Coperni ready to wear Spring/Summer 2024 Paris Fashion Week show features Humane Ai Pin
Paris / France
〰️
Paris / France 〰️
Image: Humane x Coperni
TL;DR: French fashion brand Coperni partnered with consumer tech company Humane for their Spring Summer ‘24 Paris Fashion Week show.
So what? If you’re a fashion x tech girlie, you probably just lost your mind.
Under the glow of a super-moon, Parisian ready-to-wear and accessories brand Coperni showcased its Spring/Summer ‘24 collection at Paris Fashion Week. The brand collaborated with consumer tech company Humane for the runway show, after both brands teased at the partnership on social media earlier this week.
Humane displayed both the form and function of the Ai Pin at the Coperni show, giving attendees a glimpse into the versatility of how the device can be worn, with supermodel Naomi Campbell the first person outside of the company to wear the device in public.
The show comes as Humane continues to build momentum ahead of the launch of their first product, the Humane AI Pin on November 9.
Why did Humane partner with Coperni?
Humane are just weeks away from launching their first product, the AI Pin. Previewed at TED earlier this year, the AI Pin heralds a “screenless, seamless and sensing” era of technology according to Humane’s co-founders Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno who met at Apple while designing the iPad.
Although they are yet to launch their first product, Humane have already built a name for themselves as brand that imbues their product launches with meaning. The Humane AI Pin was originally set to launch on October 14—the day of a solar eclipse visible in the US, Mexico and parts of South and Central America—potentially self referencing an innovation set to eclipse all the tech that’s come before it. Following the Coperni show in Paris, Humane have revised the the full unveiling of the Ai Pin to November 9.
Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, Human’s founders commented: "We have been admirers of Arnaud and Sébastien at Coperni for some time and our shared passion for the union of design, creativity and technology is at the heart of this collaboration. Our relationship with technology is changing profoundly, becoming even more personal as our devices morph into extensions of our bodies, minds and hearts. We’re excited to show the full capabilities of the device which we believe will usher in a new paradigm of ambient, AI-driven computing on November 9."
But what does Humane’s interest in astronomy have to do with a brand like Coperni?
The Coperni and Humane connection
Coperni is designed by Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant who share experience working in the studios of Balenciaga and Chanel. Of the partnership with Humane, Meyer and Vaillant commented: “We like to think of Coperni as a platform to showcase any form of technology. We are proud to invite Humane and celebrate together our passion for innovation. To us, the Ai Pin is a beacon of the future, aligning with our vision of forward-thinking fashion.
But the connection could go deepper still.
Coperni’s name comes from Renaissance polymath and polyglot, Nicolaus Copernicus. Born in the 15th century Copernicus was, among other skills, an astronomer who developed a model which put the Sun, rather than the Earth at the centre of the universe.
Copernicus published "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) just before his demise in 1543. His work ignited the Copernican Revolution and set the stage for a transformative era in the Scientific Revolution—as a result Copernicus is widely acknowledged as once of the most influential figures in the history of astronomy and science.
Given Humane’s penchant for the poetic and astronomically timed launch dates, which we have no doubt relate to co-founder Bethany Bongiorno’s time working as a astro-physics researcher, the relationship with Coperni is as seamless and sensing as Humane’s new AI Pin is set to be.
While not a fashion girlie himself, Nicolaus Copernicus sure knew how to draw a model of the universe. Image: Wikipedia
Coperni’s spray on dress and runway robots
The collaboration with Humane isn’t the first time Coperni have integrated technology into their runways. The brand lowkey broke the internet a year ago at Paris Fashion Week in 2022, in a viral fashion moment featuring Bella Hadid and a spray-on dress.
For the final look of Coperni’s Spring/Summer 2023 show, the designers sprayed Fabrican, a unique material innovation which instantly transforms from liquid to fabric, on to Bella Hadid’s body to create a seamless, white, one-of-a-kind dress live on the runway.
Earlier this year Coperni opened their Fall/Winter 2023 runway with Boston Dynamics’ “Spot” robots centre stage, with the canine like robots interacting with models throughout the show.
Where was the Coperni ready to wear Spring/Summer 2024 show?
Tucked away in the heart of Paris, near the iconic Centre Pompidou, stands IRCAM—the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique.
This globally recognised research center is a testament to the convergence of science, art, and technology. Founded by the celebrated composer Pierre Boulez in 1977, IRCAM has been at the forefront of musical research and avant-garde experimentation.
It's not just a space where compositions are crafted; it's a hothouse for cultivating novel approaches to sound, with an emphasis on acoustics, sound synthesis, and computer-aided composition. Artists, researchers, and scientists from all over the world converge at IRCAM to push the boundaries of contemporary music, ensuring that Paris remains at the cutting edge of sonic exploration.
With Humane’s emphasis on sound as a medium for engaging with Ai in new screenless, seamless and sensing ways through the Humane Ai Pin, IRCAM made for a fitting venue for the Coperni show to reveal more of the innovation that will soon be available to the public.
