PARIS, March 9 — In fashion, business is often a family affair. But even by that measure, Colette, the concept store based in Paris, is an exception.
For most mothers and daughters, no matter how loving, living next door to each other and working together every day for two decades would be unimaginable. And that’s putting it mildly.
But for Sarah Andelman and her mother, Colette Roussaux, that arrangement is the hermetic winning recipe behind Colette, the pioneering boutique that turns 20 this month.
Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld said: “There’s no such thing as one without the other. It’s that mother-daughter osmosis that makes Colette Colette.”
Michel Gaubert, the sound designer who has created 18 Colette CD compilations over the years, said: “It’s a perfect marriage of minds. For both women, curiosity is an essential character trait, plus they love sharing what they discover. With them, nothing is calculated, it’s all instinct.”
Starting in 1997 with little more than a bright idea, four bare walls and no fashion contacts to speak of, Roussaux and Andelman demolished the boundaries separating style, music, art and design. Today Colette has 110 employees and just one permanent address, 213 rue St-Honoré in the First Arrondissement. Colette generated sales of €28 million (RM131 million) in 2016; e-commerce provided about 25 per cent of that total.
Yet the Colette behind the business has remained mostly anonymous up to now. Which is fine with her: She is camera-shy, and this was only the third interview that Roussaux had granted in the past two decades and her first for a non-French publication. She is more than happy to run the shop and oversee everything — including accounting and the floor and window displays — while her daughter, the store’s sole buyer and its public persona, scouts the world for the exclusive, beautiful and rare.
“I’m lucky because Sarah’s my shield,” Roussaux said. “She’s the point of contact, and I stick to the store. It’s perfect.”
Andelman said: “Naively, we thought that no one would ever realise there was a Colette. We chose the name because it’s offbeat and old-fashioned compared to what we wanted to do, which was modern. But we never thought it was about us.
“Colette is an empty shell. What’s important is the designers who come into the store. Unfortunately, today it’s impossible to stay hidden.”
Seeing mother and daughter side by side at the store’s downstairs Water Bar, the family resemblance is obvious: Both project a strong natural reserve, candid manner and ready smile. And there is the short-cropped hair, the salient cheekbones, the high arched brows and the enviable complexions, even sans makeup.
By chance or design, the women’s outfits on this particular day riff on the French tricolour. Both had full, navy blue Thom Browne skirts and Converse sneakers, which the taller, more angular Andelman, 41, wore with a white Mira Mikati x Jack Pierson blouse and a J.W. Anderson baseball jacket. Roussaux (who would not reveal her age) wore hers with a white T-shirt and red bandanna.
By all accounts, the two never argue. “I keep her informed, and she always has good advice if I’m hesitating over something,” said Andelman, who is married to Philip Andelman, an American music video director and photographer (they have a young son). “Otherwise, she leaves me completely free to make some unusual choices.”
During the week an early morning passer-by will quite likely spot Roussaux overseeing housekeeping and orchestrating the staff until the doors open at 11am. On Sundays, like clockwork, she and the stylist Éric Chevalier take down the mannequins to give the space a complete style reboot, incorporating Andelman’s latest selections and refreshing the window display.
Beyond big brand collaborations such as the 2011 Chanel x Colette pop-up in a defunct gas station down the street (now the Balenciaga store), and developing limited edition scarves with Hermès and countless others, Colette has reached across cultural boundaries to support stars including Pharrell Williams, Jay Z, Drake and Kanye West in their fashion/music ventures.
Paris Fashion Week being what it is, there has been gossip that Colette may close next year, rumours that Andelman emphatically denies.
Looking forward, Colette will introduce the Weeknd’s “Starboy” fashion collection, named for the musician’s recent album. Also, there has been talk of a project with the French electronic music duo Daft Punk in June for men’s fashion week in Paris.
The official anniversary celebration is scheduled for March 21-25 in Paris, with the store releasing a 20th anniversary CD compiled by the music producer and DJ Pedro Winter, featuring one track for every year, issued in a 1,000-copy limited edition.
“I think what makes the difference is that we don’t need to ask anyone else about what we want to do,” Roussaux said. “If we want to paint the place green or blue, we talk about it for two minutes, and we do it. I think that’s the secret: Work and spontaneity.”
She beamed at her daughter, and her daughter beamed back. — The New York Times
