Patricia Field, 'Sex and the City' designer on Carrie's iconic looks, a must-have fashion item

NEW YORK — Costume designer Patricia Field has never liked fashion rules.

The woman who famously combined a tutu with spiky heels on Sarah Jessica Parker in “Sex and the City,” and made a plaid bucket hat cool on Lily Collins in “Emily in Paris” has a way of making high fashion feel accessible to the masses. She explains how she does it in the new documentary, “Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field,” which recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The film is directed by Michael Selditch, who also directed the CNN docu-series ”American Style” in 2019. While interviewing Field for that series, he found a bold character with a unique, unconventional style of mixing color and patterns and designer looks with street wear. While at first Field resisted the idea of a documentary crew following her around, she finally relented and says she’s pleased with the result.

The Emmy-winning Field, 81, was behind the inventive outfits on “Ugly Betty” and is known for styling films as well, including “The Devil Wears Prada,” which earned her an Oscar nod. The Associated Press sat down with Field and Selditch recently to talk about her process, that tutu, and which item everyone should have in their closet.

Answers have been shortened for brevity and clarity.