Nearly two decades after the fact, Anna Wintour is finally giving her review of “The Devil Wears Prada,” the 2006 Anne Hathaway comedy built around the onetime Vogue editor in chief’s notorious style of leadership.
And although Wintour is more than fashionably late, she’s showing up in time for the sequel.
The film “had a lot of humor to it, it had a lot of wit, it had Meryl Streep,” Wintour said recently on the New Yorker Radio Hour. “[The cast] were all amazing. And in the end, I thought it was a fair shot.”
The famed editor, who stepped down from the Vogue gig this summer, said she went into the premiere of the original film wearing Prada but not knowing what the movie was about. Wintour said people in the fashion industry had expressed concerns about the Miranda Priestly character, worrying she would be played as a caricature of Wintour. But those fears were unfounded.
“First of all, it was Meryl Streep, [who is] fantastic.”
“The Devil Wears Prada” is based on the 2003 bestselling novel of the same name by Lauren Weisberger, who worked as a personal assistant to Wintour. The film follows a writer played by Hathaway who gets a job at a fashion magazine managed by a highly demanding boss, played by Streep.
The actor who played the no-nonsense editor in chief earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance.
Wintour announced in June that she would step down as editor in chief of the magazine after 37 years at the helm. She will continue to oversee Condé Nast, the global media company that publishes Vogue among other publications including the New Yorker, GQ, Vanity Fair and Wired.
“The Devil Wears Prada 2” is in production with a release date set for May 2026. Streep, Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci will all reprise their roles; Adrian Grenier, who played Hathaway’s boyfriend in the original film, will not appear. New cast members include Kenneth Branagh, Justin Theroux and Lucy Liu.
Chloe Malle will become the top editor at American Vogue after Dame Anna Wintour stepped aside as editor-in-chief, the publication has announced.
The 39-year-old worked her way up the fashion magazine ranks over the past 14 years to become editor of Vogue.com and host the magazine’s podcast The Run Through.
Malle’s appointment marks a new era for the magazine, considered one of the most influential and glamorous fashion publications.
Dame Anna, the British-born fashion magnate, announced she was leaving the role in June after holding the position for 37 years. The magazine said she would retain senior positions at its publisher.
In a statement announcing the news, Malle said she had worked across every platform during her time at the magazine. “Vogue has already shaped who I am, now I’m excited at the prospect of shaping Vogue,” she said.
Dame Anna said Malle had proven adept at finding the balance between Vogue’s “long singular history” and its future “on the front lines of the new”.
“I am so excited to continue working with her, as her mentor but also as her student, while she leads us and our audiences where we’ve never been before,” Dame Anna said.
Long-time Vogue employee
Malle, the daughter of actress Candice Bergen and French film director Louis Malle, grew up splitting her time between Paris and Los Angeles until her father died when she was 10 years old.
In a previous job, Malle covered real estate for the New York Observer. Her next gig as a freelance writer led her to Vogue, where she began a full-time position as the social editor in 2011, aged 25.
Much like an iconic scene in the acclaimed fashion film The Devil Wears Prada, Malle has previously recalled attending her interview wearing a “boring” ensemble.
“I was hesitant when I was interviewing, because fashion is not one of my main interests in life, and I wanted to be a writer more than an editor, but I was so seduced by the Vogue machine that I couldn’t resist,” she also said in 2013.
Malle rose through the ranks of the organisation and later became the editor of Vogue.com, while also hosting a podcast for the magazine called The Run Through.
While at Vogue, Malle has reportedly been responsible for securing the magazine’s photoshoot with Naomi Biden for her 2022 White House wedding, as well as an interview with Lauren Sanchez ahead of her wedding to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Reuters
Dame Anna will retain senior positions at Vogue’s publisher
Political activism
Like her predecessor, Dame Anna, she has not shied away from politics while in her job.
Both on her social media and on her podcast, she has supported Democratic causes and candidates.
She participated in the Women’s March in 2017 and was photographed with a sign that read “Keep Your Tiny Hands Off My Rights”.
And during a 2024 episode of her podcast, which aired after Donald Trump was re-elected as US president, Malle expressed her disappointment with the election result.
She asked her guest on the programme, Jack Schlossberg – the grandson of former President John F Kennedy – “what would [Kennedy] say to people who are struggling this week and advice on getting through it?”
Wintour to continue oversight role
It is unclear exactly when the transition from Dame Anna to Malle as chief of the magazine will be, but 75-year-old Dame Anna is not completely leaving the picture.
In an interview with the New York Times, Malle acknowledged that working alongside Dame Anna could be a balancing act.
“I know that some people who were interested in this job were sort of daunted by the idea of Anna being down the hall,” she said. “I’m very happy she’s down the hall with her Clarice Cliff pottery.”
Dame Anna will remain publisher Condé Nast’s chief content officer – a role to which she was appointed in 2020 – which means she will still oversee Vogue’s content, along with the company’s other titles such as GQ, Wired and Tatler.
Lauren Sherman, a reporter with Puck News who broke the story, told BBC News that Malle had the pedigree and background of those in Dame Anna’s inner circle, but was also known as being a hard worker.
“She’s still reporting to Anna Wintour, so the buck stops with Anna Wintour,” Sherman said. “I don’t think we’re going to see any big splashy changes to start, but let’s see how much she pushes back on Wintour and makes it her own.”
