Paris’s Colette is Closing After 20 Years of Business

Colette, the influential Parisian store billed as “the trendiest store in the world,” has announced it will close its doors in December after 20 years of business. The news has been referred to many fashion insiders as the “end of an era”, and a discouraging sign for bricks-and-mortar shopping.

The store on Rue Saint-Honoré has been at the center of fashion since it opened its doors in 1997 by Colette Rousseaux. To this day she still lives above the shop with her daughter Sarah Andelman who has since become the public face of the store. More than just a boutique, it is referred to by many as a concept store that bends and blurs the lines of what a shop could carry.

Over the past 20 years the store has also made quite a strong impression in the sneaker world. And if there was ever a store that could take credit for building the undeniable bridge that exists today between high fashion and sneakers, it is Colette.

The announcement came just hours ago via Sarah Andelman’s official Instagram account, @sarahcolette – a nickname known to many.

ANNONCE SPECIALE Toutes les bonnes choses ont une fin. Après vingt années exceptionnelles, colette devrait définitivement fermer ses portes le 20 décembre prochain. Colette Roussaux arrive à l’âge où il est temps de prendre son temps ; or, colette ne peut exister sans Colette. Des échanges ont lieu avec Saint Laurent et nous serions fiers qu’une Marque aussi prestigieuse, avec qui nous avons régulièrement collaboré au fil des années, reprenne notre adresse. Nous sommes ravis du grand intérêt que Saint Laurent a montré dans ce projet, ce qui pourrait constituer une très belle opportunité pour nos salariés. Jusqu’au dernier jour, rien ne changera. colette continuera de se renouveler toutes les semaines comme d’habitude, avec une sélection unique et de nombreuses collaborations, également disponibles sur notre site colette.fr Nous vous remercions pour votre confiance, et à bientôt chez colette, jusqu’au 20 décembre! BREAKING NEWS 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. Colette Roussaux has reached the time when she would like to take her time; and colette cannot exist without Colette. Negotiations are under way with Saint Laurent and we would be proud to have a Brand with such a history, with whom we have frequently collaborated, taking over our address. We are happy of the serious interest expressed by Saint Laurent in this project, and it could also represent a very good opportunity for our employees. Until our last day, nothing will change. 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!

A post shared by sarahcolette (@sarahcolette) on Jul 12, 2017 at 2:12am PDT

The shop will hang its hat on 20 years of great contributions to the fashion world when it closes on December 20, 2017. If you have not yet visited the space, you have a little less than five months to make the pilgrimage.