And that’s not a Movie insight. It’s a business one. With the sequel releasing this week, one thing is clear: The world that made Miranda Priestly powerful… does not exist anymore.
The Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway starrer global franchise made the original movie so iconic that two decades later, it still has the power to still lead the cultural and business dialogue today.
The original was not just about fashion. It was power. For years, fashion operated as a top-down system.
Runways dictated. Editors approved. Brands amplified. And everything downstream followed: beauty, skincare, haircare. Entire categories built themselves around what fashion decided was desirable.
I remember when metallic skirts and shoes debuted in Milan, it took me 2 seasons to globally launch metallic makeup under L’Oréal Paris in our #GoldObsession line as the category lead.
And this was the norm throughout. If gloss and sheen were in, shampoos sold shine. If earthy textures took off the runway, skincare sold textures. Aspiration drove consumption. That system does not exist anymore. The Devil doesn’t dictate the terms anymore.
Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway’s character) grew up, and so did the consumer. Today, consumers do not wait to be told what is in. They experiment, remix, and define trends in real time. And nowhere is this shift clearer than in beauty and personal care.
Skincare has moved from aspiration to ingredients, haircare is shifting from cosmetic to diagnostic, makeup is becoming creator-led, not trend-led and brands like Minimalist, Traya and Rare Beauty are not winning by following fashion.
They are winning by following the behaviour. And that’s where the money in business is moving today. This is what makes the return of The Devil Wears Prada franchise interesting. Not as a story about fashion. But as a reminder of a world where influence was concentrated, controlled, and predictable.
Today, that control is fragmented. Trends do not come from a few powerful voices. They emerge from everywhere. And brands are no longer dictating culture. They are participating in it. That is the real shift.
Fashion no longer leads; it reacts and when fashion stops leading, everything downstream changes with it. Beauty becomes about routines, haircare becomes about outcomes and personal care becomes about habits.
So, the business playbook did not break. It just stopped dictating unilateral terms. And in this world, the devil doesn’t wear Prada anymore.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication. |
