Supermodel Bella Hadid walked the runway in a dress made entirely out of an airbrush! The thought of it alone is mind-blowing, but watching it happen is a whole other experience.
During the Coperni SS23 Paris Fashion Week show, Hadid took center stage in nothing but a thong to close out the fashion event. The model was surrounded by designers dressed in all black and wielding airbrushes with the intention to create a dress on the model right there on the runway.
The beautiful, science-infused display has had many fans and lovers of fashion questioning the process and how the simple yet elegant attire came to be. The moment has also been described as an homage to the legendary designer Alexander McQueen, who also created a fashion moment years ago slightly similar to this.
Read on to learn more.
Bella Hadid Wore A Dress Sprayed Into Existence
For the grand finale of Coperni’s SS23 Paris Fashion Week event, Hadid took to the stage with nothing on but a thong. The model had her hands gently covering her chest as she elegantly walked to the center of the stage/runway to have the dress sprayed directly upon her entire body.
According to Women’s Wear Daily, Hadid was joined on the stage by the inventor of the spray-on fabric himself, Dr. Manuel Torres, along with designers Arnaud Vaillant and Sébastien Meyer, who then proceeded to create the dress on the model’s body right there on the stage.
At the start of the procedure, it looked like regular paint was sprayed onto the model’s body. As the process continued, the paint transformed into a unique fabric, and the dress began to materialize slowly in the most beautiful way possible. One of the most stunning moments was when the liquid created web-like formations between her legs as the lower part of the dress came to be.
Bella Hadid Walked The Runway In The Spray-On Dress
After the scientist and designers were done spraying the dress on Hadid, a lady from the team of designers stepped forward to further style the dress by slipping down the shoulders to create a gorgeous off-shoulder look. The woman then picked up a pair of scissors to further style the dress by cutting a thigh-high slit, further enhancing what was initially just a simple white dress sprayed into existence.
The entire process of spraying and then styling the dress, coupled with Hadid’s patience, elegance, and poise, was nothing short of breathtaking.
bella hadid starring in one of the biggest fashion moments at the coperni show, wearing a spray painted dress!!!!! the whole process is sickening to watch ☆ pic.twitter.com/dsdvcf1Btz
— DUDA (@saintdemie) September 30, 2022
With the entire dress formed and styled on her body, Hadid proceeded to strut the runway in it, proving that the fabric was also quite durable. The model gave the stunned guests, which included stars like Kylie Jenner, a full view of the dress in the most mesmerizing way possible.
As reported by Elle magazine, the guests were already given hints that there would be something big to expect at the Coperni Spring Summer show for Paris Fashion Week. With such a grand finale, it’s pretty clear that their expectation was greatly exceeded.
The Science Behind Bella Hadid’s Spray-On Dress
According to WWD, the spray-on fabric is the brainchild of designer and scientist Dr. Manuel Torres, who studied fashion design at the London Royal College of Art. Dr. Torres developed the technology which dries immediately after getting in contact with any surface. This process leads to its hardening and eventually forming a non-woven fabric layer.
Coperni shared in a statement (via WWD) that “It can be used to make innovative clothes that can be washed, re-worn and even integrated with diagnostic devices that can monitor the health of the wearer. The technology consists of short fibers bound together with polymers and bio polymers, and greener solvents that deliver the fabric in liquid form, then evaporate when the spray reaches a surface.”
They also stated that the fabric’s texture can be altered “according to the fibers (synthetic and natural, such as cotton, linen, polyester or nylon as well as recycled) and binder used, and how the spray is applied.”
Fans Compared It To Alexander McQueen’s 1999 Spring Summer Show
After Hadid’s Coperni show-stopping performance went viral, fans quickly compared it with another slightly similar moment in fashion history: Alexander McQueen’s SS99 show.
McQueen created an iconic moment in fashion by placing supermodel Shalom Harlow on a spinning turntable right in-between two industrial robot arms wielding spray paint. The model, fully clad in a white dress, put on a little show as she acted terrified at the sight of the robot arms pointing menacingly at her and spraying her white dress with black and neon-green paint. Like Hadid, Harlow also closed out the McQueen show with her stunning and iconic performance.
While both moments may look similar at first glance, they’re entirely different. McQueen’s show involved a white dress worn by Harlow getting spray-painted by two robot arms. Coperni, on the other hand, sprayed a white dress onto Hadid’s body using nothing but an airbrush with a special liquid that hardens and creates fabric at contact.