Spoilers for The Devil Wears Prada 2? Groundbreaking
‘Leaked’ photos from upcoming projects have become a cultural choc top as fashion commentary hits the mainstream. The film business is loving it.
Social media has turned cinephiles into those people who chew their popcorn and Malteasers combo while giving a running commentary on the film we’re all collectively enjoying, or at least trying to.
Welcome to the new age of cultural consumption. Thanks to the all-pervasive paparazzi, everyone being a citizen journalist and the virality of the internet, we’re basically watching soon-to-be-released projects such as Ryan Murphy’s American Love Story, which will focus on the romance between John F. Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette, and The Devil Wears Prada 2 in draft formats.
Show business, meanwhile, has turned our inability to shut up online into a genius guerrilla marketing strategy. Films and series appear to be screening in real time as reels on our smartphones.
Take the soon-to-be celluloid story of political scion and publisher “John-John” and former Calvin Klein publicist Bessette.
The latter is like Princess Diana when it comes to her enduring style. Books and many corners of the internet are dedicated to documenting her fashion, which was a guide for sophistication, minimalism and legitimate individual style. She was wearing labels such as Jil Sander and Yohji Yamamoto before they cut through in the 2000s.
Get it wrong and the diehard fans will come for you, pitchforks in one manicured hand, a fully charged iPhone in the other.
When the first images of the new show were published, there was universal disdain for Bessette’s costumes. Comments ranged from the cut of her trademark tailoring being too loose to the ensembles looking cheap. Even her hair colour was wrong. The outrage sparked acres of news coverage for a show that, smack in the middle of the fashion and politics Venn diagram, already will generate enormous interest ahead of its February 2026 premiere.
The discourse of this legitimate fashion crime lingers, akin to that grass sensation in a strawberry matcha.
Google searches for the show and Murphy increased by more than 850 per cent and are still rising. The “bad” photos worked. They were cultural catnip for the social media first generation.
Satan also has fast wifi on the set of the highly anticipated The Devil Wears Prada sequel starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, where the devil, just by the film’s design of being about fashion, is in the detail.
If art intimidated life, and this constant publishing of photos from set were happening as a narrative arc, it would be Andy Sachs already understanding the cultural and historical significance of cerulean blue before Streep, as the icy Miranda Priestly, got to deliver that famous blistering monologue.
The paps and 24/7 news cycle are not ruining television and films; these projects are just the latest victims of the era of disembodied media entities being played by clever marketing machines.
“One could argue that if I really wanted to discourage the spread of these spoilery pap shots, I could simply stop trawling (photo agency) Getty Images … but come on,” Vogue’s Emma Specter opined.
“We in fashion and entertainment rely on the shadowy paparazzo economy to do our jobs. What I do think would be nice, however, is if paps respected the bounds of intellectual property just a little more … just let me look forward to something on this cruel mortal coil, for God’s sake.”
It’s fitting Vogue has thoughts on the sequel, given the franchise is based loosely on the magazine.
Here, fashion is the main character and therefore every inch of every published photograph is being scrutinised more than a runway show. What we already know is that Colin From Accounts star Patrick Brammall has landed a role and there is a funeral, while fashion sleuths are using the plethora of evidence to play sartorial Spotto.
This landslide of out-of-context content from projects, especially ones where fashion is so pivotal to the plot, is really just further democratisation of haute couture and haughty clothing communities.
We can be rage-baited by these spoilers, which just sparks more clicks, comments and buzz, but the irony is they are to us – as avid consumers – what Andy was to first assistant Emily in the first film: annoying, endearing and ultimately charming distractions.
“We are chronically online and audiences love sharing new images as it drives engagement,” trend forecaster Lucinda Pikkat tells The Australian. “Fashion has increased in cultural importance, but more so ‘fashion awareness’ has become a cultural interest for many.
“If we zoom out, we’re not just watching TV and film any more, we’re interacting with them as multi-sensory cultural events. Costumes are the most tangible part of that experience. We can’t necessarily meet the actors but we can all buy and wear the dresses, the necklaces, the shoes and the exact shade of lipstick Miranda Priestly is wearing.”
Pikkat, who has more than 15 years’ experience in brand and public relations, has carved a strong following online for her predictions and style analysis, which she publishes to her 92,000 followers on TikTok.
She says the rise of fast fashion has made the concept of style easier for a lot of people to access so there is more of an interest a decade on from the first film’s debut in cinemas, and the 2003 book it was based on. In those analog days, fashion was always reserved for “the upper echelon”.
All of this is not only a shift in the culture of culture but, as with most things these days, a commercial negotiation.
Pikkat says fashion on the big and small screens has more importance than ever. TV series and films are, like most commodities, competing for attention. Billboards no longer cut it, you need to cut through to people – who now all have their own platforms – while they’re scrolling. “TV series and movies are very similar to brands,” Pikkat says.
“People buy into a brand for the lifestyle or aesthetic it gives them. It plays a part of their cultural voice. If people watch a series or wear a brand, it says a lot about them. Fashion in TV and film has become a mood board for identity. The Devil Wears Prada 2 functions as both entertainment and as a fashion campaign.”
While the Devil Wears Prada sequel is proving more subtle, other popular reboots such as Gossip Girl allowed viewers to buy what they saw on screen via a partnership with luxury e-tailer Farfetch.
“Fashion is now part of viewers’ character-building literacy,” Pikkat says. “There has never been a bigger spotlight on the behind-the-scenes of a production. There is a desire to know more, like who is the costume designer. How much input do the actors have? Do they include pieces from their own wardrobes? Viewers are watching and asking these questions (via social media ‘discover’ tabs and ChatGPT). In earlier decades, the general audience may not have noticed the nuance of costume design, it was an insider’s art.”
The Devil Wears Prada originally was styled by renowned fashion force Patricia Field, who rose to fame during the original Sex and the City era. For the sequel she has passed the baton to her protege Molly Rogers (who also worked on the similarly dissected And Just Like That). Pikkat says Rogers’ work may be the most important element of the film.
“(These days) costume designers are privy to the weight they hold,” Pikkat says. “An item they dress Anne Hathaway in on set can spark a micro trend that’s replicated globally. Choosing fast fashion and unsustainable pieces in a position of power like that would be reckless and irresponsible. That said, the fashion remains very elevated and reflects the high end world of Vogue.”
Spoilers aside, given the “leaked” shots from set appear to be coming out quicker than fast fashion collections, Andy Sachs’ transformation is exciting to watch, even months out from the finished product. From what we’ve seen so far Miranda’s style remains anchored in power and precision with Lanvin gowns and accessories by Cartier and Jimmy Choo.
Andy’s look in the first film was timid, conservative and paired back. It will be interesting to see how her character’s evolution to be more self-assured, fashion forward and expressive is visually represented.
“I hope this movie can, ultimately, embrace all the 2025 sensibilities around fashion, like sustainability, gender-fluid tailoring and size inclusivity,” Pikkat says. “The script can also do that by discussing or using pre-loved clothing in a positive light in the magazine offices. Change starts from the top.”
Social media may be spoiling the surprises, but if things keep this pace, the Devil Wears Prada 2 – slated for release in 2026 – may be a hype marathon. This saturation of content must be viewed through a commercial lens of marketing innovation, so if you’re still getting antsy over the shots from set, well, details of your incompetence (to log off) do not interest me.
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