đź’ Sarah Andelman for ODDA Magazine
This article first appeared in the ODDA Magazine 19th Issue “You, Me, and Everyone We Know”.
SARAH ANDELMAN
What do you do after you have created one of the most iconic multi-label fashion stores in history? For Sarah Andelman, the co-founder of Colette, her second act is all about making creative and unexpected connections between brands. Her one-woman consulting agency, which she perfectly baptized Just An Idea, is a natural extension of her character. The concepts and collaborations the agency facilitates are all upbeat, original, and have just the right amount of joyful pop. Here, Andelman discusses what she sees for the future of luxury retail, how her life has changed post-Colette, and why she always wears skirts.
JESSICA MICHAULT. Sarah, let’s dive right in. I want to know all about your new adventure, Just An Idea. Tell me a bit about the origins story of your new company.
SARAH ANDELMANN. It happened really quickly. We announced the closing of Colette in July 2017 and very quickly people started to contact me, and I was like “wait wait wait, I’m still 100 percent with Colette until December 2017, right until we close.” From January 2018, I did many interviews and all I wanted was to keep up with the diversity that I had at Colette’s; fashion, beauty, design, art, streetwear. And that’s what I did with Just An Idea over these past two years. Very quickly, projects started coming, different from each other, but a lot of them revolved around collaboration, curating pop-ups. In the end, it’s a lot of connections, a lot of connecting the dots.
J.M. What are the tactics and tricks of the trade that you learned during your years at Colette, that you still use today in your new adventure?
S.A. Obviously on the practical side, a lot of contacts since throughout the years, I’ve met a lot of wonderful people. I think I have a sort of positive outlook, an open mind to say anything is possible. I always say you need to try. It’s not because someone never did a collaboration that they wouldn’t be open to the idea. Maybe they were waiting for the right one. You have to try. Today, that is what I am trying to apply, to try going towards the unexpected, all while keeping something authentic, that makes sense for the brand.
J.M. And you are that connecting factor, that guiding thread between different brands. How do you do that? It really is an art form; the idea of networking, of connections, especially as you are and forgive me if I am wrong, but someone who is rather self-effacing. How do you grow this network around yourself, all while being someone that isn’t necessarily comfortable with networking to start with?
S.A. For sure I am not what you call a “party animal.” People realize I have a very simple rapport. I’m very respectful, and of course, there are a lot of people with whom I’ve collaborated multiple times. It wasn’t just “I’ll work once with you and then move on to the next.” There are a lot of relationships that took time to build. I’ve tried as much as possible to accompany all the brands I have worked with, even if there were moments where I was forced to evolve. I had to keep this objectivity and that is why, I think, I keep a distance from the people I work with. Obviously, my professional and private life are very tied together, but at the same time, there are a lot of people with whom I first and foremost have a professional relationship with. I keep that limit, and that’s what you want.
J.M. And today, if I understood correctly, you work alone? There is no team, no one around you. What has that shift been like for you?
S.A. I feel lighter. I feel content being alone, being able to work as I see fit. Obviously, for each project, if needed, I’ll find people to help, be it a graphic designer or a writer. So for every project, if I need it, I will find it. But otherwise, I feel lighter, more flexible. People who contact me are contacting me for me now.
J.M. You mentioned you have different projects, you talked about pop-ups, of consulting, of accompanying these brands. How do you deal with the egos of it all?
S.A. At the base, there needs to be a lot of openness, of curiosity. I need to be at ease with the message the brand wants to share. I feel, the more different it is to what I know, the more challenging it will be, the more exciting it will be. I am still trying to find myself. I’ll keep doing it while it gives me pleasure but sometimes I do say I just want to publish books or expositions. I’m always on the lookout. Obviously, the brands I’ve already worked with, Sacai or Valentino, were projects where I knew the designers. It was good that there was a specific aim. We knew where we wanted to go from start to finish. I like projects like that.
J.M. It’s also interesting because before, with Colette, it was in the world of Colette, the four walls of Colette. And now, the sky’s the limit in a sense. I wonder, do you like having limits?
S.A. It’s true that our way of thinking at Colette was 360 degrees. I had the chance, with Colette, to control projects from A to Z, from concept to the final result. Today, I realize what a big corporation is and that I can be surprised, like, “Ok we managed to do the product, convey a message. Oh but you didn’t do the Instagram post this way?” And I can’t say anything because this brand has its way of working and sees things differently. So. I always learn from that and the frustration it may create. I learn and organize myself differently for next time.
J.M. Talk to me a little about the “Sarah signature.” Can we recognize your work easily?
S.A. With Colette, we didn’t manage to stay in the shadows. It was very complicated at the time, but with Just An Idea, when I worked with the brand, I have to tell them “don’t put my name down. It’s not necessary. There’s already a lot of things happening.” I really tried to stay, for the most part in the background. However, if we are talking about my signature aesthetic, I think there are obvious influences; maybe a bit of pop. I also always tried to merge extremes together but it isn’t always easy. I would say something happy, positive. I try to bring that to whatever I work on.
