At Coperni FW25, Fortnite-Playing Gamers Steal the Show
At Coperni’s Fall/Winter 2025 show, the usual array of movers and shakers were perched upon seats in the front row.
These social media personalities, members of the press, and pop stars (hey there, PinkPantheress) regularly rub shoulders on the most-desired seats at fashion shows. Except, this time, they weren’t directly next to each other: There was a line-up of 200 gamers, sat on ergonomic gaming chairs, busily clicking away at their consoles, dispersed between attendees of Coperni’s FW25 presentation.
The fashion set had entered the battleground of the gamers.
Coperni was unveiling its new-season creations at the adidas arena in Paris, host to many esports competitions, and had set up the runway to mirror the look of LAN gaming parties of the ‘90s.
And this comes just days after the brand unveiled its Tamogochi bags, which were also featured on the runway.
Coperni, a brand that regularly explores how technology and fashion can interact, currently has a clear fascination with the gaming culture of bygone years.
In the FW25 clothing, not all of the gaming references were as clear cut as a Tamgochi infused into the outside of a handbag. Dresses made from puffy technical fabrics were a reference to sleeping bags, honoring those devoted enough to sleep at LAN parties, and small storage bags added to everything from tights to sequined dresses were inspired by Lara Croft, protagonist of the video game franchise Tomb Raider, and her signature holsters.
There were also references to many films centred around gaming or hacking from this time: The dragon tattoo from the film and book Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was a prevalent motif and the high slit in Alice’s dress from Resident Evil (2002) reimagined in the opening look.
As the intersection between gaming and fashion continues to develop, Coperni’s entering the chat with a womenswear collection (something that shouldn’t be overlooked, given the traditional male-heavy skew of gaming culture). But beyond the clothes, this collection proves that Coperni knows how to make online clicks from an IRL runway show. Rarely in recent years has there been a “biggest moments at fashion week” roundup that doesn’t include Coperni.
Last season, the brand delivered a fairytale finale to Paris Fashion Week by presenting at Disneyland Paris. And in the years before, it’s been silky spray-on dresses, robot dogs, or bags made of glass that have delivered standout moments during a fashion month.
With Fall/Winter 2025, Coperni has done it again: Hours after the show was completed, videos of the gamer-fied set exploded over social media.
At a time when the future of the fashion show is increasingly uncertain, Coperni is delivering runway spectacle after runway spectacle.
