On the final night of Paris Fashion Week, everyone went to Disneyland.
In a scenario that bordered on hallucinatory, Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant of the French brand Coperni lured 520 people to Disneyland Paris for their spring 2025 runway show. At nearly 11 p.m. on Tuesday night, Sleeping Beauty Castle, in the heart of the park’s Fantasyland, went up in a fantasia of lights as the backdrop for a procession of Disney-inspired looks that cycled through homages to youthful parkgoers, villains and transformative princesses. Kylie Jenner, the pop princess of cosmetic and cultural metamorphosis, closed the show in a black crinoline ball gown.
At various points, flames shot into the air. There was thunder, lightning and fireworks. At the stroke of midnight, things were just getting started. The fashion crowd had the entire park to themselves until 3 a.m. for the after-party. Three of the marquee rides were open, including Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain.
Even by the most extravagant of fashion show standards, this production stretched the limits.
Getting several hundred people to a site 40 minutes outside Paris as the denouement of the traditional four-week, four-city, international fashion show circuit was a feat of magic in itself. Many editors, buyers and members of the showgoing population opted out, feeling that they had turned into pumpkins after the Louis Vuitton show, which typically closes Paris Fashion Week.
Those who soldiered on to Coperni submitted to the Disney spirit. A mood somewhere between childlike enchantment and slap-happiness prevailed. Linda Fargo, Bergdorf Goodman’s senior vice president for fashion and store presentation, donned sequined Minnie Mouse ears she had picked up at the hotel gift shop. Eva Chen, Susie Lau and Tina Leung also hit the Minnie Mouse merch. A YouTuber who goes by the name Understitch had spent the entire day at the park and was dressed as Sebastian from “The Little Mermaid.” Several showgoers mistook him for a Disney staffer.
Indeed, the site, with its photo ops galore, was an influencer’s delight. Alix Earle, Dixie D’Amelio, Paris Jackson, Ari Fournier and her boyfriend, the former Disney child star Cole Sprouse, were in attendance. James Franco and Gaspar Noé also came out.
Mr. Meyer and Mr. Vaillant are known as savvy architects of viral moments with their shows. Two years ago, a nearly naked Bella Hadid was hosed down with spray-on fabric to create a dress that closed the spring 2023 show. Coperni’s signature bag, the aptly named Swipe, was created for the internet. Last season’s version, the Air Swipe, was 99 percent air, made with an aerogel used by NASA. This season, Coperni introduced the Ariel Swipe, a 3D-printed style produced by Rapid Liquid Print, a gravity-free manufacturing company that emerged from M.I.T.
Mr. Meyer and Mr. Vaillant are not “Disney adults.” But they professed to have a soft spot for Disneyland Paris. For many children growing up in the French provinces, visiting the park is a rite of passage that comes with a family’s first big trip to Paris.
More than anything, Mr. Meyer and Mr. Vaillant are open to collaboration and sponsorship. “We love to partner with people because our brand is actually pretty small,” Mr. Vaillant said after the show, noting that Disney made the initial overture. Disney has sought fashion collaborations for years. Gucci, Balmain, Marc Jacobs, Kenzo, Supreme, Vans, Adidas, Asos and many more have linked up with the entertainment giant over the years.
But staging a fashion show at one of its parks was a first for Disney. “It took so many months of work, thoughts, convincing and everything, and it happened,” Mr. Vaillant said. “It was exactly what we dreamed about.”
Amid the spectacle, the clothes were all but forgotten. Industry people have sometimes criticized Coperni for being more gimmick than design gusto, but here were contemporary street clothes: Windbreakers and a fringed leather jacket shown over a Disney T-shirt and jeans. Sexy, black-clad villains in body-con dresses with necklines that alluded to spades and Maleficent’s horns. A trim, tailored jacket paired with one-legged pants, an improbable trend this season.
Then the princesses: Ball gowns were given a modern twist as crinoline bell-bottoms. Considering all the Disney clichés, the lineup avoided cheesiness.
It was a fairy tale with a happy ending. The designers chose Ms. Jenner for the show’s finale because “she’s such an inspiration,” Mr. Vaillant said, adding: “She’s so free. She can do whatever she wants.”
She is also worth her weight in media gold. A carousel of Coperni photos that Ms. Jenner posted to Instagram after the show garnered 4.7 million likes.
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