How Emily in Paris is tackling sexual harassment in fashion

The new season of Netflix’s fluffy show Emily in Paris introduces a startling storyline about sexual misconduct in the fashion world, but how does the show handle this subject and does it reflect reality?

Author Darren StarNetflix’s light-hearted series “Emily in Paris” naturally has a lot in common with Star’s previous iconic drama “Sex and the City.” From the annoying protagonists to Obsession From the City of Light to Fashion – SATC Costume Designer Patricia Field She produced the first two seasons of Emily, and while the two shows share many themes, this season of Emily in Paris takes a new dimension from its predecessor by addressing sexual harassment in the fashion world.

This article includes descriptions of sexual harassment and assault and contains spoilers for “Emily in Paris” Season 4, Part 1.

Years before Emily in Paris and the #MeToo movement, SATC protagonist Carrie Bradshaw was sexually harassed at Vogue headquarters. In a 2002 episode from season four of Sex and the City, columnist and shoe enthusiast Carrie Bradshaw ascends to the famed fashion closet in Vogue’s hallowed halls and stumbles upon a pair of coveted “urban shoe myths”: Manolo Blahnik Mary Janes. There, she stumbles upon her supposed mentor, Julian (Ron Rifkin), in his underwear, calling her “cute” as he meaningfully snaps the band of a pair of Versace briefs he’s trying on. “You’re old enough to be my father,” Carrie gasps, to which Julian quips back that she has trouble with men. “With all due respect, this is Vogue,” Carrie says disdainfully, towing the line in her Mary Jane pumps between calling out Julianne and wanting to protect her position at Vogue and prevent further abuse.

This 2002 episode aired long before the #MeToo movement became popular, but now a similar scene has appeared in season four of Emily in Paris, 5 episodes The first episode aired last week, with the second due to air on September 12. In recent years, several documentaries have been produced that have highlighted allegations of sexual misconduct in the fashion industry. Scouting for Girls, Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons and White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch – There is surprisingly little representation in mainstream fiction.

If you weren’t one of the 58 million households that streamed this fluffy series when it first dropped in 2020, here’s a quick rundown: Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) is transferred from Chicago to work at the French marketing firm Savoie after the boss who was supposed to take the job finds out she’s pregnant. Emily is completely unprepared for the opportunity, and the fact that she can’t speak French, combined with her bubbly, workaholic American attitude, quickly angers her laissez-faire French coworkers, including Savoie’s chic, overbearing head, Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu), and her subordinates, Julien (Samuel Arnold) and Luc (Bruno Goully).

Things aren’t much better for Emily at home either, as she finds herself caught in a love triangle with her neighbor Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) and her new friend Camille (Camille Razatto), Gabriel’s ex-boyfriend. Emily’s saving grace is Mindy (Ashley Park), an equally out-of-place Asian-American heiress and aspiring singer.

In the four seasons since, Emily has used her fierce determination to win over her cold coworkers, but that apparently hasn’t included learning to speak their native language fluently or getting a raise that would allow her to move out of Mindy’s studio apartment. Or maybe she just spent the money on clothes…

Now, in the new series, in a scene reminiscent of Carrie’s fashion closet experience, Mindy is thrilled to be allowed to browse the workplace wardrobe at JVMA, the luxury fashion conglomerate owned by Louis de Leon, the father of her fiancé Nicolas de Leon. Two female employees come across Mindy trying on various archive outfits and chastise her, but not for the reason she thinks. “You need company,” one of them tells her, which Mindy initially mistakes as an offer for someone to carry her luggage.

Later, after relaying this information to Emily, Mindy learns that the buddy system was invented by the female employees at JVMA because Louis would force them to try on the clothes he picked out for them in front of him – those who didn’t were considered fashion mavens and couldn’t advance in the company – in other words, the fashion equivalent of a casting couch.

Emily’s boss, Sylvie, had worked at the JVMA earlier in her career, and in season 3 it was hinted that an inappropriate affair had occurred between Sylvie and Louis while Sylvie was working for him. In the new series, upon learning that Savoie plans to work with Louis, Emily expresses her concerns to Sylvie. Sylvie is clearly upset at first; “Those were different times,” she replies dismissively. However, it’s unclear if Louis is still Harassing subordinatesJust like she had done while at the company, she decided to speak up.

At this moment, Some people claim This is a generational divide between younger women who want to condemn their abusers and sexist treatment and older women, but the theory has also been explained as follows: “mythology”. This divide is perhaps especially pronounced in France, where the #MeToo movement began. Slow to pick up the pace They are more fashion-savvy than other Western countries. Story MagazineMarianne Kway puts the phenomenon down to the country’s general attitude towards sex: “These French cultural norms around sex are the reason why the #MeToo movement has struggled to gain traction in the French fashion industry,” she told the BBC. Agnès Poirier of The Observer: “What has always distinguished French feminism from American or British feminism? [is] “Attitudes Towards Sex and Men”

The movement had some early success in France, Female lawmakers speak outBut it’s mostly stalled. In fact, the percentage of rape allegations dismissed in court has dropped from 86 percent in 2016, before #MeToo, to 107 percent in 2018. 94% in 2020A study by the Institute for Public Policy Studies suggests that some of the most powerful figures in French fashion are involved, but with mixed results. Suspicion of sexual harassment Seven models allegedly had affairs with him in 2018, which he denied, and Gerard Marie, head of France’s Elite Model Management, filed a lawsuit against him. closure He is set to be released in 2023 due to a statute of limitations, while Jeffrey Epstein’s associate and model agent Jean-Luc Brunel Imprisoned He was arrested in 2020 on suspicion of raping a minor and later committed suicide.

There has been similar skepticism about #MeToo in the French film industry, where a petition signed by 100 female artists made headlines in 2018. Open Letter To Le Monde “The freedom to seduce and to pursue is essential to sexual freedom,” the paper said. Leading the way In 2023, she announced she was quitting the industry due to her allegiance to her alleged abuser, which was followed by accusations against French actor Gérard Depardieu. To be put on trial Depardieu was indicted in October on two counts of sexual assault that allegedly occurred in 2014 and 2021. Depardieu has denied all the allegations. French actress Judith Godreche Historical accusation French film directors Benoit Jacquot and Jacques Doillon are currently under investigation for alleged sexual assault, which they both deny.

Actress and director Noémie Merlant was apparently inspired by her co-star in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, co-writing, directing and starring in the film as part of France’s #MeToo movement. BalconetteWho could forget Mamouna Doucouré’s Cuties, a sexualised portrayal of a young dance troupe that fell victim to the very issues it was meant to address, thanks to Netflix’s provocative marketing campaign? later apologized.

Hollywood has also been slow to address the issue. Maureen Ryan, author of Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood and a Vanity Fair contributor, says there has been “little coverage” of #MeToo, “apart from a few high-profile examples.” It might destroy you and Promising Young Woman“I can’t think of many films or shows that I can recommend and say, ‘Oh, this captures complexity and ambiguity so well,'” Ryan told the BBC.

While Emily in Paris is a fantastical, light-hearted portrayal of the French fashion industry, it’s notable that Sylvie ultimately decides to speak out and tell the truth about Louis de Leon in an exposé in Le Monde, and one might hope for a similar real-life development.

Emily in Paris Season 4 is currently streaming on Netflix

For sexual abuse information and support, Click this BBC Action Line (UK only).