MAGIC KINGDOM: Coperni, the French fashion brand known for staging viral moments like Bella Hadid’s spray-on dress, is preparing to make headlines again with its choice of venue for the next edition of Paris Fashion Week.
In a historic first, co-founders Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant plan to hold their show on Oct. 1 at Disneyland Paris, WWD has learned.
Known for their love of technology and experimental approach to show formats, the pair embraced the opportunity for an event with broad crossover appeal.
“It’s a childhood dream come true,” said Vaillant. “We grew up in the south of France and when you’re little, your first visit to Paris is not to see the Eiffel Tower, it’s to go to Disneyland.”
They’ve been shuttling back-and-forth between their studio and the theme park to finetune what they promise will be a “full experience,” with the invitation-only show set to take place at around 10 p.m. in the park’s Fantasyland area.
“It’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. They’ve never done it before, so this is quite a gamble for them,” Vaillant said of the event, which marks the first time Disneyland Paris has hosted a show during Paris Fashion Week.
Disneyland Paris is Europe’s most-visited theme park resort with a record 9.93 million visitors in 2022, according to the most recent annual report from the Themed Entertainment Association and infrastructure consulting firm AECOM. Disneyland Paris said it has welcomed 375 million visitors since its opening in 1992.
The resort is undergoing a major overhaul as part of a two-billion-euro investment that saw the opening of its Marvel Avengers Campus two years ago. Up next is the makeover of Walt Disney Studios Park, the second park at Disneyland Paris, which will be renamed Disney Adventure World with the opening of a new World of Frozen.
Arnaud Vaillant and Sébastien Meyer.
Courtesy of Coperni
The entertainment giant has partnered on clothing lines with brands including Balmain and Givenchy, and last year enlisted artists and designers including Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry and Kenzo’s Nigo to contribute pieces to the Create 100 project marking its centenary.
The Coperni show will be inspired by Disney’s cast of princesses. “Of course, we’ll be giving it the Coperni touch so we’ll be approaching it in a cool, contemporary, innovative and tech-savvy way, but we always like to evolve the style of the Coperni woman,” said Vaillant.
“As you can imagine, we’ll be leaning into the more glamorous side of the brand,” he teased.
While details of the show are being kept under wraps, the duo plan to host a cocktail at the royalty-themed Disneyland Hotel, which reopened in January after a two-year renovation. “The backstage area will be at Cinderella’s Inn – it’s so funny,” said Vaillant.
The after-party will be held at Discoveryland, home of the Space Mountain ride.
Coperni is known for bringing an unexpected dimension to its runway displays. It staged a drive-in fashion show during the coronavirus pandemic and once unveiled a collection on top of the Tour Montparnasse skyscraper, the tallest building in Paris.
Meyer said the label shares with Disney a “passion for entertainment.”
The designer is fascinated by founder Walt Disney, who died in 1966, noting that he dubbed members of his research and development team Imagineers, because their jobs involve the imaginative application of engineering.
“He was a great innovator and he was one of the first to revolutionize animation and film, but also theme parks, with new technologies,” Meyer noted. “I rank Walt Disney alongside the likes of Steve Jobs. They were visionaries.”
The duo hope the show will resonate with a wide audience. “Fashion can be a little snobbish,” said Vaillant. “We always like to bring it to a bigger stage.”
Backstage at Coperni RTW Fall 2021.
Kuba Dabrowski/WWD