Costume designer Marylin Fitoussi reveals the bold evolution of Emily Cooper’s costumes (played by Lily Collins) in season four of Emily in Paris. From navigating the challenges of winter coats and a glamorous masquerade ball to crafting an Audrey Hepburn–inspired Roman Holiday, Marylin takes us inside the design room—and the heart of the show’s fashion. We discuss the unexpected joys of ugly Christmas sweaters and how Marylin continues to blend tradition with rebellion in every look.
Spencer Williams: I’m so happy to be joined today by Emily in Paris costume designer Marylin Fitoussi. Thank you so much for being here—I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.
Marylin Fitoussi: It’s nice to see you, Spencer.
Spencer Williams: Likewise! I’m really excited to talk about Emily in Paris. Before we dive into Season 4, I’d love to begin by talking about collaboration. First, can you share more about your work with series creator Darren Star? How has that relationship evolved over the years?
Marylin Fitoussi: I was very lucky to be introduced to Darren by Patricia Field, the legendary costume designer of Sex and the City. They had this incredible, creative relationship, and Darren trusted Patricia 100%. I did my interview with Patricia—she was choosing between a few designers—and once I was approved, it was because she was absolutely sure I would understand Darren’s vision the same way she did on Sex and the City.
Darren is someone who inspires you a lot. He puts so much faith in you. He trusts you completely and says, “Do whatever you want.” Every time he asks me to design a runway, he says, “Surprise me.” And it’s thrilling—but also terrifying! You think, “How can I impress this man who’s had such an iconic career?”
Now, we understand each other without needing full sentences—just a word or two. I know his universe. I know his aesthetic. I respect it. I love romantic comedies, I love color, I love women who are always well dressed. We both love body-conscious looks. At first, that style felt very American to us in France. But now, we say, “No, no—it’s French chic!”
We joke about it, but the truth is Darren has succeeded in making the show visually stunning because he has such a clear vision. And when he trusts you to follow that vision, it makes the show even more dynamic. It becomes this effervescent, joyful thing—a bit like a glass of champagne. Honestly, it feels like a dream job. I almost feel guilty calling it work because I’m just having fun every single day.
Spencer Williams: It’s colorful, joyful—and yet it still touches on real topics. It’s inspiring. It’s just nice to watch something and feel so energized by the colors and the styling.
Marylin Fitoussi: I’m really proud of that. I love when people tell me, “I watched Emily in Paris and all that color made me feel happy,” or “The show encouraged me to start wearing color again.” Some say they used to wear only black and now feel inspired to try something new.
It becomes a sort of manifesto for freedom. I’m a little against the fashion magazines and their “rules.” You know—the ones that say you can’t wear more than three colors, or more than three accessories, or that you need to follow these ridiculous “eight-point laws.” That’s crazy to me.
Clothes should come from the gut. They should help you feel good, feel beautiful, feel confident. Fashion is a message—it’s how you present yourself to the world. So, in that way, you are your own costume designer. You are your own stylist. Don’t just follow trends blindly. You know your body better than anyone. You know what flatters you. Life is too short to wear boring clothes. I say that all the time. Express yourself. Fashion is art.
Spencer Williams: Lily Collins mentioned in the press leading up to the new season that she met with you ahead of time to talk about new color palettes, designers, imagery, and opportunities for custom pieces. What is your collaboration like with Lily as you prepare for each new season of this incredible show?
Marylin Fitoussi: She’s truly a professional. Lily is incredibly versatile—like a chameleon—and she’s fearless when it comes to fashion. She’s done so much editorial work, and from day one, she’s been a real collaborator.
She was always willing to take risks, to try something different, and to support the vision. From the beginning, she understood that the silhouettes we were creating for Emily were bold, eclectic, sometimes maybe a little too much—but she embraced that. She knew it was better to be bold and visually interesting than to follow trends that might be out of style by the next season.
Even a change as simple as her haircut becomes a spark of inspiration for me. When she got the bangs and shorter hair, I texted her and said, “Please, Lily, keep your short hair—I promise you, we can go even further with this season.” And she did. Darren was totally on board, too.
She gives me this whole range of possibilities, and she does it with so much joy and enthusiasm.
Spencer Williams: And with that, Emily’s look really evolves over time. By Season 4, she’s not trying to fit in anymore—she lives in Paris now. She’s no longer just visiting for work.
We also see her open up more emotionally—there’s more vulnerability this season as she goes through significant changes and complicated relationships. So, what does the evolution of Emily’s costumes say about who she is as a character this season?
Marylin Fitoussi: I think now she’s much more mature—more of a woman. She knows the French rules. She’s fully absorbed the culture. But she’s still unapologetic, and she’s 100% happy with that. She’s not going to transform into a typical, reserved Parisian girl who follows all the rules.
