‘Emily in Paris’ is back to troll us with its OTT fashion

It has been a triggering time for anyone who lived through the first coming of Noughties fashion, but Grazia mused that “Jacquemus’ take might just convince those millennials still haunted by their collection of early ‘00s shrugs to give them another go.”

On CTV’s The Social, host Cynthia Loyst described the offending shrunken cardigan-meets-bolero as “not quite a sweater, more like two leg warmers sewn together” and posed the question, “are we ready for this or is it only for Emilys?”

But the shrug wasn’t even the most divisive outfit featured in the trailer for the fourth season! That honour goes to a black-and-white ball gown Emily wears to some kind of masquerade function. “What in the Alice In Wonderland / chess piece is going on with [that] outfit?” joked one YouTube comment on the trailer. In another, it was described as “couture Hamburglar.”

Of course, outrageous fashion choices are nothing new for this show that generally delights in the absurd. Season 4, which drops Aug. 15, picks up on Emily’s endless will-they-won’t-they with a man “who is having a baby with a woman who’s in love with another woman and I’m the only one that knows,” to quote the trailer. “I can’t wait to watch this woman and her silly little outfits,” reads one YouTube comment beneath it.

Love them or hate them, the clothes are an integral part of how this campy melodramedy has managed to cut through the pop cultural noise. Think of the on-the-nose berets from season one, the “fashion gloves” in season two and the massive-sleeved, zebra-print Dolce & Gabbana jacket from season three.

In fact, they’re a prime reason many people tune in. “I’ve always loved her outfits. I find them so outrageous, costumey, and fun!” wrote one commenter in the official “Emily In Paris” subreddit. “What fun it is to have a show that gives us such a bold feast for the eyes,” concurred another.

The subreddit also hosts a thread entirely dedicated to venting about how much people hate the bucket hats Emily wears in season two. Meanwhile, in the thread titled “Why are Emily’s outfits always so hideous,” there’s a lively debate over whether said hideousness is an intentional choice by the show’s creators to make a point about the American expat and marketing executive character’s try-hard gaucheness. One person opined that it’s for “comedic value. Patricia Field is a genius.”

They’re referring to the legendary maximalist New York City stylist and boutique owner who was the costume designer for the original “Sex and the City” series and consulted on “Emily In Paris.” In a 2023 interview that touched on the mixed reception to Emily’s looks, Field explained that the show’s OTT approach was a reaction to the fact that when she went on a scouting trip to the City of Light, she found everyone dressed in jeans and sneakers. “French chic is dead, I said to [showrunner] Darren [Starr], but it’s not dead with me,” Field said.

The show’s primary costume designer, Marylin Fitoussi, seems to have embraced this disruptive ethos and may even be dialing it up for further effect. More is certainly more: This season includes over a thousand pieces of clothing from designers both couture (Balmain, Valentino, Alaia) and contemporary (La Double J, Staud, Farm Rio), with Canadian representation from Mackage and Canada Goose. There are 3,000 pieces of jewelry, 2,500 pairs of shoes (150 Louboutins alone) and about 350 purses.

“Our motto was obviously to have fun, but to take maximum risks, to push everything we know about this character,” said Fitoussi in season 4’s press notes. “We had to keep this eclectic side, this irreverent side, because I really didn’t want to fall into the very expected and boring.”

This indicates that the conversation-starting style moments in the show are indeed deliberately provoking us, the audience.

“I’m my first and only spectator. I don’t want to be bored. I want to see clothing and accessories that make me dream, that are unaffordable, inaccessible,” said Fitoussi. “Yes, it’s true that Emily can’t afford all the clothes on offer in the show, of course. No, her apartment can’t hold all the clothes. And that’s entertainment, baby!”

Clearly, it’s all in good fun, a way to inject sartorial escapism into a show that’s almost universally enjoyed as a fun, fluffy comfort watch — no more so than when it debuted in the dark times of October 2020.

“We need to be bigger than life, so that everyone can have access to this beauty, because it nourishes, because it feels good, because it opens up possibilities,” Fitoussi said, pointing out that many of the pieces on the show are couture one-offs that were never intended to be worn off a runway. “People need to see the infinite possibilities of human genius.”

Even if that genius is wearing a bucket hat and bolero.