before the arm removed the blanket and returned it to her.