The Devil Wears Prada (2006) is more than just a comedy about the fashion industry — it explores how fashion shapes the lives of those who work within it. The movie’s fashion elements are iconic, with costume designer Patricia Field blending high fashion with everyday wear to show contrasts between characters.
Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep, is a powerful fashion editor who wears designer pieces that command respect and authority. In contrast, Anne Hathaway’s Andrea Sachs starts off in basic, ill-fitting outfits, showcasing her outsider status. As Andrea’s character evolves, she embraces the demands of the fashion world, mirroring her personal transformation.
One memorable quote from Miranda, "That’s all," after criticizing Andrea’s lack of interest in fashion, encapsulates her authority and the cold, calculated nature of the industry. Miranda represents how fashion is about power, control, and maintaining perfection.
The now-iconic scene where Andrea’s blue sweater is dissected as being "cerulean" is a subtle but important moment in the film, revealing how even seemingly trivial choices are deliberate, reflecting how fashion trickles down from high-end designers to the masses.
Miranda explains how the "cerulean" blue sweater Andrea is wearing, which Andrea thought was just a basic choice, actually comes from a long chain of fashion decisions made by high-end designers. Miranda points out that the color, and by extension the trend, filtered down from the runway to mass-market clothing, showing how every detail in fashion, even the seemingly insignificant, has been meticulously decided by those in the industry.
At its core, The Devil Wears Prada shows the struggle between personal sacrifice and career success in the fashion industry, highlighting how style can impact self-esteem and power.
