Fashion, Wardrobe Secrets & Iconic Style Moments In ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’

0:00Today's Shailax podcast is a special one. I am joined in conversation by Molly Rogers, who is the protege of Patricia Field, the iconic costume designer and the brains behind every look on Sex and the City. Molly herself is the costume designer behind Ugly Betty, Sex and the City movies, and the original Devil Wears Prada as well, of course, as the reboot Devil Wears Prada 2, which is in cinemas as of Friday the 1st of May. We were supposed to talk about lots of things, but all we really did was talk about the Dev Wears Prada and the fashion in the first and the second film because there is so much to unpack.

0:37So we hope you enjoy this conversation and please do make sure to subscribe if you enjoy it.

0:49Moni, I mean, I have so many things to ask you. I saw the film last night. The new film. How many times have you seen the first one? Countless. One of my colleagues just said to me, oh, did you rewatch the first one? In case, you know, before you went to see the second one. I was like, did you do research? Yeah, maybe 12 ,000 times in the last year. Me too. I'm a huge fan of the first one. And you worked on the first film.

1:11Molly Rogers:Luckily, yes. With the wonderful, talented Patricia Field. I feel like this could be a two-parter podcast. We could have your life with Patricia Field and the kind of part A. And then our, these, hang on, I'm going to show you my notes on just, this was me trying to jot down what Meryl Streep was wearing throughout this entire film so there's there's a lot while you were watching yes or after you came while I was watching I told you this was going to be boots on the ground journalism here we are yeah where to start tell me about let's let's start with the devil's prodigy because that's that's the thing you're here for you were just saying off before we were recording that you are I mean it's been a whirlwind for you this week hasn't it the journey from film one to film two where do we where do we pick up and where do we find these characters style wise I'll say briefly don't let me be too long-winded I know you have a long list of probing questions I do but I mostly want to ignore them and talk about the film so as you are you know when I watch the first one which is a cult movie and I adore it what I see are timeless.

2:14Molly Rogers:I do not know what Jean Annie is wearing at the end of the first movie. And I'm glad. I don't know what year it is. And that is the longevity. That is the wonderful look for the longevity of the fashion in that first one. And that is how I approached the clothing. And I hope I succeeded in the second one to shoot for an eternal, not identifiable, except for specific pieces of what age are we, you know, like, when is this happening? I just thought that it created a frame where you could just kind of be freer to be liberated and watching it instead of identifying look number 11 from spring 26 I did not want to do that so I think that's how I carried them forward is there a sense of acknowledging that they're supposed to be real people as well like nobody actually dresses like that in real life or very few people are saying I won't look 15 from x collection so how much is the real even more that way now you know I think it's much more about, I'm an influencer and I got to wear this sample before this actress did for her.

3:32Molly Rogers:You know, it's very competitive now. It's a game. It's a game. There's been a, I don't know if you've seen how viral the comparisons between the first premiere and then the press tour for this film have been. What? Tell me. So people have been taking the 2006 press tour, the premiere photos of what the past looked like and comparing it to now. I saw one of those. And, you know, bless them. It's a moment in time. You know, 2006 was an era. Do you remember anything about the process going into, you know, going into the first film? Obviously that, or well, I say obviously, tell me, the pressure, the expectation, I would imagine very different to the second film.

4:09Do you remember anything about that process in terms of the fashion in the first movie?

4:13Molly Rogers:You weren't under a microscope, of course. You could freely create without any kind of eyeballs on you. I don't even remember any pictures from us shooting an exterior. Like I really don't. And we had throngs of people watching us in New York and Milan. So that's one of the big, big differences is how you operate now with people so desperate for content. I don't remember the premiere of the first one, but boy, do those clothes look dated. It's wild. They don't. They look amazing and they look amazing now, but it really does. Yeah, it looks like a very long time ago, doesn't it? Tell me about the process.

5:06So how long ago did you find out that you were coming on board to do this project? I think a year ago.

