PARIS — Evian’s new fashion collaboration is ready for its closeup.
The French mineral water brand has partnered with Paris-based label Coperni on a limited-edition glass bottle featuring a constellation design that can only be viewed by glimpsing through a peephole. It marks the first time that Evian is launching a bottle that obscures its hero product: the water.
Coperni founders Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant said they were aiming for an innovative experience, in keeping with the brand’s positioning at the intersection of fashion and technology.
“I thought it would be interesting to do something that was not decorative but more interactive,” Meyer said of the bottle, which launched on Monday on Evian’s website and at upscale grocery store La Grande Epicerie in Paris.
Coperni’s limited-edition water bottle for Evian.
With viral runway shows that featured Bella Hadid in a spray-on dress and Boston Dynamics’ robot dogs, Coperni is regularly approached for collaborations, he said.
“I loved the idea of pushing the brand into new territory and doing something different than clothes. Tech innovation is part of Coperni’s DNA, so I think we have the legitimacy to explore other fields,” Meyer added.
Evian began collaborating with fashion designers and luxury brands 16 years ago, creating collectible bottle designs by the likes of Christian Lacroix, Jean Paul Gaultier, Virgil Abloh, Paul Smith, Diane von Furstenberg, Issey Miyake, Courrèges, Kenzo and Balmain.
For Vaillant, joining that pantheon was “a childhood dream” and allows the brand to speak to a larger audience, at a time when it is broadening its reach with a series of pop-up stores in locations including New York City, Seoul and Shanghai.
“In terms of positioning, for us, it’s an extraordinary opportunity because we will touch many people in restaurants and at home, and it’s also the most affordable product we’ve ever done,” he remarked.
Dawid Borowiec, global director at Evian, said the brand tries to engage consumers through the cultural moments they enjoy, with a special focus on sports, in particular tennis, and fashion. While Coperni is smaller than some of the other brands it has worked with, its progressive approach appealed to the water brand owned by French multinational Danone.
“We believe it’s an amazing house which has a bright future ahead,” he said. “After running limited editions with fashion brands for 15 years, we believed we need something new and I think it worked, because the edition we are running this year carries a lot more than just the design, there is a deeper idea in it.”
Usually, the motif is printed on the glass, but this time, the bottle was wrapped in foil dotted with small stars that sparkle when it’s lit from the bottom. “We have also chosen that because we’ll be promoting a lot a special display of those bottles within fine dining restaurants where we are present,” Borowiec said.
The bottle will be available in U.S. hospitality locations including Tao, Soho House and Groot Hospitality venues.
A glimpse through a small circular opening, which Vaillant compared to the porthole of a spaceship, reveals an astronomy-inspired design incorporating key codes of both brands.
Behind the scenes during the shoot of the Coperni campaign for Evian.
The pioneering astronomer Copernicus is shown snapping a smartphone photo of the Marquis de Lessert, the French nobleman who discovered the Evian water source in 1789. A baby, wearing Coperni’s signature horn hoodie, alludes to Evian’s iconic “Live Young” campaign. Further images can be discovered by scanning a QR code.
The launch will be supported online by two short films, directed by Camille Summers-Valli, celebrating human connection. They were shot at the Georges restaurant at the Pompidou Center in Paris, whose future is up in the air as the museum prepares to close in 2025 for a five-year renovation.
“It was nice to immortalize the space,” said Meyer. The duo will celebrate the project with a private dinner at their studio in Paris curated by French food collective We Are Ona.
Vaillant said he was “very proud” of Coperni’s ability to balance solid fashion credentials with shows that have caught the public imagination.
“I’m very grateful to Evian for having chosen a brand like Coperni,” Vaillant said. “It’s cool that they went for a young brand and that they gave us so much leeway.”