“The Devil Wears Prada” was such a hit when it came out in 2006. It wasn’t something I was interested in at the time, back then, I was highly absorbed in all things geeky. It didn’t have pirates, vampires, witches, or elves. Still, that movie and the 2003 book it was based on hasn’t stopped being a part of pop culture conversation.
I finally got to watch it over the pandemic. Admittedly, it’s hard not to be won over by Meryl Streep’s and Stanley Tucci’s performances. And I guess in some ways, it’s a bit of a fairy tale and I get how people don’t tire of those.
Twenty years later, we have a sequel directed by David Frankel, who also did the original. And its release was timed right before the 2026 MET Gala.
I actually liked the sequel more than I thought I would. There is a lot of superficiality yet it also acknowledges the changing times for journalism and publications.
Meryl Streep is still fantastic as Miranda Priestly and Stanley Tucci continues to be an absolute joy in whatever he does. His character, Nigel Kipling, is the heart of these stories.
Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt continue their rather sweet exchange as contemporaries and frenemies Andy Sachs and Emily Charlton.
The one moment in the film that had an impact on me was when Miranda Priestly, looking back on her career and how she got to where she is, almost wistfully declares, “Boy, I really love working. I really do. Don’t you?”
I do remember many moments in the local advertising, print, and broadcast industry where I was learning, listening to so many ideas, and enjoying the fruits of a job well done with a team.
Speaking of this year’s MET Gala, Meryl Streep didn’t show up because it wasn’t her thing. Zendaya didn’t as well. Nor did Pedro Pascal. The Mayor of New York also declined to appear. The event became extra controversial as Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and his wife had the distinction of being honorary chairs and lead sponsors.
Bezos is one of the world’s richest people on the planet with a net worth of over $280 billion dollars. Last month, an Amazon worker in Oregon collapsed and eventually died while the manager told one person not to help and everyone else to continue working. In one Amazon facility, workers were told to pee in bottles so as to save time and meet their quotas.
At the beginning of “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” Andy loses her job. Bezos happens to have bought “The Washington Post” and recently let go of 300 of journalists.
On one hand, we’re seeing a movie about women excelling in their careers and taking pride in their work. On the other, we are living in an age of widening wealth disparity, with high fashion becoming inaccessible to seemingly all but the ultra-wealthy.
While I regularly make the no-brainer surrender to my black sweatpants, it’s good to be reminded style is something we all can have as “an avenue for identity and self-expression.” Those are the words of “Preview” editor-in-chief, Marj Ramos Clemente, who talks to Myrza Sison on the latest episode of her podcast “You Can Do This.” The two discuss the movie and how to make fashion “inclusive, accessible and relatable.”
In a world of exclusive this and that, thank goodness for people who offer seats at the table, and those with the talent to make a statement with thrift finds. The power to put something unique and fun together still lies more in creativity than in money.
