By Jasmine Ong
I was 15 when I first watched The Devil Wears Prada and as soon as I left the cinema, I knew I wanted to be a lifestyle journalist when I grew up.
Even though it wasn’t quite the same type of journalist as what Andy Sachs (played by Anne Hathaway) wanted to be, the film left an impression on me and inspired me to look at turning my passion for writing into a career at a magazine.
It’s probably no surprise then, when word got out that The Devil Wears Prada 2 was indeed being made a reality, I was worried about how they would progress the story without the type of cliches and predictable storyline that sequels sometimes become.
Thankfully, my worries were not warranted as The Devil Wears Prada 2 picks up 20 years after Andy has left Runway, and we are now re-introduced to her as an award-winning journalist.
Her paths inevitably crosses with her former boss Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep), mentor-figure Nigel Kipling (played by Stanley Tucci), and Miranda’s former first assistant Emily Charlton (played by Emily Blunt), when unforeseen circumstances brought her back to the fashion publication as the new Features Editor.
Just as Andy starts to get comfortable in her new role, a sudden unpredictable event occurs, forcing a change of hands in the parenting company management, which triggers a plan to restructure Runway in a drastic way; leaving her with no choice but to try and save the publication from its fate.
First things first, we have to talk about the all the different looks in the film because what is The Devil Wears Prada without its chic-as-heck outfits?
From Andy’s ever-evolving style to Miranda’s stunning fits and even Amari’s (played by Simone Ashley) looks, every single outfit looked like it was taken right off the runway and styled to match each character’s personality.
The mention of thrift stores also motivated me to start planning trips to our local ones, just so I can find a Maison Margiela blazer for $11 too.
Even though Andy’s outfits were already lovely to start with, I liked how they kept her style preppy chic, which cleverly reflected her character’s serious, journalistic side without forgetting that she was working in a fashion magazine.
With fashion being the focal point of the film (and an occupational hazard for me), I also found myself doing a bit of an Easter egg hunt — fashion edition — to spot all the fashion bigwigs and models that made cameos such as Marc Jacobs, Donatella Versace, stylist Law Roach, Winnie Harlow, Ashley Graham, and Heidi Klum.
This was, of course, followed by the familiar onset of anxiety and slight PTSD that I would get seeing the fashion shows in the movie, which reminded me of the influx of information I would get several times a year when Fashion Week was happening.
Beyond being a fashion-focused film, this sequel felt like a reflection of the media landscape today, where journalists not only have to compete with the rise of alternative news makers, but they also have to tackle corporate views of their profitability.
As someone who works in this industry, it was almost comforting to see that the movie did not sugarcoat what us journalists have to worry about everyday, especially when most people only see the glitz and glamour of the job.
Needless to say that as the story progressed, I really liked that I got to see bits of my own experiences reflected in the little moments of each character.
From Andy struggling to write viral articles to finally getting her first viral main page story, and Nigel quietly holding the publication together in the background, these were similar situations I felt that I had gone through too, in my career.
An especially poignant point of the film for me was in the scene where Miranda was contemplating life without Runway.
For Miranda, Runway had been her life’s work, and everything that she had sacrificed personally, was for the greater good of her publication which she ultimately turned into one of the most revered in the industry.
While I can’t say that I have achieved as much as her or even built a publication from scratch, I can understand her reluctance to let go of something that has given her so much fulfillment and joy.
In moments where I’ve experienced burnout, I too have contemplated what life would be like if I had just called it quits; but just like Miranda, I would always get anxious and scared about not feeling the same way I did if I left my role.
Despite seeing multiple aspects of my daily life reflected in the film, I still thoroughly enjoyed this perspective it brought to the world of fashion and publication.
Even though this sequel was 20 years in the making, the wait, in my opinion, was well worth it as it provided a more accurate reflection of the challenges facing the media landscape today — something we will not be able to get if we had gotten a sequel five or ten years after the first film.
In spite of all the fashion and media industry references, The Devil Wears Prada 2 also delivered on laughs, wit and heart, while proving that sometimes sequels are just well worth a few decades’ wait.
That’s all.
You can watch the trailer for the movie here.
