Colette Is Closing Its Doors for Good After 20 Years of Influence

Colette vowed that "nothing will change" until the very last day of operations.

The Colette era is officially coming to an end. The revered Paris concept shop announced plans Wednesday to close its doors for good this December, citing co-founder Colette Roussaux's desire to retire as crucial in the decision.

"As all good things must come to an end, after twenty wonderful years, Colette should be closing its doors on December 20th of this year," a statement shared on the official @colette Instagram said. "Colette Roussaux has reached the time when she would like to take her time; and Colette cannot exist without Colette."

Saint Laurent is currently in negotiations to take over the Rue Saint-Honore space, a potential move that would also ensure new opportunities for Colette employees. "Until our last day, nothing will change," the retailer promised. "Colette will continue to renew itself each week with exclusive collaborations and offerings, also available on our website colette.fr. We thank you for your support and see you soon at Colette--until December 20th!"

Colette, owned by Roussaux and her daughter Sarah Andelman, is a prominent voice in the fostering of new talent in fashion and design. Speaking with Complex in 2016, KITH founder Ronnie Fieg praised Andelman's approach to crafting a "lifestyle" experience within the confines of retail.

"[Andelman] is a huge inspiration, not only to myself but to anyone who has a deep passion for retail and fashion," Fieg said. "She's one of the pioneers in creating a lifestyle retail experience, which is something that is obviously a goal for me and what I do with my shops. Seeing her store about a year before I opened mine really amazed me."

Andelman will join Virgil Abloh, Pharrell, and Takashi Murakami on the host committee lineup of this year's ComplexCon in Long Beach, California in November. The second annual festival and exhibition's theme, fittingly, is collaboration. For more information, you know what to do.

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