She’s made those Parisian rules her own—but with the Cooper twist. And when we add the Cooper twist to a French silhouette or classic French chic, I get excited, because I know the French will be scandalized. Their eyes will bleed! They’ll say, “This is not the French way to dress!”—and that’s exactly what I want.
I want to show the French a different way of thinking about French style—blended with a foreign point of view.
When I lived in Mexico, I wore traditional Mexican garments, but styled with a Parisian eye. And that kind of mix is fascinating. You start to see your own culture through someone else’s perspective. You rediscover what makes it special—why “French chic” is so revered. You start to understand why it’s called that and how it resonates globally.
Spencer Williams: There’s one specific costume I have to bring up. In Episode 3 of Season 4, we get the Heartbreak Ball, a masquerade. I got to visit the Netflix studios the other day and saw Emily’s black-and-white striped look in person—and I was blown away.
How did you land on that look? And also, tell me about your team—because this is a huge episode. It’s not just one costume. You had a whole ballroom of people in masquerade attire. How did you pull this off?
Marylin Fitoussi: Since Season 1, I’ve been begging to do a masquerade ball. It’s such a key part of French tradition—especially from the 18th century. We have so many historic and iconic masquerade balls in our culture.
So from the beginning, I kept saying to Darren and the writers, “Please, please, please—can we do a masquerade? Costumes, drama, everything!”
In the United States, of course, you also have the famous Black and White Ball hosted by Truman Capote. So I thought—why not do a mix? A tribute to both of our countries. The elegance of French masquerades, and the black-and-white concept as a nod to Capote. Finally, in Season 4, they said yes.
And then Lily came to me with a wish. She said, “Do you mind if we call my friend Harris Reed, the artistic director of Nina Ricci, and see if he’ll design something for me?” And I was thrilled. I love collaborating with designers. So I made a little mood board for Harris—black and white, stripes, boldness—and he came back with that look. It was magic.
As for my team… We’re tiny. We have two shoppers.
Spencer Williams: What?!
Marylin Fitoussi: Yes—just two. And now we’ve added a third person who we’re training in the Emily in Paris aesthetic.
Spencer Williams: I’d have guessed 200 people!
Marylin Fitoussi: I know! But no—it’s just us. Luckily, I’m an insomniac, so I’m online all night. Click, click, click.
And I have Daniella, my buyer of twelve years. She’s my eyes, my brain, my second soul. She knows me. She knows the show. She loves the show.
It’s a lot of work. The show is getting bigger and bigger, but we’re still just three people doing everything.
But sometimes it’s better to have a small army that truly understands the aesthetic. Because not everything colorful, bright, or loud is right for us. It has to be subtle, Spencer. We’re doing something very specific, and it’s actually complicated to get the balance right—so much, but not too much. Sometimes it’s just too far, and I’ll say, “No, no.”
Spencer Williams: Of course. And something that was a little different this season—it was fall and winter in Paris. We finally got to see coats, which I’m a big fan of. I live in L.A., so it’s always, you know, one million degrees. I never get to wear coats, so I have a lot of coat envy. What was it like to finally treat Emily to a winter in Paris? And of course, to take her to the Alps—that looked like a lot of fun too.
Marylin Fitoussi: It’s actually much more challenging to design and style for winter because, as you said, it’s all about the coat. You need to find coats that are not only beautiful but also have interesting shapes. We’re lucky to have very beautiful actresses, and sometimes oversized coats can swallow them up a bit.
Winter isn’t my favorite season to design for because it limits the layering, and what you see underneath gets hidden. The coat becomes the star of the outfit—and I prefer when there’s more to discover beneath the surface.
And to be honest… I hate the cold. I really hate it. I hate the mountains. So that wasn’t my favorite part. When they said we were going to the mountains, I just thought, “Oh no…”
Spencer Williams: [laughs] That’s so funny.
Marylin Fitoussi: I’m more of a Rome or beach person, that’s more my idea of a holiday. But it was still nice to experience different silhouettes and explore something new. I hate to bore myself, so it was another challenge to embrace.
Spencer Williams: Absolutely. And as these seasons go on, you’re all still learning too, getting to play with new things. It was bound to happen eventually! I was really excited to see what this winter aesthetic would look like on everyone.
Marylin Fitoussi: And I discovered your beautiful tradition—the Christmas sweater! We had such fun. We took so many pictures wearing very ugly sweaters. All the French crew members were surprised because it’s not part of our culture. I had to buy 20 jumpers, but we had a blast. It made that episode very entertaining—especially the one where Emily shows up in that ridiculous beer sweater. It was funny.
Spencer Williams: Is that a tradition you think you’ll adopt, or is that one you’re going to leave in the show?
Marylin Fitoussi: I hope so! It’s such a great sense of humor. Sometimes we need to laugh at ourselves and not always feel the pressure to be chic or elegant. It’s fun to embrace this kind of silly and entertaining expression.