5:11Molly Rogers:This was fast. And I was so excited because I just, like I said earlier, it felt like lightning was striking twice. How is it possible that I got to witness the first one and it became so beloved? And here I am. I'm going to take a stab at the second one. And Meryl said to me, we not only have to try our best to meet the expectation, but surpass it. because the appetite for seeing this again is so rabid. I'm going to be honest with you. My fear, my fear going into it from a fashion perspective. Before you saw it. Before I saw it. Was? Was that it would be, you know, there is a tendency with some TV shows now that have a kind of fashion perspective, a fashion lens, to take it too far, to wear clothes, a bit like you were saying, you know, runway looks, to wear clothes that nobody would ever wear, that feel unrealistic, that almost take you out of the film.

6:09because they're so obscene. It's a fashion show rather than very well-dressed real people. I think you did the most unbelievable job of not falling into that camp and keeping it grounded in reality while still being the most inspiring kind of showcase of fashion. How conscious a choice was that?

6:29Molly Rogers:I really was determined and tried my best, and I'm glad you think I succeeded, in making it from no time. It's not an advertisement for the it bag of 2026. I don't want to be identified by that. The actors are not brand ambassadors. There's a story being told and these actors, they need a frame to work in and to wear and they do all the heavy lifting as you saw last night. I still cannot get over when Meryl tells Emily, you're not a visionary, you're a vendor. And they flip the camera to Emily. I could eat her. She's amazing. I mean, I want to talk about her wardrobe because she is the character that gave you permission, I assume, to be a little bit more ridiculous because she is so heightened in this film, isn't she?

7:31You think so?

7:31Molly Rogers:I think the funeral got everybody titillated. So good, so good. but but the Dior I liked the head to toe the Dior dungarees you know the overalls and the bandana donkulous yeah so that was supposed to be a work overall and the Dior flagship store was supposed to really be a construction site and she was supposed to have a Dior construction helmet on it was written that way it wasn't me pressing the metal you know to the gas but I just kind of formulated into this other look and they kept wanting a lot of branding on this outfit so we got a t-shirt and a scarf and underwear and then we showed up at the location and that store was kind of finished except for the entrance and i was like what's she doing and work you know blue collar her dior blue collar vibe bang the doors everybody's like who cares They put up some construction.

8:35Yeah, they got a ladder and she talked about the paint color. Exactly. It looked constructionally enough to me. It's fine.

8:40Molly Rogers:She wore in the first movie because she's such an edgy character and she's got that lovely British wit that I would love to marry. She wore Rick Owen, Margiela, and Westwood. So she got the edgier designers. so in the second movie all of the shoppers fought over they fought over shopping for everyone but especially her because they got to go explore more radical ideas she's definitely I mean we don't want to give too many spoilers from a plot perspective but she's supposed to be extreme and and a kind of larger than life she's only gotten crazier so I can imagine from a fashion perspective that is fun to explore.

9:25Molly Rogers:I think I heard Emily Blunt say she aspires to be Miranda. Okay. She sees herself as a severe person to contend with, but she's outfoxed. And she doesn't dress like a serious person in this film, does she? Now that I think about it. But in a good way. Yeah, I want to see some eye candy in there. Yeah, exactly. You know, but yeah, Like the aluminum flowers that I found from my friend that does a lot of chain mail clothing. I threw not just one, but a whole big corsage on a bomber jacket. She is the kind of person in the fitting. Let me try that on. And we're like, no, no, it's too wild. There's no place for it.

10:15Molly Rogers:But no, she wants to see it. She doesn't want anything to leave the room without her saying, you're right. It can't get in the movie. There was one outfit we were in love with. In love. It was a moss green outfit from head to toe. And we called it Swamp Elf. It looked like a Christmas elf, but just in the worst possible mossy green. It looked insanely good on her. There was nowhere. We kept trying, oh, maybe in Milan when you're sitting outside. No, no. Didn't work. That one is immortalized in a fitting photo, which I'm hoping I can share at some point on social media because it's kooky, but it's good.

