Colette is gone, and nothing will ever be the same in the world of Parisian fashion.

Twenty years ago, Colette opened its doors.

March 20, 1997: An unexpected event was about to shake up the world of Parisian fashion and fashion in general. Today, Colette opens its doors at 213 Rue Saint-Honoré. Spring in Paris always has something magical, but on that day, no one could have anticipated the upheaval that would follow the opening of what would later be known as the first French concept store.

Colette Rousseaux and her daughter Sarah Andelman, a duo synonymous with success.

Colette Rousseaux comes from the Sentier district, where fashion is literally made, as it is home to many production workshops. Her daughter, Sarah Andelman, is freshly graduated from the École du Louvre at the time of the store’s opening, with a strong interest in both art and fashion. Together, the two women envisioned this unique place, which would become a meeting point for all fashion enthusiasts in the capital, as well as for international visitors, for whom a stay in Paris would inevitably include a visit to Colette.

Paris Gets Its First Concept Store

For twenty years, the store offered a selection of products that could not be found anywhere else. The place didn’t cater to the needs of customers, but rather to the desires of its creators. It was, of course, fashion, but also design, books, high-tech, music, photography, beauty products, and, located in the store’s basement, a water bar— the first of its kind—offering no less than 66 different types of water!

A logo, celebrities: the heart of the hype planet beats for Colette.

Colette is an iconic logo, made up of the seven lowercase letters of the owner’s name, followed by two dots in that distinctive blue, known to printers as Pantone 239 C. These two dots seem to open up the long list of celebrities who would flock to Colette for two decades: Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, Pharrell, Drake, Rihanna, Jean Baptiste Mondino… and you, and you…

A tribe of the chosen few gathers at Colette.

People from all over the world flock to Colette to find the cult object, released in limited edition, for which they’re willing to camp out overnight in front of the store, like for the Apple Watch, to be the first to own it. The less affluent can always console themselves by buying the surprise bag for 20 euros. Placed inside the most sought-after of it bags, this simple paper bag from the store adorned with the famous logo and blue dots has the immense power to instantly make you a part of the privileged caste of Colette’s customers.

December 20, 2017: The adventure ends, Colette closes its doors.

In twenty years, the store sold 8,600 brands, 400,000 different types of products, and issued 2 million receipts. Numbers? Not just that—emotion and adrenaline, the feeling of sharing unique moments and living a little more intensely!