Emily in Paris: a profitable series for brands?

Since the first season of Emily in Paris, the fifth of which was released on December 18, it has often been more common to hear about the characters’ outfits than the storyline. In what has become one of Netflix’s biggest hits, distributed in 190 countries, established brands and small designers alike are rushing to make an appearance and see sales of their products boosted.

Worn on TV and ShopYourTV are just a few examples of websites where fans of the series can find the clothes worn by their favorite characters. Since the release of season 5 of Emily in Paris on December 18 on Netflix, most, if not all, of the expensive outfits worn by Emily, Mindy, and Sylvie are listed with a link to the e-commerce site that sells them.

From Saint Laurent to Christian Louboutin, Dolce & Gabbana, Marine Serre, and Rick Owens, major fashion houses and designers have all had the opportunity to take a bite out of the pie created by the success of Emily in Paris. Indeed, despite the mockery of the clichés about Parisian life (and now Italian dolce vita), the extravagant clothes worn in Darren Star’s series have become must-haves and are boosting sales for the brands.

With season 5 set in Rome, local luxury fashion houses such as Fendi are given pride of place. It’s not uncommon to see Emily Cooper at the Palazzo Fendi or the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, the brand’s flagship store and headquarters, respectively. The brand has capitalized on the media hype surrounding the episodes by marketing a capsule collection featuring two of its iconic bags: the Baguette and the Peekaboo. Three years ago, McDonald’s also used this technique by offering an Emily in Paris menu after the heroine stopped at the chain’s restaurant on the Champs-Elysées.

Figures that prove the critics wrong

Appearing in the series is indeed a very profitable product placement. For season 4 alone, costume designer Marylin Fitoussi selected more than 25,000 pieces from 480 brands, according to Emily in Paris: The Fashion Guide, published on December 9 by Assouline.