The devil STILL wears Prada
15 years on from the classic novel, the author talks about bringing back a famous character
IT’S 15 years since The Devil Wears Prada was published, introducing us to ice queen Runway fashion editor Miranda Priestly and assistants Andy Sachs and Emily Charlton – played in the 2006 film by Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt. Lauren Weisberger’s hit book was loosely based on her own 10-month stint as assistant to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. She said: “It feels so strange. It’s similar to having a child. The time flies, and at the same time, it feels like it was yesterday.” While Weisberger continues to write novels, there’s also The Devil Wears Prada stage musical in the pipeline, with a soundtrack by Sir Elton John, while Blunt said recently she would be up for doing a sequel if the opportunity arose. Fifteen years on, Prada is still turning heads. The 41-year-old bestselling writer admits her blockbuster debut – which became an instant New York Times bestseller, sold four million copies and was translated into 40 languages – was a tough act to follow. Her second novel, Everyone Worth Knowing, received mixed reviews and subsequent books, while also bestsellers, didn’t create the massive buzz Prada generated. Weisberger said: “The second novel was incredibly trying. “I was very stressed out about that but I have an amazingly supportive publishing team, husband and friends.
“Every writer goes through self-doubt but I think I also had an understanding of what a unique and rare occurrence this was with Prada.
“I hadn’t necessarily expected that it would ever be a book, never mind a bestseller and then a movie.
“I was very young and very naive but I did recognise that this was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.
“I don’t think I put undue pressure on TURN TO PAGE 30