The eagerly anticipated sequel of The Devil Wears Prada has been released across theaters worldwide and opinions are already divided. While many will enjoy seeing Miranda, Andy, Emily and Nigel back on screen together, the storyline does not feel as punchy or convincing as the original one did, which not only kept us on our toes but also made us laugh all along.
The tone of The Devil Wears Prada 2 is very different and somewhat resigned, tinged with melancholy and a longing for an era when magazine editors ruled fashion and decided who was worthy of their attention. The main problem with this sequel is that neither Miranda nor Nigel have fixed their attitude, even though they know the industry is no longer the same and they have lost copious amounts of power. They are stuck in a time that no longer exists, and the sequel struggles with its paradoxes throughout, while the first film acted as a brave and intelligent satire of the fashion industry.
Another clear point of differentiation is how much the fashion industry wanted to be part of the sequel, whereas several designers had turned down the first film, mainly for fear of upsetting Anna Wintour at the time. As we have seen over the past weeks, Wintour herself has fully embraced the film, posing with Meryl Streep on the May cover of American Vogue. While the cover was mostly praised online, it also allowed Wintour to create a welcome diversion from the controversy surrounding the Met Gala, taking place on Monday.
The fact that Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez are sponsoring it fully this year marks a significant shift for fashion, undermining Wintour’s credibility as a power figure, and demonstrating once again that, in fashion, money does buy you class and access, which is exactly what tech billionaires need.
A rubrica by: Philippe Pourhashemi, Fashion critic
[📷 IPA; Courtesy of Disney 📹 Getty Images]
