When the first trailer for the sequel to the treasured 2006 fashion industry sendup, “The Devil Wears Prada,” dropped online this week, it was like a cozy sweater (perhaps, a cerulean sweater?) for fans of the original to wrap themselves in.
The core cast is all accounted for: Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly, the icy editor of Runway magazine; Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs, who, in the first film, rose from a hapless assistant to an heir to the cashmere throne (only to walk away from it all). Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt are also returning: He as Nigel, Miranda’s smart-alecky right hand, and she as Emily, an assistant Andy betrayed, then later boosted.
What exactly they’re all doing in 2026, however, is murky. Andy seems to now be a features editor at Runway with some authority over Miranda. And … we don’t know much more than that. But a rich story isn’t what many fans seem to be after: They want to see Miranda in her windshield sunglasses, Dior fashions and chauffeured black cars.
The trailer delivers all that. It also glances at today’s changed media landscape: One of the first things we see are two women scrolling on Instagram, a hint that Runway is not the all-powerful arbiter of taste it once was.
In an edited conversation, members of the Styles staff — Gina Cherelus, Madison Malone Kircher and Jacob Gallagher — parsed the nostalgia, media criticism and random Brooklyn bar cameos teased in the trailer.
JACOB GALLAGHER Clothes? Meryl Streep? Long Island Bar? I’m sat, I’m seated.
GINA CHERELUS I’m more intrigued after this trailer. Miranda not remembering Andy as one of “the Emilys” is so spot on. She was insignificant to her then, and she’s insignificant to her now.
MADISON MALONE KIRCHER The last movie is set in a very particular moment in time — I can still hear the ringer of the T-Mobile Sidekick Andy tosses in the fountain at the end — and that moment is notably pre-Instagram. Everybody in the elevator in the trailer is glued to an iPhone.
CHERELUS We can see that so much has changed at Runway since 2006. I would guess that the film will touch heavily on how many fashion magazines today are fighting to stay relevant.
GALLAGHER I interpreted Andy’s return to Runway as a “features editor” as a commentary on magazines now. She seems to be accompanying Miranda all over with some level of authority. This one seems to be more about an evolved media world than fashion. Which, wow, what a question: Will people come out for a movie about a dying medium?
KIRCHER Oh, your magazine features editor doesn’t travel via helicopter?
GALLAGHER The meta nature of the original “Devil Wears Prada” is why it’s so good! We would never buy that Miranda was still atop Runway if not for the fact that Anna Wintour still (ostensibly) runs Vogue.
CHERELUS As for the clothes, I’m happy to not see the Valentino Rockstud stilettos again, which Miranda wore in the teaser.
GALLAGHER Stanley Tucci continues to be able to wear a three-piece suit like he was born in it. Respect.
KIRCHER That scarf in the beginning — do I spot a hint of cerulean?
CHERELUS The trailer also opens with a Met-Gala-inspired event with banners that read “Spring Florals.” Great callback to that iconic Miranda line from the first movie.
KIRCHER They’re not going for subtlety here with the self-references. Seems like this movie is going to be full of these kinds of callbacks for superfans.
GALLAGHER The trailer seems to be capitalizing, above all else, on nostalgia. (A thing fashion is also so good at, come to think of it.) It’s the gang getting back together. If you read the rest of the credits, the cast is much deeper: Justin Theroux, Lucy Liu, Pauline Chalamet, Kenneth Branagh! None of them appear in the trailer. The producers know their audience.
CHERELUS It would be great if these characters, and the film as a whole, keep it real about today’s media and cultural landscape.
GALLAGHER I’m going to make my claim now that there is at least one Ozempic joke in this movie.
KIRCHER It does seem, though, that we’re about to see a “Devil Wears Prada” sequel set not in 2026 but rather in some sort of alternate reality where magazines are still cultural gatekeepers.
GALLAGHER You say that! And yet! Vogue persists.
CHERELUS If the film ends up being an alternate reality where magazines still own the culture, it would be hard for me to accept the fantasy.
KIRCHER It’ll be a hard line to walk: The sex appeal of the town car, expense account and glamorous heyday of magazines is certainly easier material to work with. I can see it now: Andy uttering the words “tomato girl summer is trending.”
GALLAGHER I, for one, embrace the “Devil Wears Prada” extended universe. The three-quel where a Substack writer takes over Runway will be a classic.
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