“Kommersant FM” observer Alexander Levi talks about the features of aerogel, from which the accessory of the Coperni brand is made.
A wonderful illustration of the phrase “money from air” appeared on the Wikipedia page. It’s the Air Swipe bag from the French brand Coperni, made entirely of aerogel. Therefore, 99% of its volume is air, and only 1% is glass.
The new product is a continuation of the well-known Swipe bag series. The dimensions correspond to the Mini subfamily. And thanks to the nanomaterial, the weight is only 33g. For comparison, an empty half-liter plastic bottle with cap and label weighs about 20g. Any modern smartphone is at least five times heavier than the Air Swipe.
Externally, the bag resembles a fixed wisp of smoke or a cloud. It looks very airy, making the item seem incredibly fragile. This is where the wow effect of the substance lies. Aerogel is the lightest of the known solid materials on the planet, which is why it is actively used in science, particularly in space exploration. It can withstand pressure exceeding its own weight by 4000 times. Based on these proportions, for the Air Swipe, this limit is reached around 130kg.
To create the novelty, Coperni enlisted the collaboration of Ioannis Michaloudis, a Greek scientist, artist, researcher, and a leader in the field of Art&Science. The French fashion brand found the specialist particularly interesting as a pioneer in the application of aerogel in visual arts. During the joint development, the team created at least 15 prototypes.
The cost of Air Swipe has not been announced yet, nor has the potential circulation. However, a lightweight price is not expected, at least because the bag became the largest object on Earth made of aerogel.
However, there are clear prospects with another extraterrestrial model, the Mini Meteorite Swipe, which is produced from a piece of meteorite. Each bag is custom-made for the buyer. The dimensions may vary slightly, with an average weight of 1.8kg. The luxurious and heavy bag will cost €40,000.
Coperni has often applied the aesthetics of technology to its shows. Many have heard about the latex dress that was literally sprayed onto model Bella Hadid with paint guns in real time. At last year’s Paris Fashion Week, they featured the Boston Dynamics robot dogs. In the future, I expect intersections of the fashion world with mixed realities and artificial intelligence.