10:58Molly Rogers:Only a fashion person could put it together. Okay. Love. A knowledgeable one. So Emily could have, she could have fallen into it. Absolutely. Love that. I'm going to read you some of the things that I wrote down about Miranda's. When you were watching. When I was watching it. I'm going to read them to you and then we're going to talk about them. Okay, good. I just want to let you know what I noticed. Okay, this stuck out to you. the things that stuck out got it the drees tassel jacket good eye thank you so much i saw it in this saw it at the reesey a year and a half ago and one of our social team and i and we we stood stood and said at that jacket for about an hour amazing i want to talk about how you styled that with the different colors the schiaparelli black and white blazer amazing the silver cape at erv's party the sort of plate situation but also teamed with a silver necklace yes exactly that's a good story okay i want to hear about that pearl studded coat milan leather trench coat milan sequin blazer milan milan sequin long black coat with the giant gemstones that good good stories to tell tell me about some of those i think you'll hopefully you'll appreciate them number one the tassel jacket it's the first thing i saw when i started looking at shows it's the first thing i saw that i thought to myself, I'd love to get that in the movie because it's very editrix.

12:14Molly Rogers:An editor would have that. Do we have a scene for it? Um, Meryl, I showed it to her in her, um, visual deck that I had, like, do you like this? What do you think about that? Blah, blah, blah. When we were first starting out and she saw the tassel jacket, a picture of it on the runway. And she was like, We gotta, we gotta. And the studio was very nervous about that jacket. Why? People that aren't in our world of fashion, when they see something they don't understand or they themselves would not wear, they want to kill it. So we camera tested it and I warned Meryl, this is causing a lot of chatter, healthy discussions.

13:02Molly Rogers:And she was like, well, really? Let's see about that. But we found a great scene for it because she marches into the cafeteria as a very powerful woman in the publication fashion world and media. and there's a table of pinstripe suits, pencil pushers, non-creative people, right side of the brain. The guy calls her Miranda Beasley. I mean, it's ghastly what's happening there. And there she is in a, okay, it's a tassel jacket. It is something that she has access to. And it's like two worlds collide i thought it was the best possible had no idea she was gonna do that little shimmy in the elevator look if you're tasseled work it you gotta you gotta give it you're getting you're getting ready to take it on take them on and the styling of that as well was so kind of unexpected but i guess to your point maybe before about emily it's coming the styling is okay this is a fashion person right she wears i think was there a purple shirt with it and a lavender purple libertine yeah blouse that we chop the bow off of someone like that isn't going to wear a loud jacket like that and think oh i better pair it down with a white t-shirt on it yeah no but you could you could style that i thought that jacket it was giving me matador yes i thought it would have been great with a cigarette pant you know so cool and meryl at first started she said she floated the idea to me she was like i'm curious about wearing only pants in the office and i was like well not sure why not but we got to playing and you know there's more is it normal that that a lead actress would have that level of influence over the costumes or is it because she's meryl's dream and an actress like that the whole cast those top four sure um it is a better outfit and it is a better movie when it is collaborative i'm not standing there saying there's the tassel jacket it is i'm presenting the best that i could get in here how do we style it do you like it and does it look good on you and they have opinions because they are so seasoned it just makes for a better look as simple as when your girlfriend comes over and you're trying something and she's like that makes your ass look big okay it's reality it's the truth it's a conversation you've got the people in this room i can't even begin to imagine how you begin to make your edits so as you said the drees jacket was one of the first things you saw when you're when you're beginning that kind of buying process for miranda let's take her as an example what is the framework you're working in as you said timeless great check what else what else does she need to be that's making you say yes or no to certain items the dna of the first movie that Pat Field established these characters.

16:09If you distill it down, Miranda is a powerful editor of a fashion publication.

