wednesday's item du jour: exclusive Colette CD "From Colette with Love" daily dispatches from Paris! wed: from colette w/ love We LOVE Colette...We had lunch there today with Nadege, who does PR for the store. She's genius!
Yeah, it's pretty much safe to say that one of our all-time fave places in Paris is the tres tres cool store Colette, representing
the best in high fashion but remixed with street brands, sneakers, a killer bookstore and so much more. Colette toujours totally always blows our mind!!!! This afternoon we had the great pleasure of chatting up Colette's PR guru Nadege Mezou. We've been huge fans of Nadege forevs! She's so smart and creative, has great style (bien sur!) and, like us, loves to dance. She even gave Chris a mini Colette Dance Class! Check out our interview...
Tell us about your job. What do you do at Colette?
I'm called? Miss Communication at Colette! I'm in charge of PR and communication, which includes media relations, image ideas, Le Colette magazine writing concepts, events, parties and sponsorships. But we're a team... I work very closely with Sarah, the magical buyer and creative director of Colette.
Can you describe your typical day at work?
Mais non! It must always be different or I'll die! I'm often doing pure PR & very business sponsorship type goals or organizing a big event but then I'll be going from press relations to a booking! I'm doing interviews, focusing on products, designers & artists. I'm imagining concepts and ideas to show how great and creative Colette is... fun things like parties, magazines, radio, collaborations, etc. I also do the Colette monthly party "Colette Local Club" with Nike Women at Paris Paris Club. Each party starts with a Colette dance class! It's free for 25 people and we learn with all kinds of dance teachers moves like krump, swing, disco, thriller, footloose and hip hop! It's so funny! Check out the video! I'm also writing for Rendez-Vous, a monthly free French magazine. And I'm a "fake" DJ! My DJ name is Headbangirl! No rest for me...
What's the best part of your job?
Being creative from PR to images, strategy and events. I'm always keeping - well, I try keeping - my eyes, ears and mind open and aware. Smelling l'air du temps, connecting people and businesses and having fun! But I don't take it too seriously. Everything can change tomorrow. We must take pleasure as often as possible and, as I always say to my funky assistant Linlee, our job is to turn the negative into positive! I might look like a crazy stupid happy girl (maybe I am) but I just believe that positivity and energy brings the best!
Tell us about PARIS!! Where are you fave places to hang out? Give us an insider scoop!
Wow... Colette for sure! Then have a walk or a run at night at Jardin des Tuileries. I must tell you that I'm really into sports. I can't live without it! I love running, dancing and boxing. Even if I work 12 hours a day, I go early in the morning or late at night, 3 to 6 times a week. I'm a crazy girl! Okay, then spend your evening at Palais de Tokyo Art Center and have dinner. Or have some romantic strolls at Buttes Montmartre and the Abesses area, my home district. Then discover all the new fashions and young designers in Le Marais. Check out Shine, Bault, Rue Charlot, De Poitou and Turenne? These are a mix of galleries, shops and nice coffee. Go for a walk and a movie at MK2 Seine which is close to La Villette, La Geode Park and boarding the Seine. This is a very popular area but good for a Sunday stroll. Or you can even walk to the Indian "Village" Porte de la Chapelle to buy curry & all local Indian stuff. Vintage is my sin. Check out Woch Dom, Olivier Mulin, En Ville & Rag Time.
What else is on your radar these days? What trends, designers, etc are you most excited about?
I'm just back from India. I had a one-week detox trip with yoga and fasting-cleansing. So good. Check my friend's new resort with bio food and ecological set up www.thedune.org. And listen to the Ed Banger record label for sure! And my husband's crew (Pedro Winter) Justice, Uffie, Sebastian, DJ Mehdi at www.arcademode.com and the graffiti girly scene with Fafi at www.fafi.net. Colette will show her work during the summer! Check out the Daft Punk Movie "Electroma"! It showed at the Cannes Film Festival. Go to Paris Paris club and ask for the creative director Marco Dos Santos? Each night there's a new party with a new concept. It's amazing! Visit www.leparisparis.com. And check Andre (graffiti artist) projects. From Black Block Shop at Palais de Tokyo to Le Baron Club and Paris Paris, to the new hotel "Amour" in the 9th arrondisment? and soon New York club!!!
