Three major changes The Devil Wears Prada 2 needs to make, because it has aged terribly

After two whole decades, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is just weeks away, and I can’t wait. But there are some major changes the film will need to make to bring it into the modern world – and this is coming from someone who’s obsessed with the original.

The 2006 fashion comedy starring Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep is one of my favourite movies of all time. It gives me all the teenage nostalgic vibes. At the same time, there’s no denying it’s very, very, very problematic.

Two decades ago, no one batted an eyelid about the film’s controversial themes, but the same can’t be said for today. So, here are three huge changes we’ll need to see as Runway fights to stay relevant in 2026.

The unrealistic beauty standards and body shaming need to stop

The biggest problem with The Devil Wears Prada is its portrayal of unrealistic beauty standards. Throughout the film, there are too many references to being “skinny” to count and the models at Runway are all extremely thin. From Emily saying she eats nothing and then has a block of cheese when she feels like she’s about to faint to Andy being mocked for eating corn chowder for dinner, the constant body shaming and glorifying being thin needs to stay in 2006.

Thankfully, Anne Hathaway has already addressed this. In an interview with Harpers Bazaar, Meryl Streep revealed her co-star spoke to producers to make sure all the models in the film represent healthy and natural bodies after seeing “alarmingly thin” models at Milan Fashion Week. Sadly, it’s still a huge issue on the real runway, but this also means it’s more important than ever that films don’t romanticise this.

Forget romanticising such a horribly toxic work environment

The Devil Wears Prada also glorifies an incredibly toxic workplace. All the staff at Runway, including Andy, are expected to work extremely long hours and meet high demands for very low wages and little reward. And don’t even get me started on Miranda Priestly, the actual boss from hell, whose behaviour is not just demanding but actually borderline abusive when you think about it.

The quote “a million girls would kill for this job” justifies this work environment, but the whole culture was built on bullying. And giving a platform to this toxic workplace ideology definitely won’t go down well in 2026.

And don’t even get me started on that casual sexism being normalised

Throughout the original film, there was so much casual sexism and misogyny that honestly just went under the radar, and it’s outrageous. Andy’s awful boyfriend Nate constantly puts her down and doesn’t support her choice to work at Runway. In fact, he puts everyone who works in fashion down, period. He says it’s all just “shoes and shirts and jackets and belts” and doesn’t think it’s a proper job, despite all the hard work people put in.

It’s not just the men, either. Even though Runway is run by a powerful woman, the whole film is built on sly gender discrimination. Andy is constantly told she can easily be replaced by a younger, prettier employee, and the women in the fashion industry don’t support each other.

So, The Devil Wears Prada 2 has a big, big job on its hands. Keep the magic of Runway alive and show the reality of the fashion world without glorifying the negative sides and setting a poor example. I hope they can do it.

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Featured image credit: Twentieth Century Fox