16:18Molly Rogers:If you had a rack here of 40 white blouses, all styles, you and I could go to it and pick the one for Miranda. It wouldn't have ruffles. pick the one for annie it would probably have some good kind of cuff that she could roll up as a reporter and pick the one for emily it would be one shouldered or it would you know it would have a twist to it that is their lane so when you talk with actors and the director and the screenwriter and you get a full picture of where they are she has amassed great power since we saw her last she hasn't gotten a demotion so what store is that the power store and you talk to the shoppers and everybody understands it's this silhouette it's clean it has a shoulder it means business confidence it's not a hot pink knit that has a flower on it it's very specific it makes total sense but I still am so intrigued as to how you so where do you start so you look at all of the latest collections do you look at vintage kind of where how do you begin to piece it together you look at it all you know the world is your oyster I do I like to because I'm a reader and a traveler that so influences things that I would want to imagine or get on Miranda Priestly it comes from your mind not an ai algorithm and yet and you know you do the research and you talk and you make mood boards to share so that everybody's on the same page this is where we're headed you agree and let's try to get there and then shoppers have a clearer picture of what to bring back vintage you cannot beat a Yves Saint Laurent jumpsuit on Miranda Priestly it is classic it does not tell what time it's from and she can stand there in Marc Jacobs showroom and look like a queen love tell me the story about the silver the silver sort of cape situation with the big Okay.

18:38Molly Rogers:That was the first thing I bought for the movie. I was at a vintage show on the Upper East Side. Rarely do you see a collar like that, that is in perfect condition. There's usually a few stones missing, which you can fix. This one was perfect. It was$350. I think I knew that it would go on top of anything and make it look like Cleopatra or Diana Vreeland, which was really inspirations for collars or bibs like that. So it sat in the room for a long time. Actor came in, Meryl Streep. There's a birthday party. Okay. There's a long kind of column black dress that needed ornamentation. There's that collar.

19:27Molly Rogers:She fell in love with it. She would not let me alter it. I wanted to bring it up on her shoulder blade right here. She was like, I like that it kind of covers a little bit. And I was like, okay, that doesn't bother my eye. We're not touching it. I was dreading the thought of taking two rows of rhinestones off anyway. That was going to be a big project. And I had a very specific necklace that I wanted to put on top of this collar. I wanted to double down. And you did. And her white silver hair. I just wanted to, you know, it's all about that. And from there up. And she found one she liked better.

20:12Molly Rogers:So it was this battle of who wore it best. And? And she said, I like yours, but this modern silver bald poochie is a real editor, like would would do that kind of thing yours is a little too seamless for me and so she won rightly and so it's a poochy silver ball on a bed of rhinestones it's so cool you liked it i loved it i thought it was amazing because i feel like the thing is also you don't know what you haven't seen as the viewer right so i don't know what the other option was right but i love it was very not matchy matchy but it kind of looked like it belonged together more than the poochie looked like well that's a refined eye that's adding that barbarella yeah if i could give it a nickname love she loved it so good she thought it was kinky you know in a fashion way and it felt again an editor's eye not just right anyone else right mine was maybe too safe okay i'm open to any idea I would do anything she told me to.

21:24Molly Rogers:I mean, everyone would. It's Meryl Streep. Tell me about the black sequin, the long, towards the end, at the end of Milan, that she's wearing a black, the one that she ends up walking through the incredible space by herself in with the big rhinestones. Both Miranda and Andrea Sachs in that Last Supper scene are both in Armani Privé. That coat duster on Miranda is from maybe 2024, Privé. I had had Mr. Armani on my mind for quite some time. I believe, I want to say Mr. Valentino had passed. I knew Mr. Armani was not well. We were shooting in Milan. We were going to shoot his fashion show and he was going to be in the movie.

22:13Molly Rogers:Wow. And I knew that that would be so exciting for the audience because those shows are next level. And I was so excited. And we got closer and closer to getting to shoot it. And we had already fit them. And I knew that it would be fun. You know, I didn't know where we were going to shoot Milan Fashion Week. I was just into him. and I was calling it in because I'd been trying to get that pre-vay show on a project of mine and could never get it on anybody and I love the feminine menswear of the suspenders on Annie with the high-waisted velvet pant and I desperately wanted a beret on her because that completes an Armani look but it got nixed at the last minute they don't know how to light hats or something I don't know what their problem is with hats but it's always a big fight okay and she looked gorgeous in it and i have a beautiful picture that i will share someday of her in that beret that did not make it in but long story i was so happy and they after he passed and we did not go um to shoot the fashion show we were all so distraught but they were so grateful that they were wearing it oh in milan while this was happening because you know it's like there's a few of those people left yeah it's an homage it's a different breed of um icon you know designer so true which you know speaking of donna teller in the film as well i have not told anybody this exclusive she sent me so many pictures of possible looks to ask me my opinion of what she should wear in the movie I was like, any damn thing you want.

