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Sarah Andelman became known as the queen of collabs over her 20-year run as co-founder and creative director of Parisian concept store Colette. Now, she’s back in the world of retailing with a new project — an exhibition for fabled department store Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche.
The display, titled “Mise en Page” (or “page layout” in English), will feature products related to books, merchandise from bookstores around the world, and exclusive collaborations. Running from 24 February to 21 April, it will be spread across four areas of the store (totalling over 1,000 square metres), plus the windows.
The intersection of luxury and literature is both “in the zeitgeist and timeless”, Andelman tells Vogue Business. “Once I suggested this theme of books, I started seeing it everywhere, whether it’s the Celine show [staged at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France], the Montblanc ad campaign starring Liya Kebede or Alaïa’s collaboration with online bookstore Rare Books Paris.”
The decision to partner with LVMH-owned Le Bon Marché — which Colette was once in competition with as a temple for curated selection — is notable. “Back at the time of Colette, I don’t think it would have made much sense. Now that the years have gone by, it works,” Andelman says.
For Le Bon Marché, exhibitions are part of an ongoing strategy to draw people into the store. Many bricks-and-mortar retailers are leaning into the experiential component of their spaces to boost sales as growth in the luxury market slows, and to differentiate themselves from struggling online pure players.
Le Bon Marché unveils a new exhibition roughly every two months; its windows reflect its exhibitions, rather than the brands it stocks. Recent ones include “Olé Olé” featuring Hispanic craftsmanship and fashion selected by Spanish singer and actress Rossy de Palma. She also featured in three performances at the store for the occasion.
The idea, with Mise en Page, is not to sell books, but rather to “complement Le Bon Marché’s existing superb bookstore”, says Andelman. Examples of the merchandise that will be displayed include tote bags from the Strand book shop in New York, and from Cow Books in Tokyo. There will also be a space on the first floor for Andelman’s Just an Idea Books, which publishes the works of select creatives discovered via Instagram.
“I’ve always loved discovering a bookshop and there’s nothing that makes me happier than walking around Paris and seeing someone in a café reading a book,” says Andelman. “We’re all so glued to our screens, taking the time to read a book, like going to the theatre or the movies, is almost like an act of rebellion. There’s an intellectual and cultural value [in reading] that we can’t just approve of.”
After Colette closed in 2017, Andelman started a consultancy, working with the likes of Dover Street Parfums Market, Moncler, Sacai and Nike. She launched Just an Idea Books in 2021, and a spin-off retail pop-up called Just a Space followed in 2022.
Five new books will be published under the Just an Idea label at the end of January (adding to the 17 published since 2021), including on the work of photographers Charles Bébert and Glen Jamn. Andelman has invited artist Jean Jullien to take over the windows, set up a display for his brand NouNou on the second floor, and open a NouNou Café in partnership with food consultant Julien Pham. Coinciding with the exhibition, there will be book signings, book clubs, conversations between booksellers and children’s workshops.
Le Bon Marché is part of LVMH’s Selective Retailing division, which also includes Sephora and DFS. In the third quarter of 2023, the division grew 26 per cent. The conglomerate noted in its earnings statement: “Le Bon Marché, which is growing steadily, continued to develop innovative concepts and benefit from a loyal French customer base as well as a return of international travellers.” According to Le Bon Marché, it had 5.3 million visitors in 2022.
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