Interview by Despina Dimotsi. Issue 5, Summer 2024!
A great talent and an amazing personality! Christophe Guillarmé passed his degree at the College of Applied Arts Duperré. He initiated a fashion artistic approach and gave birth to a collaboration with an artist making his first fashion show a real artistic installation. Christophe Guillarmé has had various experiences with JeanCharles de Castelbajac, Dice Kayek and Stella Cadente before launching his first collection as a young fashion designer in 1998.
« My style is noticeable at the first sight. I’m a real keeper of traditional creative approaches and exquisite finishing: my gowns are a mix between Glam’Rock and “couture”. My ultra feminine style shows the contemporary way of creating glamorous icons. »
Christophe Guillarmé has been invited many times in different Fashion-Weeks of St Petersburg, Dubaï, Marrakech, Monaco, Bangkok, South Korea, China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaïdjan as well as the Cannes Film Festival & Venice Film Festival. This lead the young fashion designer to generate more fame and compliments on himself and his brand.
Since then, he has increased his desire to stand out, not only for his collections, but also for his global creative process in show construction. While working on the last ten editions from Cannes International Film Festival (FIF), Christophe Guillarmé built up interactions with young actresses and also international celebrities (ex: Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Kelly Brook, Vanessa Hessler, Victoria Silvstedt, Hofit Golan, Julie Gayet, Blanca Blanco, Nora Arnezeder, Joséphine Jobert, Laura Weissbecker, Isabeli Fontana…).
DD: What is your first fashion memory? Who was your role model?
CG: I was born in the Côte d’Azur, Antibes close to Cannes I remember as a child seeing girls running out of the red carpet to the Croisette barefoot with flowy dresses !
DD: France was and will always be one of the centers of fashion? Which country do you believe is as “centre of fashion” as France?
CG: Milan as well, and since 15 years New York city it’s crazy how it happens so fast on the fashion scene !
DD: How would you describe your brand aeshtetics?
CG: I’m mixing Dolce Vita spirit from Riviera with bright colours, specific materials and embroideries, of my childhood to the more structured elegance and style of the Parisian couture where I did my studies and start my brand in 1999.
DD: You’ve dressed a lot of celebrities. Is there somebody you haven’t worked with that you’d like to dress?
CG: I would love to collaborate with Halle Berry since she was the first Black women receiving an Oscar, so inspiring figure, glam, classy, and natural.
DD: If you look back at 1998 at your first collection and nowadays, have you achieved what you dreamed of then for today?
CG: I feel fullfilled by my path honestly , you really don’t have much time to appreciate it with all runways , new collections returning every six months though !
DD: Would you create in the near future something completely different from what you have done so far?
CG: I would love to create for men as well, depsite it’s another process with different workshops , it stays in my mind.
DD: Describe us a typical day of yours. What do you do to relax when you have free time?
CG: I do some workout at home 40minutes each day to clean my brain and stay focus, this is really important to help removing bad energies ! Also it’s imporant to stay fit with all parties and gala dinners happening every week in Paris !
DD: Haute couture has the same glamour from the past to nowadays? What do you think about haute couture evolution.
CG: I think it’s also become a laboratory to innovate on cuts and new fabrics and is the new avant-garde for ready-to-wear trends
DD: Tell us about your Spring – Summer 2024 collection.
CG: My Spring-Summer 2024 collection was inspired by the Indian Lotus flower goddess Lakshmi and Bollywood imagery. Glamor with unbridled happiness and iconic choreography from Aishwarya to Deepika. The 3D flowershaped drapes recall the art of the Sari and its ancestral tradition. The gradient dyeing from white to dark fuchsia pink contrasts with the tones of saffron and golden anise green. A range of warm and spicy colors in a bold, camp-tinged collection.