The Air Swipe Bag By Coperni Is Made Of 99 Percent Air

Coperni’s Air Swipe Bag debuted on the F/W 2024 runway show during Paris Fashion Week. It’s made of 99 percent air and 1 percent glass, thus it weighs just 35 grams, making it delicate but not fragile. 

This bag can handle pressure 4,000 times its weight and handle heat up to 1,200 °C. It’s a design made in collaboration with Greek researcher Ioannis Michaloudis, who has worked with NASA for decades. The professor used NASA-produced silica aerogel for the bag’s shell.

NASA describes aerogel as the lightest solid material on Earth and is formed by combining a polymer with a solvent, and this mixture turns into a gel. The liquid from the mixture is then extracted and replaced with air. Aerogels are considered porous, low-density and though may appear cloud-like, are actually solid to the touch. These properties may have convinced Coperni to experiment on it for the Air Swipe Bag.

The bag has an almost ethereal look resembling frozen smoke or trapped clouds. Videos also showed handlers holding it with care because it is very delicate. The bag also has a light-blue color, which comes from the “nanopores” on the aerogels’ surface. It’s a translucent material that gives the bag its transparent silhouette, allowing the smoke to be trapped and frozen inside.

Now you may be wondering if Coperni’s Air Swipe Bag can actually hold anything at all. It may be sturdy enough to carry small and lightweight essentials thanks to its glass reinforcement. But the 1 percent glass may not hold up if you swing the bag back and forth. As such, this design may not be ideal for practical use and best serves as an art piece.  

Images courtesy of Coperni