Lily Collins reveals how Emily in Paris character influenced her wardrobe

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Lily Collins has revealed how her Emily in Paris character, Emily Cooper, has influenced her wardrobe after four seasons.

Like many series fans, the 35-year-old actress has been motivated by Emily Cooper’s energetic wardrobe. Between ironic pattern clashes, metallic accessories, and boisterous coats, the main character – whose storyline sees her move from Chicago, Illinois, to Paris for work – exhibits a somewhat animated fashion sense. With extravagant designer adornments and affordable basics, her playful style shouldn’t work but it does, taking the meaning of “effortlessly chic” to a whole new level.

At its heart, Emily’s wardrobe throughout the first three seasons was consistently vibrant. Emily would don neon hues in striking silhouettes, making her main character status clear while highlighting her American influences against the Parisian backdrop. To all viewers, Emily’s style is dynamic and kaleidoscopic – two descriptors Collins would never characterize her wardrobe as.

In conversation with InStyle ahead of the August 15 season four, part one release of Emily in Paris on Netflix, the Mirror Mirror star spoke about how Emily’s fashion has slowly carried over into hers.

“I thought for a while that if you make yourself physically, with volume, appear bigger, then you’re taking up too much space,” she told the outlet. “Emily, in a lovely way, takes up so much space. Mixing patterns and prints, textures, styles in a way that was foreign to me, I started to realize that I didn’t have to be afraid of color anymore.”

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The Hollywood star confessed she’d been in a “dull” period before Emily helped her see the light (literally). Collins had previously been in a relationship with someone who criticized her style. For this reason, the TV star developed an aversion to color, plucking neutral and dark-tone pieces instead. Now, her character has reignited her love for vibrancy, and she’s starting to fuse more color into her everyday looks.

Aside from her fashion sense, Emily has rubbed off on Collins mentally. In the show, Emily is portrayed as a “perfectionist,” aspiring to work around the clock even on weekends. Her passion for marketing is fueled by her underlying desire to be excellent all the time – something Collins has felt in her real life. While filming, Collins noticed this similarity and immediately wanted to separate herself from the character.

She said: “This idea of perfection, needing to just always feel ready to go, always feeling like your perfect self. That’s not how I want to live my life, especially at 35.”

Showrunner, executive producer, and creator Darren Star reflected on how similar Collins’ personality can be to Emily at times. He told InStyle: “Lily has all of those qualities.”

Star, the famed creator of Sex and the City, said it was “really tough” to differentiate between the two women. “She’s very, very capable. She wants to do her best,” he noted, without specifying whether he was talking about Collins or her character.

The first few episodes of season four will be released on Netflix on August 15. The second part will debut on the streaming service on September 12.