I, like a lot of fans of the original movie, was excited to learn that The Devil Wears Prada was getting a sequel. It’s been 20 long years since the original came out with its iconic characters, memorable quotes, and amazing fashion. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of story does this sequel have to tell us after all these years?
The last thing I was expecting was the movie we got.
Recap Time
The media landscape has changed since we last saw these characters. Everything has gone digital, but Runway magazine has, for the most part, stayed the same. Miranda is still at the top as a tyrannical editor-in-chief for the US branch of the magazine, though now she is gunning for a promotion to Global Head of Content for all of Runway.
The magazine has been struggling to keep up with the demands of the digital age, but it becomes a real problem when the magazine catches heat for publishing a puff piece for a brand that uses sweatshops. To clean up the mess, the owner brings back former Runway employee Andy, a now-successful but recently laid-off journalist, as features editor to save the magazine’s reputation on top of helping them stay relevant.
Just as things are improving, the sudden death of the owner puts Miranda’s dreams of heading Runway on indefinite hold. When his son takes over the magazine, it only makes things worse as it’s clear that he couldn’t care less about fashion and views Runway as a money pit. He doesn’t hesitate to begin cost-cutting measures that will only doom the magazine.
It’s clear that Miranda knows that she is the end of Runway, so she resigns herself to the fact that Milan Fashion Week is the magazine’s last big hurrah. Andy, however, won’t take the company’s end sitting down. While in Milan, she teams up with Emily from the first movie to try to save the company. Speaking of which…
In this movie, Emily no longer works at Runway. Instead, she works for Dior, where she is flourishing. We learn that she is dating a tech billionaire who loves to spoil her. It is through this boyfriend, Benji, that they try to save Runway by getting him to buy the magazine as a gift for Emily.
This could have worked if it weren’t for the fact that Andy and Emily have opposing goals. Andy only wants to preserve Runway as it is, with Miranda at the top. Emily wants to have Runway for herself. As it turns out, Emily never wanted to leave Runway. She was pushed out by Miranda because she didn’t want Emily to replace her as editor-in-chief.
Andy sides with Miranda over Emily, and we learn something worse about the buyout. Benji, Emily’s billionaire boyfriend, wants to use AI to replace Runways staff. (I can’t remember if the movie ever says that Emily was aware of this or not. It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve seen it.)
After getting a pep talk from her husband, Miranda decides to fight back. Andy and Miranda convince Benji’s ex-wife to buy Runway’s parent company, which saves the magazine. Miranda gets to stay on as editor and becomes Head of Global Content for all of Runway. Despite this victory, Miranda puts Andy in her place by telling her that it’s only a matter of time before Runway and the rest of the Creative Industry go the way of the dinosaurs.
My Thoughts
As much as the movie wants me to feel bad for the Runway staff, it’s pretty obvious to me that the reason Runway has been struggling is because of Miranda. She has been editor-in-chief for over 20 years now and refuses to let go of that control. It’s why she has so much animosity for Andy when she is brought onto the team to fix Miranda’s mistake. It’s why she never gave Nigel a promotion, and it’s the reason she pushed out Emily.
Miranda tells us that the reason she got rid of Emily is that she believed Emily lacked creative vision and would doom the magazine, but that can’t be true. The audience had seen how well Emily is doing at Dior. That’s her vision and drive at work. Miranda wasn’t protecting Runway from Emily. She is just protecting her job.
The movie never fully unpacks how Miranda’s leadership ultimately poisoned Runway. It’s more focused on showing how automation is destroying creativity. I wholeheartedly agree with this overall theme, but it feels weird how the movie glosses over how bad her leadership made Runway vulnerable to corporate interference.
Were Have I Been
Hi! Sorry, I haven’t posted anything on here in… 2 YEARS!? Jeez.
Well, that makes sense. I wish I had something to show for it, but the truth is I just didn’t have the motivation to write.
I’ve been genuinely depressed, and my crappy job is taking all my energy. I have been trying to write, but all of my posts have just ended up as unfurnished drafts. I have about 20 of those bad boys just rooting away in my inbox.
The only reason I was able to get this one out was that I promised myself that I would publish something for my birthday, so here we are.
Thanks for reading! I want to say see you soon, but I make no promises. Until next time!
I Think Thinks 