London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

In 'Emily in Paris,' Patricia Field Pays Homage to Carrie Bradshaw and Audrey Hepburn Through Costume

In 'Emily in Paris,' Patricia Field Pays Homage to Carrie Bradshaw and Audrey Hepburn Through Costume

The Netflix show's consulting costume designer dressed the titular star, Lily Collins, in her own Hood by Air windbreaker - plus lots of Chanel.

"For me, 'Emily in Paris' in certain ways was an elongated version of Carrie in 'Sex and the City,'" says the legendary Patricia Field, on a call, about reuniting with Darren Star as costume design consultant on his latest Netflix series. "It's about an American in Paris. Paris is the place for passion. Paris is exciting."

Although, instead of following a man to the City of Lights for his job, social media expert Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) lands a dream marketing gig in Pah-ree - and leaves her drip of a boyfriend behind in Chicago. But she can't speak a word of French. And her only Gallic references are Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge" and the animated rodent chef in "Ratatouille."

After confusing the ground floor and the first floor (for the first of many times) while moving in, Emily heads to her first day on the job at luxury marketing agency Savoir. She's dressed literally for her new life: in an Eiffel Tower-themed blouse by Alice + Olivia, a cropped tank by Redone, a snakeskin-print Ronny Kobo miniskirt, an Aldo bag and, cobblestones be damned, stiletto Christian Louboutin Gorgona booties, emblazoned with "Paris" and airmail stickers (below).


Emily (Lily Collins) arrives at her office in Paris to meet her new French colleague, Luke (Samuel Arnold). Luckily for her, he's multilingual.


"We got some direction that she dresses kind of 'not sophisticated' and I was trying to think, 'How could I make it a good little joke?'" explains Field, who hired local costume designer Marylin Fitoussi for her Parisian authenticity and on-the-ground knowledge and expertise.

Emily's "touristy" button-down nods to her new beginning at Savoir as a naive fish-out-of-water. Plus, her perky efforts to impart "an American point of view to your French clients," as she announces, are met with disdain from her new colleagues and intimidatingly chic boss Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu).

"Then Sylvie reacts to her negatively, like, 'Oh god, she doesn't speak French,'" continues Field. "I wanted to add that little affectionate play on Emily. An affectionate joke." (Although, I mean, who can blame Sylvie and co.)


Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, middle), in a vintage pink Elie Saab blouse, and Emily, in a Jean Paul Gaultier dress and Ganni jacket, eventually find middle ground in houndstooth prints.


The juxtaposition of Sylvie's mostly all-black ensembles and Emily's overly enthusiastic mix-and-match further emphasizes their disconnect. Ironically, Field's inspiration for the devastatingly elegant and sexy Sylvie — with a closet full of Rick Owens and Yohji Yamamoto — came from people-watching after a Jean Paul Gaultier show.

"I called Darren Star and I said, 'Darren, I'm in Paris. I'm going to check out all the French chic gals.' When I went outside and sat around, I'm like, 'All the girls are wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts and hoodies,'" says Field. "I'm like, 'Oh my gosh.' So Sylvie, she epitomizes French chic and she was my opportunity to do that."

Along with reluctantly becoming a mentor figure, Sylvie also influences Emily's style evolution into tailored matched sets and inspired monochrome (albeit in highlighter pink) throughout the season. "Emily had this spirit and she wanted to be a success. She definitely had the brains and the technical know-how, although she was there to cooperate and learn and be successful," Field notes. "As such, she would be picking up ideas from the French chic, à la Sylvie, but in her own way."


"She was young, chic, French, classic," says Field about Camille (Camille Razat).


Emily may also be influenced by her new sophisticate friends: Camille (Camille Razat) and her Caroline de Maigret aesthetic (above) and nanny/undercover "China Rich Girlfriend" Mindy (Ashley Park) and her no-boundaries outfits.

"When I met [Park], she told me that she has good shoulders and she likes to show her shoulders," remembers Field, who then customized shoulder-baring looks, like a plaid "boy's suit" from Asos, for the Tony-nominated triple-threat.

