MILAN (AP) 鈥� may have a title role in 鈥淭he Devil Wears Prada 2,鈥� which premieres in Italy鈥檚 fashion capital on Thursday, but fashion at large gets a spotlight and a supporting role.
The film evokes Prada without being about the storied fashion house that has become synonymous with Milan. In homage, and both wear Prada on a current Vogue cover celebrating the film about a demanding fashion editor.
But when part of the movie was shot in Milan during fashion week last September, a runway show, not Prada, was the backdrop for a scene featuring Streep and Stanley Tucci.
鈥樷�橶hen you think of Prada, when you think of the Prada brand, you also think of Milan. This is obviously good for the fashion system,鈥欌�� said Tommaso Sacchi, Milan鈥檚 counselor for culture. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a film that is good for the city.鈥欌��
Fans converge on film pop-up
That enthusiasm is spilling over to a pop-up at Milan鈥檚 main department store, where aficionados of the film and fashionistas have flocked to take selfies at a replica of fictitious fashion editor Miranda Priestly鈥檚 desk and against the backdrop of a faux Runway magazine mock-up cover.
VIPs attending the film’s Italian premiere on Thursday, ahead of its global release next week, will attend a cocktail in the space.
The Rinascente CEO, Mariella Elia, said the response to the pop-up 鈥� which is announced by giant statues of the iconic red pumps outside the store 鈥� shows that people have 鈥渁 desire for lightness.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about buying, it鈥檚 really about reviving what fashion represents 鈥� a desire to have a stylish flair once again, a desire for joy, too 鈥� perhaps in contrast with the current economic and international moment that humanity is experiencing,鈥欌�� Elia said.
On a recent day, the space filled with people browsing limited edition T-shirts with famous phrases from the first film like, 鈥淚s there some reason my coffee isn鈥檛 here?鈥�
Valentina Cattivelli, a professor, said she wasn鈥檛 trying to channel Priestly as she sat behind the replica of her desk. It included an inbox full of other lines from the original film, including Priestly’s dismissive, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 all.鈥欌��
鈥淣o, I鈥檓 not so cruel in my daily life, but I appreciate her professional style and also her fashion and the taste for fashion. But not her sarcasm or cruelty, no,鈥� Cattivelli said.
Where Prada meets the film
The Prada brand was founded a few steps away, in the stately Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery, by Miuccia Prada鈥檚 grandfather. The shopping arcade today is anchored by two Prada flagship stores.
Miuccia Prada transformed the brand into a fashion juggernaut, turning the infamous ugly chic aesthetic into must-have or must-emulate looks and accessories that bring intellectual heft to runway fashion 鈥� a theme of the original movie, which offered a peek beyond fashion-world frivolity.
鈥淭here is a close relationship between the 鈥楧evil Wears Prada鈥� franchise and Prada, because by evoking Prada from the very title, it evokes a fashion that makes you dream, a fashion that makes you feel elegant, a fashion that makes you feel good, a fashion that gives you an allure,鈥欌�� said Annarita Briganti, a fashion journalist who wrote a book about Prada for Rizzoli鈥檚 Made in Italy editions.
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