Emily of Emily In Paris has remade Paris in her image

NEW YORK – When Emily Cooper, the titular character in the Netflix show Emily In Paris, burst onto the scene, her bold personality, heavily accented French and wardrobe of colourful prints were met with jeers and sneers on-screen and off.

Despite Emily’s icy reception, the character, played by Lily Collins, wormed her way into the hearts of both audiences at home and her French peers on the show, now in its fifth season.

Days before the release of the new season, Darren Star, the creator of Emily In Paris (2020 to present) – and Sex And The City (1998 to 2004) and Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990 to 2000) – received the Legion of Honour, France’s highest award.

President Emmanuel Macron of France, whose wife Brigitte appeared briefly in the fourth season of Emily In Paris, said at the ceremony that Star makes “France shine across the world”. His remarks alluded to how Emily and her over-the-top style – an amalgamation of florals, plaid, houndstooth, feathers and zebra print – have become inextricably linked to Paris, even if her wardrobe is not exactly emblematic of what people who live there wear.

While the series has taken place in Paris, a city widely regarded as the world’s fashion capital, and though Emily engages with real luxury brands in her job at a fictional marketing firm, the show’s wardrobes were never meant to be realistic, said its costume designer Marylin Fitoussi.

“It was not the point,” she added. “And it’s still not my point. I want to play with clothes. I want to show people that if you are dressed in a different way, you will think in a different way.”

Ms Fitoussi’s work was recently recognised by another influential French entity. Assouline, the Parisian publisher of glossy books, in December released Emily In Paris: The Fashion Guide. Marketed as a manifesto on fearless dressing, the book offers a behind-the-scenes look at Ms Fitoussi’s process and how the clothing choices of the characters help drive the show’s narrative.

In the fifth season, Emily relocates to Rome to head the Italian office of her marketing firm. The change in location – coupled with a new bob hairstyle for Emily (and Collins) – inspired Ms Fitoussi to give the character “a much more modern, sexy, powerful” wardrobe compared with the “romantic, wavy, girly” clothes that Emily wore earlier in the series, she said.

To outfit the Emily In Paris characters over the years, Ms Fitoussi sourced attire from luxury brands such as Vivienne Westwood, Balmain and Valentino, as well as emerging designers, including Kate Barton and Grace Ling. She has also procured pieces from vintage stores and resale platforms.

For the new season, the show teamed up with Fendi to create handbags featured in episodes, which are also available for purchase. It was something of a full-circle moment for Ms Fitoussi, whose wardrobes for earlier seasons of Emily In Paris were developed in consultation with Ms Patricia Field, the costume designer of Sex And The City.

Ms Fitoussi sees Emily as a spiritual younger sister to Carrie Bradshaw, she said, whose affinity for Fendi bags was well documented – and whose style, while sometimes kooky, was rarely forgettable.

“What I’m selling is a dream,” she said. “It’s fuel for imagination.” NYTIMES