‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’: A Fashion Insider’s Review

It has been 20 years since The Devil Wears Prada first strutted into cinemas, stilettos sharpened and iced coffee in hand, and its grip on fashion culture remains impressively intact. The world it captured, however, has changed almost beyond recognition. Instagram exists now, and front rows are no longer just for editors and buyers, but influencers and TikTok personalities with enough algorithmic pull. Magazines, once gleaming at you in their glossy printed covers, now exist online and serve a new generation of audience members.

And yet, that was always part of the first film’s strange magic, because beneath the stilettos worn by The Clackers, the side-eyes from Emily Blunt and deliciously icy one-liners, The Devil Wears Prada understood that fashion was never just about clothes. It was about power, celebrity, aspiration, performance and culture at large. It made people curious about the machinery behind fashion, even if that machinery was exaggerated. It gave us Miranda Priestly’s now-iconic cerulean sweater monologue, possibly the chicest lecture on trickle-down influence ever committed to film. It gave us “Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking,” which has now been repeated ad nauseum by everyone, and it supplied an entire generation with a fantasy of fashion media that was glamorous, snippy and absurdly quotable.

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So, does The Devil Wears Prada 2 live up to two decades of expectation? Honestly, watching it felt a little like meeting an old friend. There was a mixture of warmth, familiarity and an instantaneous comfort of stepping back into a world we once knew so well. Yet, I also couldn’t help but feel that there was also something slightly faded about it, a trace of jadedness that perhaps comes with revisiting a fantasy after the industry around it has changed so dramatically. The film is not perfect, nor is it not trying to be, but between the nostalgia, the camp, the callbacks and the sheer pleasure of seeing these characters orbit each other again, the film has enough sparkle to carry the flame forward.

Will it win awards? Maybe not. Will it be quoted, memed, dissected and lovingly overanalysed by anyone who has ever cared about fashion, magazines or the delicious absurdity of both? Absolutely. And with that, here’s a rolling list of thoughts I had while watching the film. Spoilers ahead, obviously.

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1. It opens with Met Gala prep, which feels like a wink and a nod, given that the actual Met Gala is just around the corner.

2. The movie’s Met Gala theme being “Spring Florals”? Living.

3. There are plenty of nods to the original film, which feels perfect for a game of “spot the throwback”. Some include the opening mirror sequence, the onion bagel, even the turquoise belts.

4. Somehow, Miranda Priestley feels more human here. In the first film, Meryl Streep played the character with an icier, almost deity-like demeanour. Here, she seems…fallible. I’m not sure if I love it yet.

5. Emily Blunt still brings that razor-sharp Emily energy. Truly, no one does withering looks quite like her.

6. The film offers a surprisingly incisive look at publishing. In the Elias-Clarke cafeteria, Stanley Tucci’s Nigel character delivers a heartfelt monologue about reduced budgets, digital content and the state of magazines.

7. Andy Sachs, played by Anne Hathaway, has great hair in this film. I also really like her wardrobe of American sportswear, because it feels real and easy to recreate IRL.

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8. Wait, did they just caricature a certain billionaire?

9. Oh yes…yes, they did.

10. Miranda still delivers the snappy quips with such sizzle. When Streep locks in for those cutting one-liners, it is so, so good.

11. That said, the movie sometimes feels a little too desperate to create the next viral quote. You can almost hear the meme template being built in real time.

12. The plot devices feel familiar and a little too close to the first movie: Andy gets the job at Runway, Emily doubts Andy while Miranda tests her, and it is up to the affable Andy to try to prove herself by meeting an impossible task.

13. It’s really great that they brought Lily (played by Tracie Thoms) back, and I wish they brought Doug (played by Rich Sommer in the first film) back too. Adrian Grenier’s Nate, on the other hand, can stay in the first film because he was such a mid boyfriend.

14. Why is Simone Ashley’s Amari wearing so many ties?

15. Also, why do some of the outfits lack punch? For a film this fashion-coded and with the entire fashion industry at their wardrobe department’s disposal, I want a little more voltage.

16. Quiet luxury gets mentioned. Are we sure we want it back again?

17. Toteme gets mentioned too. Has the brand officially crossed into the mainstream?

18. Okay, I did not see that death coming.

19. But also, the CPR technique here was so bad. No wonder the death happened?

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20. I feel awful for Miranda. I feel even more awful that she just got fist-bumped.

21. The tasseled Dries Van Noten jacket on Miranda is fabulous. Admittedly, not the most realistic thing to exist in the wardrobe of an editor-in-chief of Miranda’s calibre, but fabulous nonetheless.

22. Economy seats? How the mighty have fallen.

23. Obviously, there’s going to be a fashion montage set to Madonna’s “Vogue” song.

24. Justin Theroux brings the exact kind of levity the movie needs, and you can sense that he’s having fun with the character, which immediately puts the audience at ease.

25. Also spotted: Jonathan Anderson’s Dior menswear.

26. Miranda waxing lyrical about Da Vinci in the most sinister sneer? Acting 101 right here.

27. We really needed to see Emily Blunt shouting at Donatella Versace in a restaurant.

28. Oh…so that’s the film’s real villain.

29. The AI discussion is a terrifying reality. Thankfully, they do not go too deeply into it because, frankly, we do not need more reminders.

30. They really pulled out some beautiful jackets and coats for Miranda, even if Andy and Amari got the short end of the style stick in this movie.

31. The Lady Gaga cameo was pure camp in the best possible way.

32. Awww, Nigel gets his moment to shine.

33. Vintage Prada banana-printed skirt? We (as in Prada-philes) won.

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34. Still not over that surprise villain twist!

35. I really hope Emily Blunt does more comedy films in future, because she is so good at delivering the laughs.

36. Miranda’s monologue about passion and work really hits a note with me. Streep gives her a tenderness and a reminder that the character, much like many in the fashion industry, is human and has their own journeys.

37. “Shared carbs means no calories” is a phrase I will now be using forever.

38. The original music that they’ve reused in this second film really takes me right back to being in secondary school and skipping class to watch The Devil Wears Prada in the cinema for the first time, and wanting to work in magazines as a career.

39. Cerulean sweater vest sighting!

40. Nigel, you genius man. The way all of us in the cinema went “aww!”

41. That last scene kind of reminded me why I love working in fashion magazines: to be surrounded by beauty, to have conversations that spark inspiration, and to be around people who love what they do.

42. Look, this is not some highfalutin auteur creation, that’s clear to deduce. But is this film easy to watch, decently entertaining and exactly the kind of movie you would happily put on during a lazy Saturday a few months from now? Absolutely.