For those who love fashion, the Paris boutique Colette was simply one of the best stores in the world.
“Over the past two decades, it’s fair to say that no other retail destination has remained so consistently cool, so desirable, so full of surprise, and so uniquely playful as the boutique run by Colette Roussaux and her daughter, Sarah Andelman, at 213 Rue Saint-Honoré,” Vogue said just before the store closed its doors in late 2017. Roussaux had decided it was time to slow down, and Colette could not exist without Colette (paywall).
Andelman, though, is nowhere near done. WWD reports (paywall) that the former creative director of Colette has joined Nike as the global curator of Unlaced, the “fantasy sneaker destination for women” that it announced in February. The partnership will debut with a selection of items at the Unlaced site on Oct. 25, including a mix of basics, performance styles, and something “a bit more crazy,” Andelman told WWD.
At Colette, Andelman was known for always showcasing exciting products—as well as finding unexpected collaborators, spotting new talent, and creating a retail space that was itself a destination. Colette would make a scarf with Hermès or a bear-shaped aroma diffuser with Medicom Toys. The Water Bar, a basement cafe with more than 100 types of bottled water, was exactly the sort of delightfully odd idea that defined Colette, drawing regulars each week.
Of her experience with Nike so far, Andelman told WWD, “It was very similar to what I used to do at Colette, it was fascinating to listen to how the design studio works.” The full details of her role at Unlaced are not yet clear, however, and Nike isn’t currently divulging any more information.
When Nike first revealed Unlaced, it said in addition to a curated sneaker selection, it would also feature local offerings for key cities made with influential artists and stylists, and will eventually launch the concept in physical stores too. Unlaced offers Nike another way to sell directly to consumers, and importantly, a new way to reach female sneaker buyers.
Nike sees a lot of potential dollars in this market, and is aiming to increase its sales of women’s products from about $6.6 billion last year to $11 billion by 2020. The launch of Unlaced was framed as Nike carving out a space apart from the male-dominated world of sneakerheads, and an acknowledgment of the role women have had in the rise of sneaker culture and activewear in fashion. (The allegations of gender discrimination across Nike’s corporate culture have been a setback in making that case.)
Nike has also been steadily building out its direct-to-consumer channels, including its website, mobile apps, and brick-and-mortar stores, as it takes more control of its product and sales. It wants shopping Nike digitally to be fun, and its stores to be places you could hang out—just as Colette was.