Coperni to Cease Operations After Eight Years, Founders Confirm

Coperni will stop operations, founders Arnaud Vaillant and Sébastier Meyer announced Wednesday in a personal statement emailed to press and retailers. The Paris brand ends eight years of trading after failing to exit its arrangement with Tomorrow London Group.

The founders had placed the label into receivership in June to untangle it from Tomorrow, its majority shareholder and exclusive distributor since 2019. No buyer or restructuring solution emerged.

"Unfortunately, despite all our efforts, no solution could be found, and we have decided, with great sadness, to stop Coperni's operations," Vaillant and Meyer wrote. They called the brand's eight years "extraordinary" and said they were proud of what they had created.

What triggered the receivership?

A Paris commercial court granted Coperni court protection on June 11. The filing followed months in which Tomorrow stopped paying sums owed to partners and suppliers, Vaillant said at the time, putting the company under significant financial strain. The founders framed the proceedings as a way to keep creating, protect employees and rebuild the business.

The court protection came after a public break with Tomorrow. The cofounders pulled out of Paris Fashion Week in March amid the dispute. After the receivership filing, the label also sat out the fall 2027 season.

Who controls Tomorrow now?

The dispute overlapped a change of ownership at the distributor. Progetto 11, the holding company of e-commerce platform The Level Group, acquired Tomorrow in March. The transaction pushed out previous shareholders, including founder and chief executive officer Stefano Martinetti and Three Hills Capital Partners.

That ownership reset did not produce a settlement with Coperni. The founders wanted control back; the court process could not deliver a workable solution in time.

What happens next?

The statement leaves the founders' plans open. Vaillant and Meyer said there was "still so much we want to explore and reinvent," suggesting future projects rather than retirement from the industry.

The label built its reputation on technology-driven show formats. It staged a runway event at Disneyland Paris featuring Kylie Jenner in a princess gown, and a performance in which a nearly naked Bella Hadid was spray-painted with a dress.

For retailers and suppliers entangled with Tomorrow, the closure removes one more counterparty from the platform's orbit. The founders' next move — and whether they relaunch independently — remains the open question for partners watching the pair's next filing or show calendar entry.