Spencer Williams: Totally. Okay—we’ve got two more questions and then I’ll let you get back to set. So, the second part of the season takes place in Rome, and I couldn’t stop thinking about Audrey Hepburn and Roman Holiday. I did a little digging, and it seems like Audrey Hepburn has been a quiet reference point for Emily throughout all four seasons. Could you talk about this trip to Rome and how it shaped your approach?
Marylin Fitoussi: Yes —Audrey Hepburn has been a tribute since season one. I’m not sure exactly why it began that way, but I know Lily is a huge fan of Audrey’s elegance. Over time, the writers began to work those tributes into the scripts.
We had Roman Holiday, of course. And Charade—we actually recreated one of her iconic looks from that film. In the Roman section of season four, I printed a scarf just like the one Audrey wears in Roman Holiday. Since the film is black and white, I didn’t know the exact colors, but I learned her scarf had red, black, and blue stripes. So we printed our own versions—burgundy and white stripes, red and white, blue and white—always as a tribute, never an exact replica.
We also sourced a vintage high-waisted skirt, like the one she wore, and paired it with a vintage white short-sleeved blouse. It was our little love letter to Roman Holiday.
All the polka dots you see in the Rome section are also a tribute—to the black-and-white Italian films I love so much. Monica Vitti, Sophia Loren, Claudia Cardinale… all these stunning women. Sophia Loren in particular had these beautiful polka-dot dresses in several ’60s and ’70s films, and I know Dolce & Gabbana was also inspired by those.
So I said, “All these dots must mean something very Italian!” I wanted to pay tribute to that kind of aesthetic. We used almost exclusively Italian designers in the Rome section. That part of the story was more romantic, more sensual. Emily decides to stay for love. She’s less focused on work, so she shows a little more skin, she’s less matchy-matchy, a bit more relaxed. She lets herself breathe.
But when she comes back to Paris—we return to the rules.
Spencer Williams: Of course!
Marylin Fitoussi: But yes, Rome gave us the chance to explore something more sensual. We’re doing something similar in the new season, but… I won’t say more than that. [laughs]
Spencer Williams: Well, Marylin, it has been such a pleasure to meet you. I just—
Marylin Fitoussi: It’s over?! I don’t want to go back to set!
Spencer Williams: [laughs] I know! I don’t want you to either. But I have one last question for you. What has this series meant to you, looking back over these four years and everything you’ve accomplished?
Marylin Fitoussi: We are so pleased and grateful. It really changed our lives — for everyone on set. We all know how successful the show has been around the world, and to know that people love it, that it’s become this feel-good series… I’m really proud of that. I’m proud that it gives people a moment to clear their minds, to see beautiful clothes, stunning locations, beautiful actors.
Darren really knows how to entertain people. He knows how to write for each character — to make them genuine and likable at first, and then as the action and story evolve, you realize that everyone’s a little tricky in their own way.
And the visibility he’s given to so many young designers who’ve collaborated with me — that’s my favorite gift of all. For example, Kevin from Germany, who worked with me, was able to design for the Olympic Games. He’s so talented — he didn’t need me to be talented — but through the show, the world could see his work. And now he’s been selected as one of the designers for the Paris Olympics.
So this global visibility for young designers and students who helped with runway one and two — that’s become like a mission for me. To pass the baton and let them gain experience, to be discovered. I’m thrilled that someone in Ohio, or Atlanta, or Savannah, can watch the show, get a little piece of Paris, and dream.
Maybe the show helps people believe that everything is possible — that you can dress how you want, be who you want, and, like me, find the right project at the right time.
Every morning, I still get up, I’m not a diva, I’m not going crazy — I just love my job. I feel lucky to have this dream job, to be surrounded by beauty all the time. If you saw our showroom, Spencer… if you could see our fitting room! The most beautiful shoes, the best from every designer you can imagine — bags, jewels, insane dresses… You just wake up, and you’re surrounded by beauty.
Spencer Williams: Not a bad way to start the day.
Marylin Fitoussi: No — it’s just amazing.
Spencer Williams: Marilyn, I just met you today, but I’m already so proud of you and the journey you’ve been on. I’m waiting for that showroom invite though!
Marylin Fitoussi: If you come to Paris, you must! You must! Even after 31 years of costume design, I walk into the office every morning and think — “Is this real?” Sometimes I hope the security camera isn’t watching because they’d see me saying it every day. But I never want to lose that feeling. The day I lose that enthusiasm… that’s when I’ll retire.
Spencer Williams: I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Designer Marylin Fitoussi, this has been such a joy. Thank you so much for joining me. I look forward to seeing that showroom in person — maybe in a couple of months, we’ll make it happen.
Marylin Fitoussi: Merci Spencer.
Season Four of Emily in Paris is now Streaming on Netflix!
