Rome-ing around in Parisian chic: Emily in Paris season four fashion commentary

Another summer means another season of Emily in Paris, and this year’s two part instalment saw a shift in Emily Cooper’s (played by Lily Collins) signature bold fashion sense. She becomes a lot more mature, and comfortable with her Parisian lifestyle. Emily is still serving ever-colourful outfits, full of prints and embracing the elegance of a bit of black in her wardrobe, looking as classy as ever. Season four takes inspiration from icons such as Audrey Hepburn, as well as an Italian influence when the show goes to Rome in part two.

Marylin Fitoussi, this season’s costume designer, marks how they were ‘Emily-ifying’ iconic styles and giving them a ‘masculine-feminine twist’

Across the first part of season four, Emily embraces academia and corporate core as we see her wear a selection of suit sets and blazer-trouser combos, as well as the welcome addition of ties which culminate to balance Emily’s girlish charm with her corporate job as a marketing executive. Marylin Fitoussi, this season’s costume designer, marks how they were ‘Emily-ifying’ iconic styles and giving them a ‘masculine-feminine twist’. This season sees Emily Cooper a lot more comfortable and confident, so much so that her wardrobe starts to reflect her Parisian routine with varying collar styles, shirt styles, blazer and trench coat options and silhouettes.

In part one, one of the most memorable suit co-ord sets we see her don is a cobalt blue oversized blazer and wide-legged trousers and point-toed shoes to tie the look together; we see the look in action as Emily is trying to track down the elusive Camille. Now, the trousers are the defining shift in this season’s wardrobe makeover; there’s simplicity in how Fitoussi harnesses the boldness of colour or layering and adding a unifying matching set which combines both practicality and girl-bossing all at once. We’d usually see Emily in skirts, shorts and leaning into her floral, girly, preppy style strains, but this shift to a more gender neutral, playful, corporate-core maintains Emily’s vivid style from seasons past, but aligns more with the ‘live-to-work, work-to-live’ ideology. Another suit set, which I’m going to call the ‘strawberries and cream’ suit that Emily wears to the French Open is a red and white striped number practically perfect for a tennis match. What better way to be tennis ready than allude to Wimbledon’s signature snack combination as well as an office-casual-chic look perfect for an event that is work, social and marketing related.

This was one of many Hepburn haute looks which seem to align with Emily Cooper’s newfound confidence that graced our screens.

Now we all know no outfit is complete without accessories: hats, scarves, ties, jewellery, bags galore! As the last three seasons showed us Emily Cooper’s love of hats, this season was no different in pulling off three iconic looks with three iconic hats at the centre in contrastingly dramatic ways. First of all, at a polo match in support of her bestie Mindy’s (played by Ashley Park) boyfriend, Emily is wearing a lovely pastel purple and chocolate brown bucket hat and trench coat set which is beautifully fashionable and one might say, very demure. For another marketing event, a masquerade ball, Emily struts up the stairs in an elegant black white striped bodysuit and a large black overskirt paired with an outrageously-showstopping black hat which many have stipulated saying was a look inspired by the 1960s classic film My Fair Lady starring Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Dolittle. This was one of many Hepburn haute looks which seem to align with Emily Cooper’s newfound confidence that graced our screens. Speaking of Hepburn, there was one look that was inspired by Charade another classic film which Fitoussi doesn’t miss a beat on paying homage to! As Emily joins Camille’s family for Christmas on a ski-break, she wears a replica pair of the original Hepburn-worn sunnies by Pierre Marly. The idea of romanticising life comes naturally to Emily, so why not look like a movie-star whilst living it. The look is completed with a fur hat, jacket and a headwarmer, which results in a spitting image of the 1950s starlet’s look in the original film.

Suffice to say Emily’s style has truly come into its own; versatile, playful, dynamic and combines classic sophistication with fashion forward influences, all of which culminated in a settled, fun, textured series of stylistic choices which some of us may be trying to replicate for the latter half of the year.