Guillarmé vs the big guns at Paris Fashion Week A gilded hall at the Intercontinental in Paris provided the glittering backdrop for Balmain's spring/summer 2013 collection that was a definitive ode to the Eighties. Olivier Rousteing unveiled the same wide-shouldered, crystal-embellished biker jackets, first introduced by his predecessor Christophe Decarnin, alongside extremely ornate and dazzling dresses. Founded in 1946 by Pierre Balmain it is one of the most prestigious French fashion houses. Wolfgang Spindler, who is there for euronews, reports: "The Fashion Week in Paris is certainly not as wayout as London. Here it is the established brands that are more in the limelight. It's quite hard for young designers to escape the shadow of the big names and get public attention, but I met one of them. We went to see Christophe Guillarmé"s spring/summer collection which was shown on the fringes of the Paris Fashion Week. The 35 year old from the south of France, has already shown his designs in many countries around the world. His style is colourful, sexy chic à la dolce vita with a touch of the roaring twenties. Spindler asked: "Is Paris fashion less exaggerated than London's? Or am I mistaken? Christophe Guillarmé replied: "I agree because I think Paris has a side that's much more "establishment." It's true there's also a past, that is, all the labels that have been around for dozens or scores of years. So there's a certain craziness in a fashion week that's younger, where people want to experiment. "The host of big names here make for a more sombre mood," he went on, "but it's great that they're here because in the end they are the reputation of the Fashion Week. It has something substantial, it's just Paris. Is there a lot of solidarity amongst the fashion designers in Paris? Spindler asked. "In Belgium for example they're very close," Guillarmé replied. Paris designers have a harder time. There is more competition. It's a bit like the soap "The Bold and the Beautiful." There's a clash of moods between designers, but OK there's lots of drama in the fashion world. I think we like that. More about: Fashion, France, Paris