It was recently announced that the Devil Wears Prada will have a second chapter involving Miranda Priestly and Emily. 18 years after this bestselling book turned into a movie became a major success, and became a pop culture reference for fashion editorials, it is now time to unravel some of the most outstanding moments of the movie; revealing what is true, what is false, and what we can expect from the second delivery of this now fashionable classic.
The Devil Wears Prada is a story based on Vogue’s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour
Yes and No
The author behind this bestselling book, Lauren Weisberger, was in fact a recent college graduate who wanted to be a journalist. The book is vaguely inspired by her experience working in Vogue. However, there are notorious distinctions between Miranda Priestly and Anna Wintour. Vogue’s team has stated the book is fiction.
Lauren Weinsberger is the best selling author of the Devil Wears Prada
Another great fiction read by Lauren Weinsberger is When Life Gives You Lululemons, an intriguing novel that follows the next steps of Emily from the Devil Wears Prada, and includes other characters from Connecticut suburbs and Washington DC. The perfect Political Fashion fiction read!
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Andy is a good writer
False
The movie suggests that early in her career Andy has outstanding writing skills that get the attention of outstanding journalists from national media. In reality, Andy, based on the life of the author Lauren Weisberger, was not a great writer in the early stages of her career. A Vogue editor who served as a mentor for Weisberger suggested that she enroll in a writing course. Weisberger did so and began writing a novel about what she knew: her experience firsthand in fashion journalism.
Miranda doesn’t know the names of her guests at the Met Gala
False
Anna Wintour serves as the chair of the Met Gala every year in collaboration with Andrew Bolton, the head curator of the costume center at the Met Museum. Wintour is actively involved in the planning of the event that helps as a fundraiser to preserve fashionable pieces of history in the Costume Institute.
Wintour is involved in everything from the decoration, music, and food (she has publicly stated that onion and garlic are banned from the menu), to the guest list that usually goes a step beyond, because Wintour is very often involved in what designer dresses what celebrity and what should celebrities wear.
At the Met Gala of 2019 with the Notes on Camp theme, Wintour strongly suggested that Serena Williams arrive wearing sneakers. She also had to approve the performance that Lady Gaga staged on the steps of the Met taking about 17 minutes of international press time while showing four different outfits.
We can all forget someone’s name or someone’s background from time to time, but it is definitely untrue that Anna Wintour needs guidance to remember the names of all her guests as the movie suggests.
Fashion journalism is a fashionable job
It depends
Fashion journalism can cover any aspect of the fashion industry, from the latest couture collections in Paris shown at the Ritz to the textile dye harmful chemicals polluting rivers in India and devastating entire body waters while covering how the entire fashion cycle impacts different communities.
Although fashion magazines tend to focus on the most “glamorous” side of the fashion industry, it is true that in recent years there has been a consumer’ demand for fashion journalists to cover topics that are not directly linked to couture dresses and fashion shows.
“An interest in fashion is crucial” –told Emily to Andy during her first job interview as she saw her soon-to-be coworker wearing a hideous skirt, sweater, and flat shoes. Fashion journalism involves a scope of topics and layers of subtopics that, as unglamorous as they may be, are needed for the readers to better understand the fashion industry as a whole.
Miranda Priestly has influence over designers and their designs
True
Anna Wintour’s perspective in fashion shapes the creative direction of many fashion designers and editorials, because there is a lot of money at stake.
A memorable scene of The Devil Wears Prada where Andy, Nigel, and Miranda get a preview of a designer’s collection, explains how Miranda’s facial expressions determine the fate of the designs to be presented. If Miranda nods, that is a sign of approval, if she smiles (the movie suggests it only happened a handful of times), the collection is outstanding. But if you see her pursed lips, that means something is wrong and must be fixed asap.
In real life, Anna Wintour does have a strong influence on the outcome of the work creative people produce. Bradley Cooper showed Anna Wintour the script for A Star is Born months before he began directing the movie so that she could provide feedback. Wintour’s influence does not necessarily come from a place of being a commander with a narrow vision, it comes from the place of helping creatives prepare for success. After the many decades of experience that Anna Wintour has been the head of Vogue, and working with leaders from different industries whether that is expanding the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum, or hosting a fundraiser for a presidential candidate, creatives take Wintour’s feedback seriously and graciously. If this means having to start over with only a few days before fashion week, they will do so.
Andy’s cerulean blue sweater was chosen by the people in the room from a pile of “stuff”
Absolutely true
Those of us who have watched the Devil Wears Prada in an almost religious manner might even be able to recite the cerulean blue monologue by Miranda Priestley. During this iconic scene that is now part of pop culture history, Priestley describes the cycle of fashion explaining how fashion leaders and editors are able to determine trends by drawing attention to the work of fashion designers from the runway to the pages of magazines and how this cycle of fashion trickles down to the mass markets that dictate what consumers wear, even those who claim to be detached from the fashion industry, like Andy claims at the beginning of the movie.
The influence of fashion magazines in elevating trends or even beginning fashion trends is not minor. The editors and executives have access to very exclusive material of clothes, many of which may not even see the day of the light in the runways or in the fashion stories. It is their fashion experience and knowledge that help them determine what the best looks to show in each edition and which is the best way to present them.
18 years later…
In the year 2006, the Devil Wears Prada premiered and ended up being one of the most successful movies of the summer.
The famous costume designer, Patricia Field, who was the creative mind behind the emblematic and trendsetter outfits in Sex and the City and most recently in Emily in Paris, was the costume designer for this iconic movie.
Thanks to the Devil Wears Prada, fashion journalism became a more widely recognized profession. One that, according to the movie, entails running in designer shoes to get coffees while having access to the most exclusive and luxurious gifts in the fashion industry.
It is also mainly due to this book turned into film, that the general public got a glimpse of the conversations happening behind closed doors in the fashion editorial business. It is an industry that communicates with stories, highlights emerging celebrities, and supports (or not) the next generation of designers and artists.
There are countless jobs in fashion journalism that involve everything from writing, editing, and creating digital content, to public relations, marketing, sponsorships, and, yes… running to get coffee.
It’s been 18 years since the movie premiered illustrating what the fashion world of the late 90s and early 2000s look like. In 2024, where Vogue is a digital platform that live streams and carries a strong social media presence that involves everything from couture fashion shows to celebrity weddings and political rallies, it will be interesting to see what angle of the fashion industry this next chapter of the story decide to portray.
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