Emily In Paris Is In On Fashion’s Hottest Trend

It’s been a hot minute since Emily Cooper, aka Emily in Paris, finally bid adieu to Gabriel and took on new risks. By the end of Season 4, Emily was loved-up with a whole new beau (cashmere heir Marcello), with a change of address to boot (Ciao, Rome).

After what seems like eons of waiting, Netflix finally shared Season 5’s release date and simultaneously dropped highly anticipated first-look photos for the impending Dec. 5 premiere.

While the pictures don’t clue fans in as to where Emily will be — France? Italy? somewhere else entirely? — nor who she’ll be dating by the end of the 10-episode drop, I do know two things to be true: One, this is already shaping up to be chicest season ever, with Emily’s typically flamboyant fashion looking a lot more streamlined; and two, she’s clearly taking a cue from fashion’s most in-the-know savants and enjoying a “polka dot summer.”

Emily’s Polka Dot Set

Confirming that her character does travel to other Italian cities, Emily (Lily Collins) is seen on a boat in one photo, presumably taken in Venice. In it, she lived her best Dolce Vita life in a white crop top with massive black polka dots, about the size of Reese’s peanut butter cups. Though she’s never been one to shy away from mixing clashing colors and patterns, she kept the look streamlined in matching co-ords, which included a high-waist skirt in the same spotted print.

She completed her look with cat-eye sunglasses in ivory and chunky gold hoop earrings.

More Dotted Prints, Right This Way

The '50s-era retro pattern has long been considered drab and antiquated... until now. Fall/Winter 2025 runways proved the fashion industry’s renewed fascination with the pattern. Even celebs are in on dots. Kylie Jenner and Dua Lipa, for example, kick-started “polka dot summer” in their speckled bikinis, while Hailey Bieber is already rocking transitional looks for fall. Need further proof that the trend is poised for domination? According to Pinterest’s trend report, searches for the “polka dot aesthetic” are up 699%.

Predictably, Emily, who’s chronically online, got the same memo. In another image, she was strolling with Marcello (Eugenio Franceschini), wearing yet another dotted set: a short-sleeved white button-down with blue spots tucked into matching trousers.

Paparazzi photos from filming also captured a third polka number. On set in Venice, Emily wore a black fitted strapless gown with a ruched bodice detail. It was also blanketed in pea-sized white dots.

Trendy but streamlined? It’s called *growth*.