Are Coperni's viral fashion shows enough?

After the dress created using spray fabric directly applied to Bella Hadid’s body, the SS25 show at Disneyland Paris closed by Kylie Jenner, and the most recent one, the FW25 show, presented in the middle of a LAN Party, Coperni seems to have captured the heart and attention of fashion enthusiasts through these viral shows. And for good reason, each of these events generates not only live reactions but especially millions of dollars in media impact, making them true successful commercial and marketing moves. But can this rapid and overwhelming success last in the long run? While the French brand has also made an impression with some of its innovative pieces like the bag made up of 99% air, it is clear today that its reputation largely relies on its shows and their theatricality, rather than on fashion itself. But are a few viral shows that go viral in one click enough to ensure a brand’s tangible, lasting, and assured success?

Although the brand, founded in 2013 by the couple Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant, has more than a decade of experience behind it, since the famous finale with Bella Hadid and her live-created dress in 2022, it has become a real viral phenomenon worthy of being studied in marketing schools. According to Launchmetrics, just this moment alone generated a media impact value (MIV) of 26.3 million dollars in just 48 hours, leading to a surge of interest from more than 300,000 new Coperni followers in a day and a significant increase in sales. Since then, each new show is not only highly anticipated but also comes with very high expectations. Two years later, with its SS25 show, the brand had accumulated no less than 16.8 million dollars in MIV and surpassed more than 91% of brands on the Paris Fashion Week calendar thanks to Kylie Jenner’s appearance, which covered 58% of media mentions. In February, boosted by this success, Coperni left the enchanting Disneyland setting and transformed the Adidas Arena in Paris into a live LAN party to showcase its FW25 collection. However, this time, it seems that sales did not follow.

As Mark Liu, fashion editor at Jing Daily and a guest at Coperni's latest show, says: “A fashion show without fashion is just a spectacle”. It seems that the attention of the guests during the latest collection presentation was divided, and this was disproportionate between the set and the show itself. Between discussions about the LAN Party, the gamers present, or the collaboration between Coperni and Tamagotchi announced just before the show, the collection itself was placed in the background, both conversationally and qualitatively. This was also the case during the Disney show last September, which, although presented in the most magical setting in France, perhaps even in the world, sometimes came off as somewhat cheap and unimpressive. We all remember the scandal surrounding a t-shirt in one of the looks, which had been purchased on Vinted a few days earlier for a mere pittance. It seems, then, that the French brand has lost track of its priorities. While virality is, in an age where social media reigns supreme, essential for brands and their sales, it should not, and must not, take the place of the core of a fashion show: the clothes.

And indeed, despite the increasingly viral, clicked, and shared moments from Coperni’s shows, sales and the popularity of their pieces don’t lie. Although it is difficult to assess the brand's financial situation due to limited public data, it is notable that, after its entry into the Lyst Index of most performing brands in 2022 thanks to Bella Hadid’s famous spray dress, it has not appeared there since. Even its best-selling pieces like the Swipe bag are no longer enough. Experts believe that, from a revenue perspective, these viral moments are clearly not enough to support long-term growth. “The shows are for insiders, the press, and media buyers, but their commercial impact is limited. There is a significant proportion of repeat pieces, and no revolutionary evolution in the collections,” explains Laura Darmon, head of buying and business development at ENG Concept Store, to Jing Daily. “The brand should allocate part of its budget for shows or collaborations to activations in specific markets, to get closer to retailers, but more importantly, to a broader audience, including their current customers.” she adds. While it is still unclear where, what, or how the next Coperni show will be, one thing is certain: what the brand needs now is not a superstar, nor a super location, but a super collection that will stand on its own, even if presented within the dullest white walls of the world.