What do Copernicus and fashion have in common? Very little on the surface, but not in the eyes of Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant, the couple behind the up-and-coming French label Coperni Femme and recipients of this year s ANDAM First Collection Prize. The Prussian astronomer was a soft revolutionary: Turning the tables, he defined the solar system as we know it today with his notion of heliocentrism. Similarly, Meyer and Vaillant aim at creating a soft wardrobe revolution, marrying clean shapes with intense handwork and innovative fabrications. There is something exquisitely Parisian, in the modernist/futurist sense of the term, about Coperni: Fast lines come across as a fine balance of dryness and bourgeois chic; they demand a lean body, a strong personality, and no makeup. The collection, so far sold exclusively at Opening Ceremony, is small and focused. Spring 15 included such staples as the minidress, the A-line skirt, skinny trousers, blousons, shirts, and tops. Surface decoration was limited to rhythmic inlays, repetitive slashes, and graphic signs. That s it. Futurism is clearly high on Meyer and Vaillant s agenda, and so is salability: They are designer and financial director, respectively. Their work has character. A pale blue shirt with extra-long sleeves knotted and twisted around the wrists showed it also has the capacity to be a bit more daring.
