How do you say Sex and the City in French?
Honestly, it's hard not to compare Emily in Paris to the iconic HBO series. It's from the same creator: Darren Star. It has a fashionable yet relatable lead: Lily Collins. And the clothes. Oh, the clothes. Not since Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) twirled on a dirty NYC sidewalk in that tulle skirt have we had such an instant reaction to a character's wardrobe. And that's all thanks to Patricia Field, the legendary costume designer behind both Carrie and Emily's looks.
"The appeal for Emily in Paris for me was basically Darren Star," Field told E! News of signing on to do the Netflix rom-com, which dropped its first season on Oct. 2. "Darren is my hero. I met him at the beginning of Sex in the City. Sarah Jessica Parker introduced me to Darren because they had a costume designer and nobody liked the clothes."
Yes, SATC originally had a different costume designer and it's hard to imagine the show becoming as influential as it ultimately did if anyone else was responsible for the four ladies' ensembles.
After working together on 1995's Miami Rhapsody, SJP introduced Field to Star and "that is how I landed Sex and the City," the four-time Costume Designers Guild award winner explained. "It became iconic. I'm so happy about that, that people like it so much. But it was never a plan or anything conscious on my part. I just did my job."
And she's once again doing her job, with Field, who briefly played around in Paris in Sex and the City and The Devil Wears Prada, going full French with Lily Collins in Emily in Paris.
After the first trailer for the series was released in September, the Internet immediately compared it to Sex and the City and gasped over the quick glimpses at the unmistakable Field fashions. Mind you, this was just from the trailer.
"I was very happily surprised," Field said of the reaction to the first look.
Here, Field broke down Emily's most memorable looks throughout season one, as well as revealed the differences between Emily and Carrie's takes on Parisian style...
Emily in Paris is now streaming on Netflix.