Costume designer for ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’: ‘Meryl Streep’s favorite earrings were from a drugstore and cost $9′

In an early scene of The Devil Wears Prada, released exactly 20 years ago, Andy (Anne Hathaway) lets out a little laugh when her boss Miranda (Meryl Streep) questions which belt to use in an outfit. To Andy, those belts look exactly the same; to Miranda, that mockery becomes the pretext to explain, with moral superiority, to her new assistant what the fashion industry is, how it works, and why she — who believes she doesn’t follow runway dictates —i s in fact obeying them without realizing it by wearing that vest in… what color? Light blue? No, darling, it’s cerulean.

Based on the book by Lauren Weisberger and inspired by the Vogue USA newsroom and Anna Wintour for the character of Miranda, The Devil Wears Prada was an unexpected success for its creators two decades ago. Looking back, it seems almost unbelievable that neither the studios nor the fashion industry believed in it — but that was the case, even among fashion designers.

The legendary Patricia Field, who turned Carrie Bradshaw into a style icon with impossible outfits, was the costume designer on the first film, and Molly Rogers — her friend, who stood by her side fighting to dress every character — now leads the wardrobe for the much-anticipated sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2. In the first film, dressing the characters was difficult. Three designers explicitly refused to lend clothes, believing it would harm their image: Oscar de la Renta, Lanvin, and Jean Paul Gaultier. Many others simply declined. “Mr. Valentino was the first to say: ‘How can I help?’” Rogers recalls today.

Twenty years later, the fashion industry has changed a lot. Now designers know that The Devil Wears Prada is a cult classic and that, through its fictional fashion magazine newsroom called Runway, it did a great deal to bring haute couture into popular culture. They now understand that being involved in a film like this —whose scenes and frames will be endlessly shared on social media — is walking, talking publicity.

“This time, everyone [the designers] was very excited and wanted to be part of the second film; it was pure generosity: ‘What do you need? Do you have enough bags? What can we do?’” explains Rogers. The challenge in this sequel was just the opposite: “There was too much. We had to learn to be selective.”

The first criterion for selecting from the endless pieces arriving on set was simple: “From my experience working with Patricia [Field], I learned that clothing is timeless. If you watch the first film today, you can’t pinpoint, in my opinion, what year it’s from. And that’s what I wanted to do in the second one: to allow you to lose yourself in the world of fashion for two hours without constantly seeing ‘look number 11 from the Spring 2026 collection.’ I didn’t want the film to be an advertisement. And I wanted all the clothing to frame this cast who don’t need any help to do what they do.” In other words, “if a bag was too on-trend, I set it aside.”

Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Meryl Streep have also changed a great deal over the past 20 years. The first two did not then have the level of fame and attention they enjoy today, nor did they have the same relationship with, or understanding of, the fashion world that they now display at every public appearance (see the promotional tour they have been doing this month).

“Annie was very young, and so was Emily. Annie had never worn high heels when she made the first film. So she’s the one who has learned the most about fashion since then. Now she’s a cover girl. She’s a movie star,” says Rogers.

In the first film, Hathaway’s character couldn’t spell Gabbana, while in the second, she knows that a basic professional wardrobe includes a solid collection of blazers. She also knows where to find them at a good price. All those lessons that Nigel (Stanley Tucci) taught her, she has managed to adapt to her own life.

Emily Blunt’s character, Emily, wore designer clothes but bought at the famous New York outlet Century 21; in the sequel, she is dressed head to toe in Dior, the brand she now works for. And Miranda has also adapted her refined taste to her age.

“We had very deep conversations and discussions with the actors about where we were going with the clothes, what these characters had been doing in the last 20 years that we could reflect in the clothing,” explains Rogers. “Everyone contributed a lot of knowledge, but with the same collaboration as in the first film, which always results in excellent costumes.”

The actresses collaborated so closely and knew their characters so well that they brought their own ideas — some of them from places that Rogers and her team might not have even thought to look.

“We worked with things from everywhere: designers, haute couture, secondhand, vintage, department stores…” lists the costume designer, adding that they also relied on archive pieces. “But one of Meryl’s favorite earrings was from a drugstore and cost $9.99. She brought it in on the first day of fittings: ‘I’ve found the perfect silver hoop, it’s the perfect size, the perfect length for my haircut.’ Very understated, very simple: it was perfect. It didn’t matter where it came from; if it works, it works.”

Twenty years of waiting for a sequel was far too long for fans, which is why filming on the streets of New York became a social event — not only with professional paparazzi this time, but also dozens of fans armed with smartphones.

“The only way to save something for the public is by filming indoors,” says Rogers. “The truth is, the whole team felt terrible that the audience and the paparazzi would see so much of the film… But there’s nothing you can do about it. I once gave Meryl a robe to wear over her outfit, she forgot about it and kept it on, and when she came out in the robe, everyone thought it was part of the wardrobe I had chosen.”

They worked through as many as 47 outfits for Andy in the film, Miranda has 28… plus Emily’s looks, the new assistants, cameos… It is hard for Molly Rogers to choose a favorite look, she admits, although after thinking for a few seconds, she answers: “I loved seeing Miranda walking through Milan [specifically through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II] in the long black Armani coat with rhinestones. I thought it was a beautiful setting and a beautiful coat. He had just passed away, and we were very happy to pay tribute to him with his clothes. It was very beautiful.”

If the first film took them to Paris, The Devil Wears Prada 2 moves to Milan Fashion Week, where Runway organizes a show and a dinner in honor of Italian designers. These scenes showcase the film’s power to bring together big names on the runway (Emilio Pucci, Etro, Fendi, Moschino, Missoni, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Lorenzo Seghezzi, Rosamosario, Roberto Cavalli, Antonio Marras) as well as in cameos (Donatella Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Lady Gaga…).

For Rogers, it was a dream come true: “It was incredible. You feel so lucky when you can run to Fendi, to the archives in Rome, and rummage through things with gloves on to see what’s there. All those Italian houses helped us with the final show. We were able to call everyone and say, ‘You have to be part of this show.’ Of course!”

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