For a label that owes its name to one of the greatest astronomers of all time, Coperni Femme's choice of the circle as a starting point felt entirely apropos. Whether or not you accept the through-line from Copernicus to womenswear, this latest collection from Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant made a strong case for expounding on one idea—incidentally, the purest of all forms—over and over again.
The designers' exploration and integration of circles ranged from the literal (disks of leather, suede, and papery metallic kangaroo patched together with topstitched crosses) to the figurative (large loops for armholes and undulations in place of peplums). Even the closures—brushed-metal eyelet snaps—stayed consistent to the theme. Meyer and Vaillant allowed their circles latitude, too: A detachable ruffled cuff in stiff poplin could be twisted around the wrist, extended up the sleeve, and affixed to the shoulder, or left to dangle like an architectural tail. An extra-long knit sleeve slit to the forearm could be tied nonchalantly around the wrist. In sum, there was no shortage of well-considered design.
The execution was equally strong, in part because the designers were assisted by Legeron (one of the artisan ateliers within the Paraffection group) for the leather cutting, and Massaro for the shoes, which featured a fine metal ring elegantly orbiting the arch. Such novelty detail would suggest higher pricing, and retailers may choose to buy in at this level or stick with the safer bets, notably the jackets—some close-cropped, others longer and sans lapels. In the meantime, as winners of ANDAM's First Collections Prize and among the short list for the LVMH Prize, Meyer and Vaillant have been rightfully acknowledged as renaissance designers. They apply reason instead of attempting to reinvent. And right now, that resonates.
