Innovation and creativity are the trademarks of Colette, the iconic Parisian concept store that has been at the vanguard of curatorial installations. With the surprising announcement that they will shut their doors for the final time in December, it appears to be the end of a significant era — but fading quietly away into obscurity is not part of the plan. To celebrate twenty years of Colette’s rich history, the creative director Sarah Andelman, who founded the boutique alongside her mother Colette Rousseaux in 1997, announced that a series of month-long brand takeovers will occupy the first floor of Colette until December, showcasing their unique collections for the occasion.

For this summer season, Andelman tapped renowned fashion PR Lucien Pagès for a curated takeover titled ‘Les Vacances de Lucien’. Inspired by the long, languid French summers, the installation features a range of holiday-inspired pieces by the likes of A.P.C., Jacquemus, J.W. Anderson and Olympia Le-Tan. This fusion of fashion and art ties together the dynamic act of reimagining the retail experience, a trait that lies at the heart of Colette’s success.

Below, Pagès talks us through the reference points behind this collaboration, from friendship to Santa Monica holidays.

Aïsha Diomandé: Colette is known for being a concept store at the forefront of creativity – in light of that, how did you get involved in this project with Sarah?
Lucien Pagès: It was completely Sarah’s idea, she texted me after the end of fashion week in March saying she had a crazy idea and was so excited to tell me. But she didn’t want to tell me by message so we met and she said, “I would like you to curate the month of August.” I was really surprised, proud and a bit scared too, because it is not so common that a PR has a pop-up store. I always imagined my job as the link between the people and not being exposed. So I took a while to think about it, a weekend. I texted her and said let’s do it. First I realised that we can do it in a very funny way, with lightness and about the summer. Of course my designers were all happy to do it, and some of them were already at Colette. However, some of them were never able to be at Colette, for some reason Sarah never bought the collection, or sometimes the meeting just never happened, so I was really touched that all the designers said yes, and they were very enthusiastic and started to propose ideas. It was really energetic!

Aïsha:  How did you bring out your creative side in terms of curating Les Vacances de Lucien? In what way were the brands you represent integral to forming your final vision?
Lucien: Even without that project I try to be creative with my job. I love fashion and I respect creativity. I think I can do my job in a creative way. If my job is only to contact you and pitch some story or beg to have a page in Vogue, I think my job is not interesting. If I work closely with the designer and we discuss where we are right now, what we have to achieve, do you have an idea of the art directors I could work with… Already in my daily life I have a creative aspect, without doing collections as I am not a designer, Instead I accompany the designers and give them my feedback, give them my advice… also being creative and having ideas of special features or having ideas of special content for Instagram, having ideas for special events. For ‘Les Vacances de Lucien’, I was almost frustrated at one point because there were so many things that I wanted to do but I just didn’t have the time or money. The M/M designs are super fun, also there’s the Dior video that is really great, it’s a video done by my friend Peter Philips and it’s a mixture of his muses and my muses, a mixture of models that we love. It is a beautiful video. Then you have people who have done things about me, which is strange for me because I am not Rihanna [laughs], who cares about having a plate with my face on it! It’s a series of six plates done by Astier de Villatte, like old-school plates that show me doing things during my holidays. It’s kind of funny but very personal too, which I like.

Aïsha: Could you talk about the concept behind Les Vacances de Lucien? Is there a particular story that forms the basis of it?
Lucien: We had to find an idea that the group liked because all of these designers are very different, so the idea with Sarah was to find something common for this project, something that can link all these things together – we were scared that it would be really schizophrenic. So it’s August, it’s a big holiday in France. On my Instagram you can see that I love my holidays, but my holidays are very precise. I always do the same thing — I will spend one week in Santa Monica and then the rest of the holidays I spend in the south of France in my house. So my holidays are very specific, they are very personal they’re always the same. It was easy to do a story about that.

Aïsha: Considering that you were given the entire first floor to present Les Vacances de Lucien, how did you, alongside the brands that you represent stay true to the spirit of Colette, whilst also staying true to the DNA of the individual brands?
Lucien: It was really case by case. Sarah and I were really involved with the brands, we were talking to each brand, each proposing projects to us and we built it together. So Sarah was exchanging with the brands and the brands were happy to discuss and exchange, but they only did things that they believed in. We encouraged them to make something new, cool and fun. I’m really curious to see how it will work together. My August month will be the last time that Colette will be a multi-brand store, so it’s kind of emotional too.

Aïsha:  Interestingly, you mentioned that you see the brands that you represent as friends — there is a strong sense of union and energy in the mix. How did this influence the way the takeover came together?
Lucien: I know them so well, so it was easy to talk to them directly and go straight to the point. There are 32 brands. The idea is not only about brands but about friends too. So we could not lose too much time in discussion because it was a lot. The fact that we are friends made it straightforward, so there was no egomaniac drama!

Aïsha: And finally, what are your plans after this takeover? Would you like to continue with these types of collaborations?
Lucien: I think this is a unique collaboration, and I don’t think another store will ask me. This was for Colette and because of my history with Sarah, but I think that it will open doors… I think that people can now see PR in a different way, they will see that PR can be a source of creativity and not someone who just talks to the press!

Lucien’s Colette takeover runs until 2nd September.