The Devil Still Wears Prada

In my anniversary review for The Devil Wears Prada, I expressed my hesitancy regarding the movie’s sequel. Although it certainly cannot hold a candle to its predecessor, I am pleased to report that The Devil Wears Prada 2 is an enjoyable movie with a bleeding heart at its core. 

The movie takes place twenty years after Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) left her position as an assistant to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), the formidable editor-in-chief of Runway magazine. Andy is now an established investigative reporter, and in the opening scene, she is set to receive a major award for her work. In the seconds before her speech, she (and all her colleagues) received a text message notification that their entire newsroom was being laid off—a situation eerily familiar to journalists working across both legacy and independent media today. 

Meanwhile, the past two decades have immensely changed the atmosphere of Runway. Once the world’s foremost fashion magazine, Runway now struggles to maintain relevance. Consumers no longer flip pages of print magazines for directives on how to dress. Consumers barely even click to read articles posted on the Runway website. Even Miranda’s status as the ultimate gatekeeper of high fashion has dwindled. While in the first movie, Miranda carelessly tossed her coats onto the desk of her degraded second assistant, she must now hang outerwear herself on a rack at the corner of her office. Plus, Miranda can be cancelled now: the narrative catalyst is Miranda facing significant backlash for publishing a puff piece about a brand that uses sweatshop labour to manufacture its clothing. This backlash is apparently so catastrophic that not only do Runway’s top advertisers threaten to cut ties with the magazine—a revenue loss which would debilitate the already floundering magazine—but also kneecap Miranda’s promotion to Head of Global Content at Elias-Clark, Runway’s parent company. 

Compared to the sobering reality of Andy’s initial predicament, I found myself irritated by the implausibility of this apparently cataclysmic editorial error. If no one reads Runway anymore, would people really react so strongly to Miranda failing to screen a random puff piece? Runway is a thinly veiled stand-in for Vogue magazine, and a quick trip to Vogue’s website shows recent articles about brands like Zara, Nike, and H&M, all of which have faced serious allegations of human rights violations in labour facilities. Even luxury brands like Versace, Gucci, and (yes) Prada are being investigated by Italian authorities for exploitative labour practices. Would the consequences of Miranda’s puff piece mishap be so significant that she must bend to the will of her couture advertisers, offering them free advertising space in upcoming issues and website articles? I really don’t think so.

Well, at least this set-up serves its purpose of reuniting the cast of characters we know and love from the original Devil Wears Prada. Andy is hired by Runway as the new features editor, tasked with repairing Miranda’s image and reviving engagement with Runway’s editorials. Nigel (Stanley Tucci) is still working as the creative director of Runway, and immediately resurrects his role as Andy’s wise and benevolent guide. Emily (Emily Blunt) appears as a senior executive at Dior, one of the fashion houses that Miranda must appease after her puff piece debacle. Still headstrong, Emily has nevertheless also been snubbed by the deterioration of legacy media. Once singularly devoted to climbing the ranks of Runway, Emily pivoted to luxury retail because, she says, that’s the only sector of the fashion industry that still makes money. Strewn throughout the movie are many, many, many cameos: Donatella Versace, Lady Gaga, and Amelia Dimoldenberg of “Chicken Shop Date,” to name just a few.

My favourite aspect of the original Devil Wears Prada is its earnest adoration for the craft of fashion. This sequel cares less about fashion—unfortunately, the costumes were disappointing—but it cares deeply about journalism. The devil of this movie is Jay Ravitz (B.J. Novak), the newly appointed head of Elias-Clark, who dresses like a millennial tech-bro and acts like a McKinsey intern who just learned the concept of downsizing and is bursting at the seams to try it. Jay Ravitz holds no regard for fashion or journalism and views Runway as a poor investment. His callous attitude places the entire Runway institution in true life-or-death jeopardy. The movie makes its distaste for Jay Ravitz abundantly clear. More than that, Aline Brosh McKenna’s frustration with the devaluation of journalists, the collapse of legacy media, and impending A.I. doom proves a fiery force that powers her slightly-jaded-but-still-glamorous world of 2026 high fashion.
Sure, The Devil Wears Prada 2 isn’t perfect. But it has some good laughs, every acting performance is spectacular, and above all, it cares. I mean, the producers hired an actual artist to paint an AI-generated meme. In my opinion, that alone should convince you to watch it.