#ColetteForever: A look at Colette's 10 Best Collabs
It's a sad week for the fashion world as we face the imminent: colette closing its doors for good on 20th December.
The store was created on March 20th, 1997 and ever since, it served as the beating heart of Parisian fashion. More than just a fashion store, it was a place where design, culture, music, clothing, jewellery, beauty and food converged.
It was like a home to most Parisians and a must-see place for tourists. More than anything, the institution will perhaps be remembered best for its groundbreaking designer collaborations.
As we say goodbye to colette, let's look back on the greatest collaborations the concept store ever done.
To celebrate colette's 10th anniversary in 2007, they collaborated with Japenese streetwear brand Medicom Toy. The Bearbrick was originally sold for $500 USD and quickly rose to over $2,000 because only 100 pieces were made.
Gap and Colette partnered in 2008 to create a one month pop up store next to the Gap's New York City flagship store. The collaboration was all about fluorescent colors, a reference to the people working in the construction industry.
In 2009, the Hong Kong brand based proposed a guimauve scented candle in a box designed by American graphic artist Eric Elms. They launched only 400 candles sold at Colette exclusively.
Colette breathed new life into the well-known and respected haute couture house Hermès in 2010 by revisting their famous carré in four different limited editions.
Limited to 100 pairs only, the 2014 collaboration between Colette and Adidas Originals was a must buy. They revisited the classic Stan Smith by adding the concept store's logo on the shoes and the famous Colette blue instead of the traditional green of the sneakers brand.
To celebrate their Fall 2015 collection, Louis Vuitton decided to open a pop up store in Paris, at colette, which included ready-to-wear, accessories, and watches. The collaboration also offered a blue limited-edition of the Twister sneaker.
Thanks to colette, in 2015, New York artist KAW and Mira Mikatti created color varsity jackets that were very pop. A dream come true for the Lebanese born artist, and for our eyes too.
As colette was celebrating its 20 years of existence, Vespa was blowing its 70 candles. To mark the anniversaries, they collaborated in 2016 by customizing Primavera 50 Scooter with blue finishing.
In 2017, colette and Nike designed "The Beach" shoe in white and colette blue. The sneakers were limited at 213 pairs, a reference to Colette's address — 213 rue Saint Honoré in Paris.
Last but not least, as a Saint Laurent store will replace Colette at the same location, both of the brands joined forces in 2017 to collaborate on a sexy and unique collection including fetish toys, skateboards, lighters and even roller boots. Everything is designed by Anthony Vacarello, the creative director of Saint Laurent.
