Get ready for some out-of-this-world fashion! Coperni, the luxury Parisian brand established in 2013, has always been known for its iconic, usually quite technological, pieces. The previously made aerogel Air Swipe Bag and Bella Hadid’s spray-on dress received lots of social media attention. Now, Coperni’s new rave is the Mini Meteorite Swipe Bag. Some view the luxury brand’s latest stunts as a stunning art form, while others consider the use of these materials to be impractical and a waste.
Details of The Mini Swipe Bag
The Meteorite Swipe bag is one of Coperni’s many products that has wowed people. Buyers with deep pockets can purchase it on their website for $45,000. Of course, due to the nature of the materials used, it is non-refundable.
Complete with the French brand’s logo, the pieces are handmade, so the look and shape of each bag will look a little different. This bag takes on the typical shape of their mini swipe bags, just with a different, more rocky texture. Additionally, it’s a very lightweight handbag, at only around a few pounds. Delivery of this bag takes up to six weeks, as they handcraft each one.
The Mini Meteorite Swipe Bag contrasts with Coperni’s previously done glass-blown mini swipe bag, which Professor Ioannis Michaloudis made with strong, clear glass. While the mini swipe made of meteorite conceals anything one can fit within it, the glass bag reveals anything and everything fits in there.
Quite The Choice of Materials
This grey stone bag is primarily made from a meteorite, but Coperni sources every meteorite from a different place on Earth with each order. It all just depends on where the meteorite falls on Earth’s surface. The space rock featured in the images shown is from a meteorite that fell to Earth’s surface 55,000 years ago. Specifically, the meteorite shown was discovered in 1968 in the South of France.
It is currently unclear exactly how Coperni obtained the meteorite, or where it was stored after its discovery in 1968.
These handbags are made of real, certified meteorites, crafted by hand in an Italian factory called Semar. Theatrum Mundi, a research centre based in London and Paris, has authenticated the meteorite for Coperni.
Coperni’s Previous Endeavors
This was not Coperni’s first rodeo with creative fashion motives, however. Never forget when at the grand finale of Coperni’s S/S ’23 show in Paris, Bella Hadid had a dress sprayed onto her. The model walked out partially nude, and stood still as a liquid fibre called ‘Fabrican’ formed her dress. Once the fibers reach a surface, they evaporate and bind together with different polymers and solvents. The end product was a white dress with a high slit.
Along with the meteorite bag, for the fall 2024 ready-to-wear collection, Coperni came out with an Air Swipe Bag, made out of a substance called ‘aerogel.’
Scientists describe Aerogel as “solid smoke” since it is not very dense. It’s made up of porous material that comes from a gel. The liquid part of the gel replaces the gas, allowing the gel structure to stay strong but a solid to emerge. NASA has actually used this material to catch comet dust due to its strong properties.
The Air Swipe Bag – the largest item made from aerogel – weighs only 33 grams. This NASA-grade aerogel is 99% air and 1% silica and is the lightest solid on Earth.
Art Form in a Bag…?
Many people across the Internet, from Instagram comments to online articles, have voiced how impressed they are with the use of these materials for the purpose of a handbag, as well as Coperni’s creativity and design choice. Coperni’s product description for the meteorite swipe bag specifically states that the handbag is “a unique object that subtly combines archeology, design, and classical and primitive art.”
Coperni has been able to use these new, quirky pieces to garner lots of attention from Gen Z and social media, which could, in turn, help them with business and sales.
While many agree that Coperni’s fashion choices are works of art, and very innovative and fun, others beg to differ.
…Or An Inconvenience?
In Instagram comments, people have argued that they would rather pay that kind of money for something like a Hermès Birkin or Kelly. Others have cracked jokes about Coperni’s meteorite mini swipe bag, saying that it looks like something that The Flintstones would own.
Specifically with the aerogel Air Swipe Bag, critics argue that Coperni is taking an everyday object, and making it unnecessarily expensive and impractical for use. Fast Company dubbed this purse “the Seinfeld of this year’s Paris Fashion Week: an accessory about nothing.”
Online critics believe that this could be a waste of materials and, thus, potentially harmful for the environment.
What’s the point of spending so much money on handbags that won’t function like an actual bag? We’ll leave that up to you to decide.
Fashion is an art form in itself, and brands and fashion houses will always strive to create something new and different. Recently, science and technology have played a great part in the fashion world, allowing designers and creatives to experiment greatly and test new waters. In the years to come, these things will most likely only continue to influence the future of the fashion industry. What are your thoughts on Coperni’s distinct pieces?
