When fashion and space technology meet, the result can only be extraordinary. The new bag is proof of this Air Swipe by Coperni, the result of the collaboration between the Parisian fashion house and the Professor Ioannis Michaloudis.
What is his secret? A core of NASA silica airgel, the ultra-light and resistant nanomaterial that has allowed us to create an accessory made of 99% air and 1% glass.
A cloud in your hands
At first glance, the Air Swipe bag seems to have come out of a dream: it has a "foggy" appearance, as if clouds had been trapped inside it.
Its lightness is surprising, so much so that its users will have to handle it with care. 1% glass may not resist too sudden movements: which is why I doubt this bag is made for keys, or for the sea of objects that my wife spends half her life searching for in vain.
From comet dust to catwalks
What makes silica airgel so special? This nanomaterial, developed by NASA, was used in the 1999 Stardust mission to capture comet dust, thanks to its ability to withstand extreme temperatures of up to 1.200 degrees Celsius and a pressure of 4000 times its weight.
From here to Coperni it is a short step. The Parisian fashion house played with this idea by transforming airgel into an impalpable bag, which is the largest object ever made with this space technology.
The lightest bag in history
Do you know how much Air Swipe weighs? I'll tell you right away. 33 grams. Such a lightweight accessory from a material with such a respectable career… It almost makes you wonder “why this frivolous turn”?
There's actually some baggage in this Science, as meme friends would say. NASA has explored different ways to transform it, such as reinforcing it with polymers to make it less brittle or creating entirely polymer-based aerogels to make stronger and more flexible blocks.
Now, with this pinch of glass, Coperni brings us a piece of space technology to Earth, making a material previously known only to experts accessible to everyone. Floating yes, but with class.
