The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada, 2006 American dramedy directed by David Frankel, known at the time for working on episodes of Sex and the City in 2001 and 2003, and adapted by Aline Brosh McKenna, who had scripted such rom-coms as Three to Tango (1999) and Laws of Attraction (2004), from Lauren Weisberger’s bestselling 2003 novel of the same name. Set in the high-pressure world of New York fashion media, the film follows Andrea (“Andy”) Sachs (Anne Hathaway), an earnest journalism graduate who becomes the second assistant to the formidable Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), editor in chief of the fictional glossy magazine Runway. Rounding out the principal cast are Emily Blunt as Andy’s office rival and Miranda’s first assistant, Stanley Tucci as savvy art director Nigel, Adrian Grenier as Andy’s boyfriend Nate, and Simon Baker as magazine writer Christian Thompson. Costumes were designed by Patricia Field—celebrated for her work on Sex and the City—whose mix of runway and archival pieces gives the movie its singular visual identity.

Plot and themes

Newly arrived in Manhattan, Andy takes the job “a million girls would kill for” despite her limited appreciation for fashion. The position, however, proves grueling: Miranda’s melodic commands carry the force of edicts, and each day becomes a cascade of unreasonable tasks. Under the guidance of Nigel, Andy learns the codes of the industry, trading her “lumpy blue sweater” for Chanel and gradually gaining Miranda’s trust. But she risks losing her sense of self and her relationships. The film dramatizes the trade-offs of ambition, particularly for young professionals, while showing how cultural production is shaped by a small set of arbiters. In one memorable scene Miranda distills that idea in her “cerulean” monologue, explaining how an apparently trivial sweater color trickles down from couture to the bargain bin through a chain of tastemaking decisions.

Release and reception

Released in the United States on June 30, 2006, The Devil Wears Prada became a robust sleeper hit. With a reported $35 million budget, it earned $124.7 million domestically and $201.8 million internationally for a worldwide total of $326.6 million, an exceptional result for a contemporary workplace drama fronted by women. Reviewers highlighted Streep’s icy, nuanced performance and the film’s brisk pacing and wish-fulfillment glamor. The character of Priestly was widely understood to have been inspired by Vogue’s longtime editor in chief Anna Wintour, whom Weisberger had worked for. Streep won the Golden Globe for best actress in a motion picture musical or comedy, and the film received additional Globe nominations for best supporting actress in a motion picture (Blunt) and best motion picture musical or comedy. At the Academy Awards it earned two nominations: best actress (Streep) and best costume design (Field).

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Legacy and sequel

In 2006 the American Film Institute named The Devil Wears Prada one of the best movies of the year, writing that it was “a film about choices and the time in one’s life when the world sparkles with opportunity.” The movie continued to entertain audiences long after, remaining steadily popular on streaming platforms and in online discourse, with GIFs and memes that circulate among new generations of fans. A stage adaptation with music by Elton John opened in Chicago in 2022 and moved to London’s West End in 2024, the latter production starring Vanessa Williams as Miranda Priestly.

The mere fact of a sequel, confirmed in 2025, spoke to the movie’s enduring commercial pull and multigenerational fan base. Filming began that year with much of the original cast returning, including Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci. It was not long before photos of the stars in costume on sets in New York City—and at the Dolce & Gabbana spring and summer 2026 collection show in Milan—began flooding fans’ social media feeds. The movie was released in 2026, nearly 20 years after the original film.