PARIS — Forget about Charli XCX: This year’s summer style icon might just be Jean Seberg.

The U.S. actress with the pixie haircut is back in the spotlight thanks to two films: Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and “Bonjour Tristesse,” a new adaptation of French author Françoise Sagan’s seminal coming-of-age novel.

While Zoey Deutch plays Seberg in Linklater’s black-and-white ode to the birth of French New Wave cinema, rising actress Lily McInerny reprises one of Seberg’s most famous roles in the remake of “Bonjour Tristesse,” which marks the feature film debut of Canadian writer and director Durga Chew-Bose. 

Seberg, who died in 1979 at the age of 40, played the lead character Cécile in Otto Preminger’s 1958 adaptation of the book — a stylish affair that featured gowns by Givenchy, jewels by Cartier and accessories from Hermès. 

McInerny said she didn’t see the original movie until after shooting was over. “That was an intentional choice, so as not to even subconsciously try to mimic her incredible origination of Cécile,” she told WWD in an interview. 

“Our films differ in many ways. Durga is truly a writer in her own world. She’s working with the original text of the novel. She herself is very intentionally not trying to recreate anything that Preminger touched, so we both are big fans of the film and appreciate it very much, but they’re very distinct in their styles,” she said. 

Watching Seberg navigate the plot, which chronicles the destructive behavior of a free-spirited 17-year-old and her playboy father, proved intense for the 26-year-old actress.

“I felt very emotional, and I felt very attached, and I felt very close to Jean Seberg in that moment, and it was almost like watching a distant relative or a friend I knew, or a weird sort of dream of myself,” McInerny mused. ”To have that connection with someone so glowing and untouchable as Jean Seberg, it was so cool.”

For costume designer Miyako Bellizzi, the project was an excuse to indulge in her passion for period films and vintage fashion, which influenced the overall look of the film.

“I collect ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s clothes just in general. I have an archive of it all,” said Bellizzi, who was working concurrently on “Marty Supreme,” which has garnered advance buzz for the ‘50s-era costumes she designed for stars Timothée Chalamet and Gwyneth Paltrow.

A Fashionista’s Delight

“From the very beginning, Durga and I always spoke about how we miss the beauty of old films and how, in a lot of more classic films, the way that costume design was approached was different to how it is now,” Bellizzi said, citing the work of legendary costume designers like Adrian and Edith Head.

“I mourn films that have good taste in clothing. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves in contemporary films,” she added. “I really wanted to showcase that, you know, bring it back.”

The fact that one of the main characters in “Bonjour Tristesse” is a fashion designer was the icing on the cake. Chloë Sevigny plays Anne, whose arrival at the family’s holiday villa on the French Riviera sets in motion a deadly cycle of jealousy and retribution.

Known for her work on movies including “Good Time” and “Uncut Gems,” Bellizzi relished the change of register. “Most of my films are very male-heavy, and this is the first time I’ve had three women and it’s so fashion-forward,” she said of working with McInerny, Sevigny and Nailia Harzoune, who plays Elsa, the father’s girlfriend. 

Infused with a strong design sensibility, the film is a fashionista’s delight as it revels in obscure references, rather than the splashy resortwear that is often the default wardrobe option for films and series set against a Mediterranean backdrop. 

“We could do the ‘White Lotus’ of the south of France,” said Bellizzi, adding that the idea was discarded in favor of something more timeless. “I wanted it to just be super classic.” 

She used Renaissance Renaissance, the Lebanese label founded by Cynthia Merhej that has twice reached the semifinals of the LVMH Prize, as the stand-in for Anne’s fashion label. Sevigny wears several looks by the brand, in addition to vintage Yohji Yamamoto and Jean Paul Gaultier, and accessories by Sophie Buhai.

Merhej also designed a key look for McInerny: a ‘50s-inspired pouf dress that symbolizes Cécile’s transition from tomboy to ingenue. But a lot of her clothes in the film are authentically vintage: Bellizzi and McInerny got an early start on wardrobe prep by scouring secondhand stores in New York City. 

“She lives down the street from me, so I’d be, like, ‘Hey, let’s go shop,’” Bellizzi recounted. “She’s so tiny that all the greatest, coolest vintage pieces fit her like a glove.” 

That includes a yellow swimsuit that was a nod to the one worn by Seberg in the original film. McInerny spends much of her time on screen in bathing suits and bikinis, but said she didn’t feel self-conscious.

“That was never a hesitation for me,” she said. “Stepping away from the film, I was like, ‘Was I too covered up?’ Because we’re on the beaches of France, it’s quite common to be topless.”

A Seberg Tribute

Part of her confidence came from the fact that she’s known Chew-Bose since she was a child. Part of it was knowing that Bellizzi had her back. 

“Miyako really prioritizes an actor’s comfort and confidence in the clothes that she’s dressing you in. It goes a really long way in terms of our performance,” she said, adding that it’s important to surrender personal hangups. 

“Understanding your character thoroughly, you’ll also understand what makes them feel confident and what makes them feel attractive, and that might be different from what you yourself would [wear] in your daily life,” she added. 

On the red carpet, McInerny has developed a close relationship with Celine since making her big screen debut in 2022 in the indie drama “Palm Trees and Power Lines.” She collaborated with the French brand on her look for the “Bonjour Tristesse” premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. 

“I came to them with an image from the original Preminger film of Jean Seberg in this classic black party dress. It was one of my favorite costumes from the original film,” she recalled. 

“To have anything custom designed for me would be a dream come true, let alone something so intimate and closely attached to this project so dear to me, and they came back to me in a couple of weeks with this gorgeous sketch of the dress that I ultimately wore to our debut,” McInerny said.

She noted that Zouzou, former creative director Hedi Slimane’s final fragrance for Celine, was billed as an homage to Sagan and Seberg. 

“It felt very organic and meaningful to know that everyone behind the scenes and beyond was as passionate about the history we were stepping into,” the actress said. “That’s our greatest hope, that it transports you to an era of style and film that sometimes gets overlooked these days.”