20th Century Fox
By Ed Avis
Kathy Furore, the editor of The Costumer magazine and my wife, and I watched The Devil Wears Prada: 2 at the theater two weeks ago. We both loved it – it has a reasonably plausible plot, very appealing characters, and a satisfying ending. But the best part was, of course, the fashions.
In fact, it would be fun to watch the movie in slow motion so you could see the costumes better – in real time they whip by quickly, and there are so many, from the office scenes to the gala events, that you can’t really take it all in.
In an article published on May 2 on Variety’s site, the movie’s costume designer, Molly Rogers explains how many of the outfits were chosen. Click here to read the article
One highlight – though it’s definitely low fashion – was the return of the cerulean sweater that Andy, the character played by Anne Hathaway, wore in the first movie. In the original, that sweater leads to a cutting monologue by Miranda, played by Meryl Streep, about how the fashion industry informs clothing designs all the way down to basic pieces like casual sweaters. The sweater – actually a stunt double -- reappears briefly near the end of the new movie, in a vest form.
Of course, the women’s fashions in the big scenes are highlighted in the Variety article. Miranda first appears in the movie wearing a Balenciaga red ballgown made from silk taffeta, for example, and both Miranda and Andy sport Armani Privé in one scene set in Milan.
But the day-to-day fashions shown in the office scenes were also stare-worthy. Miranda’s assistant Amari, the character played Simone Ashley, wears fun, crisp fashions that steal some scenes. And when the lead characters visit the Dior office to brown nose an advertiser, everyone in that office is similarly dressed to kill.
My favorite costumes, which were not even mentioned in the Variety article, were those worn by Nigel, the character played Stanley Tucci. Kathy and I love Stanley Tucci – especially his Searching for Italy series – so that was part of it, but he looked 100 percent like someone who knows he is surrounded by trend-setting fashionistas and has to look great all the time.
In several scenes he wears three-piece suits with ties and pocket squares that smartly contrast with his shirt, and in the gala scenes he wears a classy tuxedo with a bowtie and a scarf. Throughout the movie he’s wearing a big funky ring that is unavoidable. You can see a few photos of his outfits in a GQ article about his role in the movie: Click here to read that article
What was your favorite outfit from the movie? Please share it in the comments below!