This article first appeared in Harper’s Bazaar Singapore, the leading fashion glossy on the best of style, beauty, design, travel and the arts. Go to harpersbazaar.com.sg and follow @harpersbazaarsg on Instagram; harpersbazaarsingapore on Facebook. The November 2022 issue is out on newsstands now.

SINGAPORE – Any visual medium is bound to find itself eventually getting into bed with fashion. But television, with its episodic format allowing viewers to form deep attachments to their favourite shows and characters, has proven to be a particularly fruitful partner.

Sparks can fly when the right show and the right clothes come together.

The first time in the modern history of TV and fashion that this happened was in 1998, when HBO debuted Sex And The City.

It was not just its storyline that captivated millions of fans, but also the style. The romantic comedy-drama, which ran for six seasons until 2004, turned its lead actress Sarah Jessica Parker into a fashion icon, and conferred that status onto the pieces that she sported on-screen – most notably, the Fendi Baguette (see also: Manolos, the tutu, the newspaper dress and belts on bare waists).

That cultural imprint has remained so entrenched in people’s collective consciousness that when the Italian brand decided to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Baguette bag recently, it chose to do so in New York City – with Parker sitting in the front row, of course.

The Sex And The City sequel, And Just Like That (2021 to 2022), has fashion fans in a similar tizzy as the original. Paparazzi shots of the production are intensely pored over and catalogued on social media to dissect the stars’ looks.

But perhaps more importantly, the franchise has birthed a spiritual heir. Emily In Paris (2020 to present), boasting the same show creator (Darren Star) and costume consultant (Patricia Field), has taken the same outrageous approach to fashion &ndas...