'FRENCH GIRLS ROCK 'N' ROLL' ARE

Photographs by PIERRE MOUTON

No matter how clichéd it is to covet French-girl style and their “effortless chic”—or imagine yourself sipping coffee and people-watching en terrace—the fantasy of living the Parisian dream is irresistible. It’s a fantasy that Netflix’s Emily in Paris, now in its third immensely bingeable season, conjures perfectly.

Written by Sex and the City creator Darren Star, we follow American marketing exec Emily (Lily Collins) as she navigates life and love in the French capital. The show is unashamedly frothy, far-fetched—and with costumes by SATC’s Patricia Field, full of fabulous fashion, too.

Arguably the most stylish character is Emily’s friendslash-frenemy Camille—the very epitome of the impossibly cool Parisian woman—played by 28-yearold French actor Camille Razat.

“I think the vision of the French girl is often just reduced to Jane Birkin’s style,” Razat muses. “Which I love, of course. It’s classic. But I think we are more rock’n’roll. For example, I love leather, latex, anything oversized. Which is why I love the fashion in Emily in Paris—it’s a little bit too much, a little OTT. And this season the fashion is even better, even more edgy.”

For the past decade, Razat has steadily built her profile as a model, appearing in campaigns for Celine and Balmain, and as an actor with roles in French films and TV series—but Emily in Paris has taken her career to another level, launching her on an international stage. While global audiences have lapped up the show (it’s clocked up hundreds of millions of viewing hours

BY HANNA WOODSIDE

worldwide), the reaction from French audiences has been a little more divided.

“Well, the French, we love to hate; that’s our way to do things,” she says wryly. “I think it’s 50/50: half love it because it’s light and joyful, the other half are like, ‘Oh, but that’s not the real Paris.’ But that’s the whole point! It’s a heightened reality. We want people to dream.” Although, if you do find yourself in Paris IRL, Razat’s top three must-visits are “Loulou restaurant for the most delicious food, the Celine flagship for the best jeans, and the vintage market at Saint-Ouen.”

Emily in Paris is as fun to make as it is to watch, says Razat. “We’re always being told to be quiet on set and stop laughing so they can film,” she says of her co-stars Collins and Ashley Park, who plays Emily’s roommate and aspiring singer Mindy. Giving Razat’s character a run in the style stakes is Emily’s terrifyingly imperious boss, Sylvie (59-year-old French actor Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu), who has become something of an icon, for both her hard-as-nails attitude and impeccable wardrobe. “Philippine is so classy,” says Razat. “She’s that kind of woman when she walks into a room, you just look at her. She has charisma.”

The male stars of the show, meanwhile, are now bona fide heart-throbs. Repping the Brits, there’s Lucien Laviscount’s cheeky chappy Alfie, who Razat readily confirms is every bit as charming in real life as he is on screen. Then there’s Gabriel, aka the Hot Chef (French actor Lucas Bravo), with whom Camille and Emily have been tangled in a tricksy love triangle—a

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