Between the schlepping from venue to venue and sitting in traffic for stretches of time you’ll never get back, every so often a fashion show comes along to blow your socks off and make it all worthwhile. Just that happened tonight at the SS23 Coperni show, where a naked Bella Hadid emerged onto the catwalk to close the show as part of a very special performance.
Standing in the middle of the show space on a glowing white square, the model was surrounded by technicians who began spray painting a white dress onto her body. Moving meticulously to cover every area, they covered her from clavicle to calf with what looked like white paint. As it soon transpired, however, this was far more than that, as when it dried it turned into real fabric that had also been seen across looks throughout the collection.
The technique was pioneered by Spanish company Fabrican, with the special polymer becoming a solid, jersey-like fabric when it hits the body. Opening up a wild new opportunity when it comes to your wardrobe, when you’re done with one look, you can then melt it down into a liquid and use it all over again.
The show stopping finale was reminiscent of another iconic fashion moment, in which Shalom Harlow was blasted with black, white, and yellow paint by robotic arms at Alexander McQueen’s SS99 show. But it wasn’t only Bella’s turn under the spray bottle that stood out at Coperni this season. The label’s distinctive egg-shaped It-bag was also given a solid gold makeover. The mega expensive style is unsurprisingly going to be made to order for particularly plush customers – expect to see show attendee Kylie Jenner clutching one in the crook of her arm very soon.