Colette and Saint Laurent repair friendship as store re-stocks brand
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In 2013 French luxury house Saint Laurent spectacularly severed ties with Paris-uber retailer Colette. The store had been stocking t-shirts bearing the slogan 'Ain't Laurent without Yves,' a not so subtle dig at Mr Hedi Slimane, who was the creative force behind the brand at the time, and responsible for re-branding the iconic label.
At the time Colette's artistic director Sarah Andelman received a letter from Kering to tell her they had cancelled her spring-summer 2014 menswear order. Since then, the world-renowned boutique has not been able to carry the brand, despite having been a faithful stockist since 1997.
But as Saint Laurent is now being designed by Anthony Vaccarello, who's own label Andelman championed at her store, the friendship between Colette and Saint Laurent is being restored.
“We have worked with Anthony since his first collection. It was obvious that we would be able to work together again,” Andelman told WWD. “As soon as Anthony’s nomination was announced, we met and we started planning the beautiful windows we have right now.”
Colette has bought the Saint Laurent's first womenswear collection under Vaccarello, which feature in the store's window displays until March 1st.
Francesca Bellettini, chief executive officer of Yves Saint Laurent, said: "We are happy to be at Colette with such strong support for the launch of Anthony Vaccarello's first collection for Saint Laurent.
"The incredible appreciation that his summer '17 collection has had since its presentation and since arriving in our stores has allowed us to strengthen even more of our relationships with key wholesale partners worldwide. It was mutually exciting to work together on this project and to witness its success," she added.