24:06Your Donatella Versace.

24:07Molly Rogers:But what did she end up wearing? Oh, I can't remember. She's in it so briefly. She's in a suit. She's sats. It's a color, I think. Anyway, she was sending lots of different things. And I was like, listen, you're playing yourself. You better bring it. There better be some gold coins. There better be something that says the house is here, Versace. And we eliminated a lot of things. and she does love a pantsuit. I think that's what it was. She got such a laugh. Emily and her speaking in Italian. It's so good. People really howled. It's the way Emily turns and stops her. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then she just goes back on her phone.

24:49So honestly, one of the best moments of the film. I have to ask you about other characters. One of the other things that I thought was genius was how Andy doesn't become a fashion girl Obviously, there are the moments in Milan where she, you know, you would imagine she was dressed on, you know, Nigel. Nigel obviously dresses her for the Hamptons.

25:07Molly Rogers:Loads up the suitcase. But I love that in her day to day in the office still throughout the entire film consistently, she is, I mean, she looks great as Anne Hathaway. But she's not a fashion girl throughout the entire thing and doesn't evolve into one. I assume that was a very conscious choice. really conscious to make sure that we all understood that she had been a reporter since we you know last saw her she was well traveled she'd had a stint at a fashion magazine she learned something um she's a new york woman she's seen style on the street um and it just was about okay we need to layer this.

25:49Molly Rogers:And it was a long process because we wanted vintage. She learned that Giorgio Armani or Margiela jacket for$200 at a resale shop will last me for the rest of my life. And she learned that. So we had to put it in there and she wore the same shoe a lot. But when I told Annie, you have 26 costumes before you get access to Nigel in the closet, she was like, oh, no, he's got to bring me a garment bag of something. I want to be able to play a little bit before then. You know, it's over half the movie by the time they get there. And she's looking at the Gabriella Hurst maxi dress, which is the equivalent for me to the thigh-high Chanel boot in the first.

26:41Molly Rogers:Totally. When you see that mosaic maxi, it's like the movie has gone to technicolor now. For those who haven't seen that moment, she falls in love with an item that you can't see, and then you see her wearing it. I want to know and then also as Nigel's going through the fashion cupboard he's pulling out he's you need a bit of totem you need a bit of this right what was written that you had to just kind of fall in line with versus you know was that carte blanche she falls in love with a piece Molly off you go you find that piece no it was written of course I had pieces that they wanted to feature like the customized I think it was a Kelly bag maybe um that was from Hong Kong there's a guy that customizes them unbelievably and he kindly yeah it's woven like a picnic basket it is insane he kindly loaned us three we had the insurance to cover them and so they do ask me for the eye candy and those were written those two pieces because we shot at bruno cuccinelli in milan we had a nice big scene there when they did the whole uh runway show on live models and miranda comes for us see through what do you call it run through reesey yeah so they wanted to name that in dialogue so it's good but if you i'm sure there's a lot of things to see there's a fashion students dress that from SCAD, a fashion school in the United States that is hanging in that closet.

28:22Molly Rogers:Cool. That's, you know, just to honor someone who's graduating from fashion and they can say, my graduation line was, there's a piece of movie. Mega. Just cause you'd seen it and you loved it and you thought, let's stick it in there. I don't know how it came to me, but it's, it's about about supporting the arts or supporting an unknown designer and giving them their spotlight, which you get in this movie. Yeah, you totally do. Could change your life. There we go. That's the motto. I've got to ask you about Nigel quickly, because I mean, I was sat there thinking, oh my God, I wish I was a man and I wish I could dress like this.

28:58I mean, dapper to another level. The pairings, the colors, the suiting. What was the vision for Nigel's evolution?

