In March 2025, Coperni once again left fashion week buzzing, this time by turning its FW25 runway into a full-blown LAN party at the adidas Arena in Paris. Instead of just influencers and buyers occupying the front row, the brand made headlines by seating real gamers and streamers, each engrossed in live Fortnite and Rocket League matches on illuminated PC towers as the latest collection hit the catwalk.
How the Show Worked: Runway, Rebooted
Coperni’s founders, Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant, transformed the arena into a throwback to the 1990s golden age of Local Area Network gaming. Rows of PCs, LED lights, and gaming chairs replaced traditional rows of seats—immersing guests in a world that blended the raw energy of a competitive esports event with the spectacle of a Paris runway. From seasoned Fortnite pros to digital creators, the lineup included amateur and professional players from the French team Gentle Mates, flanked by influencers, pop stars, and celebrities such as Léna Situations, Bilal Hassani, Ice Spice, and PinkPantheress—all experiencing the show as much with their controllers as with their eyes.
Models zigzagged between focused streamers, their rapid heels clacking amid the steady click of keyboards—a striking collision of digital and physical, present and virtual.
Collection Details: From Tamagotchi Bags to Tomb Raider
Coperni’s FW25 pieces nodded to gaming nostalgia and pop-tech references. The collection included puffed dresses inspired by sleeping bags (for gamers who stayed overnight at LAN parties), and storage bags on sequined dresses drawing on Lara Croft’s iconic holsters from Tomb Raider. The Tamagotchi Bag—a playful swipe at gaming’s digital pet craze —made its much-teased debut on the runway as both a status accessory and a winking in-joke.
Power tailoring, red and glossy puffed evening wear, tribal-printed denim, biker jackets, and slouchy gamer-inspired winter coats walked alongside layered zip-up furs—each reflecting the diversity and functionality of IRL gamer wardrobes. The show also showcased the brand’s Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses with built-in AI, perfectly underscoring Coperni’s ongoing exploration at the intersection of high style and high tech. The Coperni woman is multifaceted, seamlessly switching identities… she hacks the traditional silhouette, classic gaming heroines, and millennial hacker aesthetics through dragon tattoos, cargo tights, and checkered outerwear.
Inspiration: LAN Parties and “Internet Nostalgia”
This was a tribute to gaming as a whole and a celebration of this subculture from the ‘90s. Coperni’s team set out to revive the original spirit of LAN parties—when digital spaces could feel deeply human, spontaneous, and joyful, long before hyperconnected isolation took over. Guests arrived to popcorn and hot-dogs, echoing the social junk-food feasts of all-night gaming sessions. Distressed denim, dragon tattoos, and even Resident Evil-inspired leather boots conjured memories of messy bedrooms, flickering screens, and hours spent on World of Warcraft, Counter-Strike, or Fortnite.
Reactions and Takeaways
The event instantly became the talk of Paris Fashion Week. As one reviewer put it, Rarely in recent years has there been a ‘biggest moments at fashion week’ roundup that doesn’t include Coperni.Fashion’s embrace of gaming has often been male-centric, but Coperni’s collection proves that Coperni knows how to make online clicks from an IRL runway show. With its strong focus on women and non-binary gamers and digital creators, the show signaled welcome shifts in inclusion.
Not every critic was convinced the mashup delivered pure integration. There was no genuine integration between the two activities. Ultimately, it felt like two distinct spectacles were juxtaposed, creating a uniquely chaotic experience. Still, no one doubted the audacity.
Final Word from Coperni
“Each season, we do a special swipe”, explained Arnaud Vaillant when asked about the Tamagotchi bag. Inspired by gaming, we thought it would be cool to recreate the Tamagotchi, which was something we loved when we were younger. Sometimes the special Swipe we do is very rare and expensive. And sometimes it’s something that’s very popular and cheaper. I love to play with both.