J.M. What are your impressions now that you stepped away from it running a multi-brand retail store? Because we know they have been hit hard by the pandemic, what do you think is in store for multi-brand shops in the future?
S.A. It isn’t obvious. When my mother and I decided to close Colette, it was a personal choice. We never could have imagined everything that was to come and we have no regrets because I think it would have been very hard to manage in Paris with the yellow vests, the strikes, and these past few months have been terrible for retail. Even if you decide to go online, people don’t consume in the same way.
I think today for a multi-brand they need to forgo the huge brands that are very available in their own circle. Multi-brand stores must have brands that are not yet broadcasted all over with a real selection. The service is what will differentiate them; the little extras, the personalized experiences, and I am surprised at how much it’s changed. I didn’t use to go to many other stores before, and in these last few years, I have had that sort of disdain that clients feel in stores. So yes I understand why we want to buy online more and more.
J.M. I think there are three big topics facing fashion in the near future. There’s the sustainability aspect, the whole buy less but buy better idea and the direct to consumer shift in retail buying. How do you think those three concepts will evolve?
S.A. It’s been a few years that a brand has been able to directly sell to consumers. Be it beauty, street, or fashion, without the need to go through a multi-brand. They just need to have visibility for their clientele. Sustainability is obviously a priority. I don’t see how some brands don’t put that as a top priority. When you meet young designers, I’m thinking of the LVMH prize and other young designer awards, what’s good is this whole new generation that is just entering the industry now. For them, sustainability is an intrinsic part of their work, unlike a few years ago. I think it will eventually become just second nature to brands. At least I hope so.
Talking about buying less, but better, I’m curious to see how that will continue considering the crisis we are currently facing. You tell yourself you need to save more, that you don’t need to buy something new every week. But when I see how we’re going back to our norm, I think that shopping habits will come back.
I think sustainability has a better chance of staying than others. I do wish and hope people will buy less, that products will be more durable, and I am curious to see how, in practice, it will happen.
J.M. Today, for younger brands, is it better to create that online connection and forgo being in a physical shop?
S.A. Completely! All the brands with whom I talk, I tell them to sell directly to consumers. However, it’s true that for some that means creating stocks in advance when they don’t have the ability to do so. Ideally, you should sell directly without having stock. I think Emily Adams Bode is a perfect example because every piece her company makes is unique. It’s upcycled. There’s this personal aspect to it. They are an e-shop and it is fantastic. So yeah, every creator needs to sell directly to consumers or at the very least offer them this possibility. I find it to be extremely essential, without finding yourself burdened with useless stock. You need to have this choice.
J.M. As someone who has always had a talent for spotting the next big thing, I have to ask, is there something lately that is really fascinating you?
S.A. There is this ABC Crystal puzzle that I really like. They make me laugh a lot. It’s from a couple in Los Angeles and New York. You see, I immediately think of a product when you ask me that question. (laughs). What I did find exemplary during confinement is the people who stayed active, the people who did Instagram Live every day, who succeeded in not being passive, looked at what was happening and became a part of it. I have a lot of admiration for that.
J.M. Time for some more classic questions. The future of fashion for you, what is it? I always say we’re in a state of transition, but today that feels truer than ever, so what do you think about it? Where do you think we are?
S.A. From what I hear, being a bit more on the outside than before, I feel like there’s this clash between Old School and New School. There is a group of people that don’t see fashion any other way than via a show, via a certain traditional way of doing things, while other brands have realized they have to speak directly to their consumers and go to them where they are, not ask the consumers to come to them.
It’s not easy to reinvent yourself, to think differently, and there are so many people in this industry that depend on the shows, of the production. I think that before the pandemic we were at a time when there was too much. You see now brands saying we don’t need this many shows. We don’t need to go all over the world. Creativity will always win but the way it is presented, I think will evolve.
J.M. We agree 100 percent on that. There are a lot of people who say that we need to rethink the way we sell clothes and the idea of seasons. Do you think that’s doable, that we go back to the drawing board, or is the industry just too big to change its ways?
S.A. I think it’s really going to go in every direction. I think a lot of it has to do with how long a brand has been around. I saw recently that Burberry announced an exterior show in September. I think it’s very audacious to announce anything right now because who can predict where we will be in September with everything that is going on with the virus. Today in Paris, it’s back to normal and I hope it will continue like that, but you never know where it’s going to go. That must be extremely difficult for brands; to make plans. I don’t think there will be any single format going forward. I think we can say goodbye to four fashion weeks that followed one after the other. I don’t believe in that anymore.
J.M. Finally… I always wanted to ask you this question because I’m a woman who solely wears pants, why skirts? Why do you always wear skirts? It has become your signature, like me with my updo!
S.A. It’s just that pants do not suit me at all! I unfortunately don’t have a model’s body, so skirts are able to hide certain things.
Photographer PHILIP ANDELMAN
In conversation with JESSICA MICHAULT