Emily's full immersion into Paris understandably involves an envy-inducing trove of Chanel — also because the Oscar-nominated "Devil Wears Prada" costume designer regularly collaborates with the illustrious design house. "As a matter of fact, I was just up at Chanel last Friday," says Field, casually flexing about a recent costume pull for her current project, the Harlem-set "Run the World" on Starz. "What I love about Chanel is: As it is classic, it allows me to reinterpret it."


Emily in checks and Chanel.

To stand out at a beauty influencer event, Emily wears a boxy green multi-pocket blazer (above) from the French fashion house's Cruise 2020 collection. But Field turned the jacket into an almost streetwear-influenced oversized look by playing with proportions.

She paired it, unbelted, over a preppy checked dress and accessorized with Louboutin So Kate photo collage booties and a contrast plaid bucket hat by Kangol. (Camille also adjusts Emily's floral silk scarf to reflect "the French way.")"I love mixing Chanel," adds Field, who along with Fitoussi, sprinkled exquisitely textured layering pieces and a cry-worthy rotation of embellished flap bags in throughout the season.

But first, in the premiere, when a triste Emily eats lunch alone in the park and meets Mindy, she's carrying a graffitied clear tote by Jody Morlock for Field's ArtFashion, to match her yellow bandanna-print cami and asymmetrical skirt by Ganni (below).


"You look American. Are you from Indiana?" asks Mindy (Ashley Park, right), coming upon a sad Emily lunching solo.

"I thought, 'Oh gosh, it goes so well with that dress. Perfect.' If it's perfect, you can't say 'no' to it. It doesn't have to be discordant. If it's perfect, that's all you need to know," says Field.

The fashion and New York City club scene icon also lent Emily a couple pieces from her own storied wardrobe, including an MCM backpack and a black Hood By Air short-sleeve cropped windbreaker.

"I thought the Hood by Air was cute, you know what I mean?" Field explains. "I love that jacket. I own it and I brought it for her. When do you see a rain jacket with a hood that's as short as that? It's so unusual."

Field's windbreaker actually makes two appearances in the series. First, Emily takes a sad, rainy walk to the office with the jacket layered over a floral puff-sleeved Dolce & Gabbana mini-dress, a studded Rag & Bone belt and pink heels. She rewears it in a later episode for an awkward road trip, with a multicolor oversized sweater by Essentiel Antwerp, black Redone jeans, ankle-strapped Louboutin Mary Janes and a pink H&M beanie.

"I wasn't sure about the dress code. I wanted to look business, but casual," explains Emily.


Emily's in Paris.

Field also brought in some personal costume moments near and dear to her heart, including Emily's black strapless tutu-skirted gown by Alexandre Vauthier (above). "Sex and the City" fans will recognize the billowing tulle layers as a nod to Carrie Bradshaw's sea-foam green look in the Paris-set finale.

Another Easter Egg: Emily wears personalized nameplate earrings, instead of a necklace. (The "Gossip Girl" references in the script also connect back to Field, as The CW show's costume designer, Eric Daman, was one of her earlier assistants. "I'm very proud of all my graduates," she says.)

For a fancy night at the opera, Emily wears an off-the-shoulder, chevron sheer-paneled midi-dress by Christian Siriano and Cosmoparis crystal-embellished D'Orsay pumps, accessorized with a vintage bejeweled bag and shrug (below).

"If you look at Lily, she's a doppelgänger of Audrey Hepburn and I'm a major fan of Audrey Hepburn," says Field. "So, I was like, I'm gonna do an homage [to Hepburn in 'Funny Face']. I was, in the beginning, I was wondering, 'Do you think people would take it wrongly?' But in the end, I think it worked."


Emily's Audrey Hepburn homage at the opera.

In "Funny Face," Oscar-winning costume designer Edith Head inventively styled a stunning Cartier necklace as a tiara to accent a Givenchy gown on Hepburn. Field gave the historic fashion moment a contemporary update by turning a delicate tennis necklace from La Compagnie du Costume into a headpiece.

"When I was in college I went to Paris on my summer vacation. It was that whole Leslie Caron [in 'An American in Paris'] and Audrey Hepburn era of Paris. That romantic idea," says Field. "Of course, Carrie went to Paris and Annie Hathaway [in 'Devil Wears Prada'] went to Paris. And now we have Lily in Paris."


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
×