Chanel and Colette Pop-Up store

It sometimes seems as if everyone is doing a pop-up store, but even the most jaded fashion insider sat up and paid attention when Chanel and Colette announced they’d teamed up for a limited season of couture and street chic.

A cavernous garage along the legendary rue Saint-Honoré stretch has been converted into a blank white canvas against which fashion, visual arts and music performances are staged.

And so, Chanel’s breezy 2011 Spring/Summer collection mixes it up with pieces designed by young designers selected by Colette. Similarly, artists such as Soledad, Fari and Kevin Lyons have been recruited to customize Chanel classics such as the Mademoiselle bag. Elsewhere in the 200sqm space, Editions 7L books and back issues of Visionaire magazine are displayed alongside Ruby helmets, Leica cameras, Colette compilation CDs, and collectible dolls designed by Chanel’s creative director, Karl Lagerfeld.

Between retail strikes, regroup with a manicure at the Chanel nail bar while nibbling on a Chez Bogato cupcake.

But don’t dally. The pop-up will be dismantled after 10 March.