29:05Molly Rogers:Literally taking what Pat did in the first movie and just telling shopping teams, go get ties, go get pocket squares, go get vests. And my secret weapon is Richard James, a Savile Row tailor here. I put it on a gentleman in another TV show a while ago. And for men with good bodies, it's sharp. my husband wore a richard james suit for our wedding really what color uh like a blue like a sort of cerulean it was not cerulean sadly but a sort of a summer blue linen but like a deep blue oh fab yeah yeah with stanley he has a good body i said i'm going to introduce you to someone and they made him a custom three-piece suit so when he marches over to dior it's kind of i think it's the first time we see him except for a penguin suit at the gala on the gala stairs and i loved working with them i also loved his out of character moment when he bumps into um he bumps into andy in the hotel the hotel the double breasted cardigan with the pot collar found that in italy at some store that valentino kids that worked at valentino said you should go there vintage when No, went in there, a knit blazer, double-breasted, that had pearl buttons.

30:37Molly Rogers:And I showed it to him, and I wasn't sure if he would say, that's too foppity, you know, that's too dandy. But he was like, give me that thing. And I tried to have him carry Goyard bags. my friends in New York the male friends I have have all different sizes and I wanted him to have a moment where he could do the little Russian doll vibe would never happen but he did have one at one point yes he did when they're looking at the their uh location scouting the last supper yes I noticed it too I was like got it got it in there um I also I want to ask you before we wrap about references to the first film speaking of nigel the moment he's doing some kind of art direction and there's the big ring yes they wore in the first movie they could not find that in storage and i thought i think he took it as his moment and he said i didn't so that ring is somewhere on a lot in a wardrobe rental place and if anybody sees it we own it give it return it don't put it on anyone else that was missing and they props had to recreate it okay fascinating so we've got to find that and then we've got to talk i'm sorry to our team who are listening here but we've got to talk about anne hathaway's final outfit the civilian jumper if you think about the first movie she's in a leather jacket and jeans and we did that suede ralph lauren and jeans and I needed to hide the sweater.

32:14Molly Rogers:I did not want to give it away. It was the first call I made to the studio. I knew I wanted to bring that sweater back. I had to. And this wonderful scarf designer, Sabina Savage, is here in London. Gorgeous scarves. We cried, Annie and I, when we cut this scarf in half, it was too large. We just needed it to hide while she had lunch with Emily. and it's stunning it has sheep all over it but um we were in the fitting we had the original cerulean sweater with the corn chowder stain on it and we had gotten some on you know different websites that matched it and i heard a snip snip and she had cut the sleeves off of one of them she just went and did it yeah and i was like oh i hope it's okay because it was a replacement multiple and it turned out so great because she turned it into a vest which is what she was wearing a lot in the movie the feminine menswear so i was really pleased that it turned into a vest and i i thought it was a good moment for the audience to be like there it is my old friend cerulean it's so good do you know what the whole the film does the best job from the script to the storyline of referencing the first film without feeling like it's you recognize music the music the first one and some of the lines and just but but it doesn't feel like that's the only ip they had and i feel like that translates into yeah you could i think you can tell that all of us are fans of the first movie exactly i just want to say one last thing before you kick me out i'm sorry lady gaga i was gonna ask you did you get to style her it's a long story we'll do another two-parter some other day I just want to say I was so starstruck by her and I fit Meryl Streep where I should be like speechless yeah Meryl is a different kind of animal Gaga is mind-blowing what she brings to her roles and into the room tell me just quick quickly the crystal headpiece that she has got that as a rental in Rome I told her I'm gonna bring a lot of accessories get she's coming off a tour for one day and i called the guy who i had a big crush on and i said can i crystal it because it was just mesh more italian renaissance and he was like yeah but i'm still gonna own it you're not you're not gonna have you know it's gonna be in my and i was like okay and that's that he said he's got it back now yeah you can re-rent it next time you get married oh that's what i'll do next next time i get married next time in rome i'll do it next time in rome and oh there's a long list for the next time i get married don't you worry plenty of ideas okay could go for hours hours more but we don't have that so thank you so so much that was fun that was fun the film was out first of may here may 1 in the u.s and make sure you go and see it now i loved it thank you so much for joining us

35:32Thank you.