This past Paris Fashion Week, Coperni presented their Spring- Summer 2023 collection as well as one of the memorable fashion runway moments, which hasn’t happened in a very long time.

       The show closed with model Bella Hadid walking onto the runway in wearing a flesh-colored undergarment above which a coat of spray-painted a liquid which instantly turned into fabric as soon as it came into contact with her body. This dress had no seam or hem which made it appear like a smooth jersey fabric from afar. When walking on the runway, the fabric appeared almost like water droplets. 

        Creative Director of Coperni, Sebestien Meyer, told CNN that the dress could be placed on a hanger  as well as returned to its original liquid form, and then sprayed on again.

       Since the early 2000s, this innovative material has been in development. The liquid is made up of natural ingredients and a polymer which are then mixed with liquid solvents. When the liquid hits the skin, it evaporates immediately becoming a fabric. 

       Many fashion watchers were reminded of the Alexander McQueen Spring 1999 show where model Shalom Harlow was spray-painted by two robots while on a rotating turntable wearing a voluminous muslin white dress. 

       Meyer insisted that it was not an homage to Alexander McQueen, but instead a reference to actress Fiona Johnson’s red dress in The Matrix. 

      The rest of the Spring 2023 show was filled with  holographic floral prints and fitted jackets with brassiere-like shoulder pads. 

       While the dress is not going to be sold, this innovative technology moment will go down in fashion history.