Lily Collins SaysEmily in ParisHelped Her Be Playful with Fashion Again After Turbulent Relationship with Ex

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Leeor Wild/InStyle

Leeor Wild/InStyle

Ahead of the new season ofEmily In Paris,Lily Collinsopened up about how playing Emily Cooper in theNetflixhit series allowed her to be playful in her fashion once again off the heels of her turbulent relationship with an ex-boyfriend.In an interview withInStyleon Aug. 6, Collins, 35, recalled wearing muted colors and how she would steer clear of anything that would be considered big, bold or revealing. She referred to that time as her “dull period.” She said when she was with this ex-boyfriend — whom she has never publicly named — he would tell her that “you can’t wear that, you can’t do that, you can’t say that.”“I thought for a while that if you make yourself physically, with volume, appear bigger, then you’re taking up too much space,” she explained.Leeor Wild/InStyleTheEmily in Parisactress previously opened up about her ex-boyfriend in her 2017 bookUnfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me,where she wrote about how she tried to be “perfect for him,” but “the more I silenced my voice with this guy, the more isolated I became.”“I became a one-woman island, but not the strong and independent kind,”she wrote at the time. “I was the definition of codependent. And worst of all: I became so scared that if I left him, I would have nothing. Be nothing.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.After ending that relationship, Collins toldInStylethat working with costume designer Patricia Field — who previously worked onSex and the Citywas and the consulting costume designer onEmily in Parisseasons one and two — was an empowering moment for her.Collins explained that she sent her feedback on several fashion options for the show and thought she was only providing guidance, rather than “making specific requests” and was “blown away” when she arrived in Paris months later when she saw her picks ready for her during the first fitting.When Collins expressed her surprise, the costumer responded: “But you said you liked them?“Collins later explained that one thing she loved about Emily was that “she takes up space in a lovely way.”“Mixing patterns and prints textures, styles in a way that was foreign to me,” She said. “I started to realize that I didn’t have to be afraid of color anymore.”Leeor Wild/InStyleDespite some of the criticismEmily in Parisreceived for the costuming of the first few seasons, theMirror Mirroractress said that it didn’t bother her, especially since she “had enough distance” from her character and that “Emily was meant to look out of place, leaning all the way into the clichés of French style” and serve as a contrast to Emily’s boss, Sylvie — who went for a “sleeker and sexier” vibe.“I knew that we were, a little bit, playing into the tongue-in-cheek of it all,” she added.Collins expressed that while her own fashion sense might not always match up with Emily’s in the show, the costuming process forEmily in Paristaught her how to “mix-and-match in a way that feels natural” to her.Season 4, part one ofEmily in Pariswill be available on Netflix on Aug. 15. Seasons 1 through 3 are now available to stream.

Ahead of the new season ofEmily In Paris,Lily Collinsopened up about how playing Emily Cooper in theNetflixhit series allowed her to be playful in her fashion once again off the heels of her turbulent relationship with an ex-boyfriend.In an interview withInStyleon Aug. 6, Collins, 35, recalled wearing muted colors and how she would steer clear of anything that would be considered big, bold or revealing. She referred to that time as her “dull period.” She said when she was with this ex-boyfriend — whom she has never publicly named — he would tell her that “you can’t wear that, you can’t do that, you can’t say that.”“I thought for a while that if you make yourself physically, with volume, appear bigger, then you’re taking up too much space,” she explained.

TheEmily in Parisactress previously opened up about her ex-boyfriend in her 2017 bookUnfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me,where she wrote about how she tried to be “perfect for him,” but “the more I silenced my voice with this guy, the more isolated I became.”

“I became a one-woman island, but not the strong and independent kind,”she wrote at the time. “I was the definition of codependent. And worst of all: I became so scared that if I left him, I would have nothing. Be nothing.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.After ending that relationship, Collins toldInStylethat working with costume designer Patricia Field — who previously worked onSex and the Citywas and the consulting costume designer onEmily in Parisseasons one and two — was an empowering moment for her.Collins explained that she sent her feedback on several fashion options for the show and thought she was only providing guidance, rather than “making specific requests” and was “blown away” when she arrived in Paris months later when she saw her picks ready for her during the first fitting.When Collins expressed her surprise, the costumer responded: “But you said you liked them?“Collins later explained that one thing she loved about Emily was that “she takes up space in a lovely way.”“Mixing patterns and prints textures, styles in a way that was foreign to me,” She said. “I started to realize that I didn’t have to be afraid of color anymore.”

Despite some of the criticismEmily in Parisreceived for the costuming of the first few seasons, theMirror Mirroractress said that it didn’t bother her, especially since she “had enough distance” from her character and that “Emily was meant to look out of place, leaning all the way into the clichés of French style” and serve as a contrast to Emily’s boss, Sylvie — who went for a “sleeker and sexier” vibe.

“I knew that we were, a little bit, playing into the tongue-in-cheek of it all,” she added.Collins expressed that while her own fashion sense might not always match up with Emily’s in the show, the costuming process forEmily in Paristaught her how to “mix-and-match in a way that feels natural” to her.Season 4, part one ofEmily in Pariswill be available on Netflix on Aug. 15. Seasons 1 through 3 are now available to stream.

source: people.com