Paris, France

Closed 2017

The Disappointed Tourist: Colette, Ellen Harvey, 2021. Oil and acrylic on Gessoboard, 18 x 24″ (46 x 61 cm). Photograph: Etienne Frossard.

Colette was a famously trend-setting Parisian high fashion, streetwear and accessories retailer, founded in 1997 by Colette Roussaux, whose daughter, Sarah Andelman, served as the creative director in the store’s last years. The store contained an exhibition space, a bookshop and a water bar serving more than 100 brands of bottled water. It was closed in 2017 with Andelman explaining that they decided not to sell it would not be the same if someone else ran it. The painting is based on an uncredited photograph.

Colette paved the way for the modern concept store and was an outlet for many artists and designers to present and sell their more unique pieces. The store would always promote creative freedom for everyone. Unfortunately, after 20 years, it closed in 2017, before I could ever visit. This store has sparked the interests of the neighborhood kids as well as notable people like Karl Lagerfeld and Kanye West. Nuria L.