Storytelling transcends medium. For the creative duo behind the Coperni fashion brand, Creative Director & Co-Founder Sébastien Meyer and CEO and Co-Founder Arnaud Vaillant, they tell their stories through clothing.
In an interview with ABC's On The Red Carpet Storytellers Spotlight, the two shared that in their world, fashion is more than the fabric on our bodies. Fashion is fantasy, feeling, and the courage to build a new reality.
"I have a secret to tell," Meyer shared. "When I was child, I really wanted to be a magician. I think that's the origin of me wanting to create a new world and something very magical."
For their Spring/Summer 2025 show, Coperni brought that world to life at none other than Disneyland Paris, in front of the Belle's iconic castle from "Beauty and the Beast." Crafted in collaboration with Disney Consumer Products', the show unfolded like a movie in three acts: innocence, rebellion and transformation. Childhood wonder gave way to dark, poetic villainy and finally to modern royalty with bold silhouettes and sea-drenched textures.
"We love to invent a whole world," Vaillant said. "Obviously, the garments are the most important thing, and the models wearing the garment as well. But we love to think about them as heroes and characters of the whole world."
Sébastien added, "You can design the most beautiful product in the world. But if there is no storytelling behind it, it's like there is no soul."
That intention is at the heart of everything they do.
The Coperni Spring 2025 collection reimagines the classical Disney princess as someone claiming her own space. That evolution isn't lost on Tasia Filippatos, president of Disney Consumer Products, who helped bring the partnership to life.
"When we think about role models for today's young girls," Filippatos said. "That really leads, I believe, to a place of confidence. Take Cinderella, for example. You've got these beautiful, fun elements around being able to wear a tiara and have a glass slipper. But also, when you dig down deeper into Cinderella, you've got a character that overcame bullying. She was kind in the face of a lot of adversity."
Filippatos stresses how the individuality and creativity of fashion lends itself to the storytelling Coperni wants to evoke.
"It's about really trying to take your inner self and showing that to the world," she said. "So, what could be a better inspiration for fashion shows and fashion at large than Disney princesses?"
The show reflected that spirit, featuring looks that paid homage to characters like Ariel, Snow White, and Jasmine, but filtered through Coperni's sleek, rebellious lens. They layered vintage Disney T-shirts with modern designs. They paired "villain" silhouettes with sharp tailoring and unexpected proportions. It's storytelling that isn't afraid to center authenticity. At its core, the Coperni x Disney collection is about real people, real women, real emotion and real evolution.
"We are two guys at the service of women," Vaillant said. "We are surrounded by tons of women. And we are here to provide them the maximum we can. We always try to make them brave and cool and free."
Indeed, the true heart behind the brand is its ability to listen to women's perspectives.
"It's important to listen to them." Meyer said. "We are very aware."
It's design with intention - a fairytale rewritten, where the magic lies in the women who dare to create their own worlds.
Watch ABC's On The Red Carpet Storytellers Spotlight interview with Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant in the video player above.
Keerthi Suresh, Andres Rovira, Luke Richards and Jason Honeycutt contributed to this report.
Disney is the parent company of Hulu and this station.
*By clicking on the featured links, visitors will leave OnTheRedCarpet.com and be directed to third-party e-commerce sites that operate under different terms and privacy policies. Although we are sharing our personal opinions of these products with you, On The Red Carpet is not endorsing these products. It has not performed product safety testing on any of these products, did not manufacture them, and is not selling, or distributing them and is not making any representations about the safety or caliber of these products. Prices and availability are subject to change from the date of publication.