Did You Catch the Kate Middleton Reference in Season 4 of Emily in Paris? liennhi

When it comes to pop culture moments, you just never know when a Kate Middleton reference might pop up. 

In season 4 of Netflix’s Emily in Paris, which debuted the first half of its latest season on Aug. 15, there is a clear royal reference and nod to the Princess of Wales embedded in the first episode. In it, the character Mindy (played by Ashley Park) is given an outfit designed by the fictional fashion house JVMA by her boyfriend, Nico, which Emily (played by Lily Collins) describes as “a little more Kate Middleton than you normally go” (a callout to Mindy’s normally bold style of dressing).

In the scene, Mindy is preparing to sit in the JVMA suite at the French Open with Nico (played by Paul Forman), and the pink coat dress Mindy wears very intentionally evokes Kate’s tennis aesthetic, on display annually at Wimbledon. More specifically, Mindy’s pink look directly channels a green Balmain blazer Kate wore to Wimbledon in 2023, and Netflix confirmed that Mindy’s pink ensemble was Balmain, as well.

With its pastel hue, button detailing and white trim, it really is a sartorial callout to the Princess of Wales’ courtside style — and draws a little controversy on the show when it comes to Mindy and Nico’s relationship. Nico gave Mindy the look not because everyone in JVMA’s French Open suite had to wear the label, but because his father (who owns JVMA) wanted Mindy to dress more conservatively. 

Whether given with good intentions or not, as Emily puts it in regards to the vintage piece, “Couture is couture.” Later on, Mindy opts to sell the item on Vestiaire Collective, which helps pay for her Eurovision trip.

Emily in Paris has become synonymous with fashion, and the show’s costume designer Marylin Fitoussi told Fashionista that, when it came to choosing outfits like Mindy’s pink Balmain, “I try to understand why this series was so successful,” she said. “What does it mean for our society and for the young audience who’s copying the look and who throws parties where everybody’s dressed like Emily in Paris? I think it’s because it was a manifesto of freedom, saying to people, ‘Be confident if you like to mix everything with everything. Allow yourself to think out of the box and be different and have your own vision — and a little bit of bad taste.’ It’s like spice in the cooking. It’s healthy, it’s hearty, it’s good.”

She added of the show that dressing the characters was seen by the audience “like a fantasy. It’s colorful. It’s couture. It’s heels. It’s hair and makeup. It’s sophistication. It’s glam.”

Speaking of fashion meeting tennis, the Princess of Wales is a staple annually at Wimbledon, even attending this year amid her largely private cancer battle. Her appearance at the tennis tournament on July 14 was only her second official appearance for the entirety of 2024 thus far, following almost exactly one month behind Kate’s June 15 appearance at Trooping the Colour.

In addition to serving as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, a role given to her by Queen Elizabeth in 2016, Kate is also an avid tennis fan and regularly attended Wimbledon even before taking on the patronage eight years ago. The Princess of Wales, herself an avid tennis player, has watched the tournament in person every year since marrying Prince William in 2011, save for 2013, when matches took place as she was “heavily pregnant” with her eldest son, Prince George, and doctors advised her not to attend. Wimbledon was also canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wimbledon’s colors are green and purple, and while she wore green for the 2023 appearance that Mindy in Emily in Paris pays homage to, this year she chose to wear a bespoke purple dress by London-based luxury brand Safiyaa, which Bethan Holt, Fashion Director at the Daily Telegraph, told PEOPLE is “the color of courage, which could be a nod to what she is going through.” The Princess of Wales disclosed she had been diagnosed with cancer in a March video message and has been tending to her health since, largely staying out of the public eye.

Of Kate’s appearance alongside daughter Princess Charlotte and sister Pippa Middleton last month, “I think she looked glowing and radiant, and it was lovely to see her looking so relaxed,” said Holt, who is also the author of The Duchess of Cambridge: A Decade of Modern Royal Style. “I’m sure lots of people will have seen how happy she looked and taken reassurance from that.”

The second drop of Emily in Paris season 4 episodes hits Netflix on Sept. 12.