Spoilers ahead for Emily in Paris Season 5.
Emily Cooper is finally back on Netflix, but instead of chronicling her traipses through Parisian streets, she begins the fifth season of Emily in Paris posting from a different locale: Rome. If you’ll recall, she moves to be with her Italian beau, Marcello Muratori, and heads Agence Grateau’s new Roman office. Naturally, her fashion is bolder than ever — though she does commit a major fashion faux pas along the way.
In Episode 2, the Agence Grateau crew sets its sights on bagging Fendi as a client. (When in Rome, right?) To show that her love for the Italian institution runs deep, Emily takes her beloved Fendi Baguette, an heirloom she inherited from her grandma, to a meeting with the brand. Little does she know that her arm candy is a *gasp* fake, which Fendi’s team clocks and points out.
“I said, ‘It’s piracy. I don’t want to go to jail.’”
When creator Darren Star asked costume designer Marylin Fitoussi to design the fake Baguette, she initially declined the request. “I said, ‘It’s piracy. I don’t want to go to jail,’” she tells Bustle. So, they came up with the idea to ask Fendi to create the fake themselves — and the label agreed. A “faux” Fendi by Fendi? Even Lily Collins was impressed. “It’s pure genius,” the actor told the award-winning dresser.
The Baguette scene, of course, was a direct homage to Star’s other iconic fashion-centric show that catapulted the bag to stardom. “We were sure that little Emily was watching Sex and the City,” Fitoussi, who released the Emily in Paris: The Fashion Guide earlier this month, says. (In fact, in Season 1 — in collaboration with SATC costumer Patricia Field, who worked on EIP as a consultant — Fitoussi dressed Emily in a black tutu as a tribute to “her older sister” Carrie.) So, like other fashion girls who added Baguettes to their wish lists because of the HBO series’ protagonist, the fact that Emily owns the iconic Fendi bag (albeit a replica) is likely another Carrie influence.
Below, Fitoussi talks about how Emily’s ’fits in Italy are a switch-up from her Parisian style, which cast member stole the most pieces from set, and Emily’s uncharacteristic neutrals this season.
Emily goes to Rome and Venice this season. What are the key differences and similarities between her style in Italy and her style in Paris?
We made it as different as we could. When she decides to stay in Rome at the beginning, it’s for love, not for business. We used floral prints because she was blooming like a rose. It’s passionate. Italy also has light and color that you don’t have in Paris, so we went with a very different color palette. It’s very bright, colorful, and a little bit crazy.
For Venice, we used softer, more pastel colors. In a way, it combined with the color of the sea. But all cities had the timeless black and white combination — very chic and elevated — to unite all three.
We investigated Italian actresses Sophia Loren and Claudia Cardinale. In several movies, they had the polka dot print. And when we went to Venice, I also wanted to use the polka dot print. I called Stine Goya, who was unexpected because she’s not an Italian brand, but I also like to put a spotlight on Danish and Swedish designers. So she did this XXL polka dot print custom-made for Lily, because I wanted to keep it romantic with the shape, but very powerful, and having a different scale of polka dots.
There’s custom Stine, sourced vintage Galliano… How many pieces did you end up pulling for this season? I remember you had 25,000 last year.
27,000 this time. I watched 480 lookbooks; we collaborated with 450 brands, from very high-end to young designers. I’m super blessed to have a cast that’s very supportive of my mission in life. So, they agree to wear high-end brands, thrift shops, and young designers.
Lily recently told us that she wanted to keep the black-and-white Harris Reed gown from Season 4, but couldn’t. Meanwhile, Ashley told us she kept a piano purse.
Yeah, she stole it. She said, “Marilyn, close your eyes. I love the piano purse.”
Did she steal anything else that you know of?
Yes, a lot of things, because Ashley’s playful; she has a different style; she can go crazy in her own life. I know she will wear and rock the purse with a completely different outfit. I’m excited to see how she’s going to style the piano purse.
And what about Lily?
Lily, no. She differentiates between her character and who she is in life, even if she fell in love with some pieces. She’s very sophisticated in her simplicity. She loves pieces like old Saint Laurent or old Celine. She’s very fond of the vintage and archive pieces that have a story. Those have meaning for her; something she can pass to her daughter.
In all of Emily’s Season 5 outfits, which took the longest to create?
I purchased this pair of vintage high boots with a multicolored harlequin print for Season 2. I loved them, but I couldn’t find a matching outfit until Season 5. Some outfits are really easy to start with, and some you don’t find the right shoes, or the right bag, or you don’t like the color.
Which piece costs the most?
It’s horrible what I’m going to say, but I don’t know the price of anything because we have a lot of loans, and sometimes when I see the tag, I say, “Jesus.” But for all the looks, we try to have a mix of young designers, high-end brands, and secondhands, so it’s a balance.
Yes, the fashion costs a lot, but sometimes we’d have a beautiful dress that I purchased from Goodwill for $20 paired with shoes worth $2,000. We have a lot of loans. And when I’m buying on a luxury website, I have a maximum. I never go over 1,000 euros because it’s too much. I do that in my own life.
We see Emily in some more basic pieces this season, like the Central Perk T-shirt.
And a hoodie. Because she needed to be in something comfy. I didn’t want it to have a high brand or exuberant hoodie. It was just a simple orange hoodie from Not From Paris Madame.
We went even with a gray plain suit from Galliano from 1997. Yes, I used neutral colors twice. One full black look, a tribute to French singer Juliette Gréco, and one gray look with this wonderful 1997 tailored jacket and pencil skirt. I’m astonished myself that I went for the neutral color. But it was nice because every country has its signature, and she has a different attitude in all three cities.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
