Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant
CO-FOUNDERS, COPERNI
WHAT’S ONE BOOK, WORK OF ART, ALBUM, OR FILM THAT GOT YOU THROUGH AN IMPORTANT MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE?
Arnaud Vaillant: My favorite movie of all time is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Michel Gondry. I don’t know why it follows me. It’s not a specific moment of my life—more a recurrence. I think there is a timeless poetry in it that I feel “accompanied” by, through different steps of my life.
Sébastien Meyer: Steve Jobs’s biography by Walter Isaacson. It really changed my perception of work and life in general.
WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT WERE YOU KNOWN FOR?
Vaillant: Seb was a magician, and I was a daredevil.
““We managed to shoot our Pre-Fall 2024 collection at the biggest particle physics research center in the world. I couldn’t believe it, and I was super proud of the result.”
WHAT’S SOMETHING PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT YOU?
Vaillant: Some people say we are an “Instagram” brand. We are actually pretty discreet people. We spend hours on a seam during fittings with our designers and pattern makers, and we do shows based on Sébastien’s ideas and passion for innovation. Of course we love Instagram—it’s a beautiful platform and we have built an amazing community there—but it’s not only about that. Building a brand these days requires both vision and rigor.
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SURPRISED YOURSELF IN YOUR WORK?
Vaillant: When we shot our Pre-Fall 2024 collection at CERN [European Organization for Nuclear Research] in Switzerland, which is the biggest [particle physics] research center in the world. I couldn’t believe it, and I was super proud of the result. Meyer: I have a lot of surprises for the next show in September.
WHO DO YOU CALL THE MOST?
Vaillant and Meyer: Our mothers. No doubt.
in your life?
