Alexander Levy – about the Air Swipe bag

Kommersant FM columnist Alexander Levi talks about the features of the airgel from which the Coperni brand accessory is made.

The phrase “money out of thin air” has a wonderful illustration on its Wikipedia page. This is an Air Swipe handbag from the French brand Coperni, made entirely of airgel. Therefore, 99% of its volume is air, and only 1% is glass.

The new product is a continuation of the already well-known Swipe handbag series. Dimensions correspond to the Mini subfamily. But thanks to the nanomaterial, the weight is only 33 g. For comparison, an empty half-liter plastic bottle with a cap and label weighs about 20 g. Any modern smartphone is at least five times heavier than Air Swipe.

Externally, the handbag looks like a fixed smoke or cloud. It looks very airy, which makes the thing seem incredibly fragile. This is where the wow effect that the substance has lies. Airgel is the lightest known solid material on the planet, which is why it is actively used in science, in particular in astronautics. It can withstand pressure 4000 times its own weight. Based on these proportions, for Air Swipe this limit is around 130 kg.

To create a new product, Coperni invited Ioannis Michaloudis, a Greek scientist, artist, researcher, and one of the leaders in the field of Art&Science, to collaborate. The French fashion brand was especially interested in the specialist as a pioneer in the use of airgel in fine art. During joint development, the team created at least 15 prototypes.

The cost of Air Swipe has not yet been announced, as well as the possible circulation. But you shouldn’t expect a lightweight price, if only because the handbag has become the largest object on Earth created from airgel.

But there are quite clear prospects with another extraterrestrial model, Mini Meteorite Swipe, which is made from a piece of meteorite. The handbag is made individually for each customer. Dimensions may vary slightly, average weight is 1.8 kg. The luxury, heavy in every sense, will cost €40 thousand.

Coperni has repeatedly applied the aesthetics of technology to its shows. I’m sure many have heard about the latex dress that was literally sprayed on the body of model Bella Hadid in real time. At last year’s Paris Fashion Week, Boston Dynamics robot dogs were brought into the show. In the next one, I look forward to the intersection of the fashion world with mixed realities and artificial intelligence.