How would you describe your look these days?
I never never never have a TOTAL look for sure. I think that style is stronger than fashion. Be yourself! Don't follow the rules and famous people! Just express yourself. Even if you are the only one who thinks red when Vogue says that pink is the new black! I am a pure "daily mood" girl but forever a very addicted fashion girl! I love mixing vintage, cheap and stylish brands. Jeans jeans jeans are my passion! I love wearing my Chloe white jacket with Gap skinny jeans and big boots as well as Jeremy Scott's punky crazy items with very girly dressed... I love romantic Chloe or vintage white lace old style dress, flowers in the hair or rock style but I will always reprezent the Hip Hop family! Sneakers, leggings or baggy, siglet and big sweatshirts! Bape, ice cream, star styling, Nike, Marc Jacobs, Hussien Chalayan, Proenza Schouler, Jeremy Scott, Miu Miu, Lanvin, Balenciaga, vintage, April 77 jeans, Gap, TopShop, H&M, Junya Watanabe... Arghhhhh, can't even stop!
We are totally obsessed with blogs right now. Do you have any faves?
Ours! Check it out at http://blog.honeyee.com/weloveparis/. It's Sarah, Linlee and myself from Colette plus Michael from LaMjc, Julien from Nike Paris and Pedro Winter from Headbangers Entertainment Paris. It's six Parisians talking about their "coups de coeur" on a great Japanese blog. And I'm headbangirl on MySpace.com music. Check all my crew: Busy P, Justice, Mehdi, Fafi, Almighteen, etc?..
Okay, got any Colette secrets that you can share with us? Any fun happenings coming up?
Keep watching www.colette.fr (new website coming soon) and our new very urban site in collaboration with LaMjc.com: www.wesoldout.com. You're gonna go crazy! Art shows to come: Ed Templeton and Fafi. New products always, every week! But keep an eye out for Nike Elite Colette exclusive sneakers! Lacoste preview at Colette, Jeremy Scott/Longchamp special bag, Anya Hindmarch's new bags and Uslu Airlines new beauty products so you'll be tan all year long! Colette dance class parties at Cannes Film Festival and soon Tokyo... and maybe soon New York! Chris gets an A+ in the Colette Dance Class...
Today is our ten-year anniversary. I can't believe it, though in typical fred fashion we're working. It just always seems to turn out that way. When we met up with Nadege she said that Colette founders Sarah and Colette work super hard also, always there at the store most nights until midnight. That made us feel better, though I could sense Chris's mind spinning. He'll have me working until midnight soon, I know it. He's so mega-focused it frightens me sometimes.
Yeah, I was kinda not so much fun to be around today. Chris kept trying to film me for the podcast and it was sooooo getting on my nerves. I just wanted to relax. We're in Jardin du Luxembourg and - I kid you not - we see Julie Delpy sitting on one of those green chairs and I was like, Wow. Chris says, Go up there to her and interview her for the podcast. And I was like, No way. C'mon. But then I should have just done it, right?
But I have to say, once I stopped resisting, the filming was actually supes fun. CJ filmed me interviewing Nadege - you'll catch the rest on our podcast - and she was soooo nice. And then he actually got to film in the store, which looked amazing. It was kinda incredible that they let us take pictures in there. They never let people do that. Many people would stop Chris - kept putting their hands in front of the camera - and then he'd say, Oh we're with Nadege and they'd be all like, Oh I'm so sorry. That was great. The fashions were super cute, too, like they had this preppy sporty boy in Lacoste and a bow tie - so for me - and these amazing Pucci looks mixed with leopard print sweat pants.
But the best part was then we went over to Paris Paris and Chris had a Colette Dance Class with this cutie Cyril and they danced to "Footloose". I filmed that part and, really, it was amazing. I can't wait for you to see it! Seeing Chris dance and sing, this neon sign behind him blaring "LE MONDE EST A TOI," that made my whole life. I remember when we first met and we'd sit in our Chicago apartment watching "Melrose Place" dreaming of the future. And I have to tell you, the future is way better than I ever dreamed possible. Xoxo, Keith