Twenty years after the film that revealed the dynamics of fashion to the general public by showcasing Anna Wintour and her team at Vogue US in the era of maximum power of fashion magazines, the sequel captures the current moment, amidst the excessive power of advertisers, billionaires and financial funds that buy the magazines and dictate the rules, as well as new policies of inclusivity.<o:p class=""></o:p>

<h3 style="text-align: left;">The sequel to "The Devil Wears Prada" hits Italian cinemas today, April 29. Here's what works and what doesn't: a snapshot of the current publishing landscape (not just fashion).</h3>
If the first &ldquo;The Devil Wears Prada&rdquo; captured the golden age of fashion magazines and their very powerful directors (Anna Wintour at American Vogue from 1988 to 2025, Carine Roitfeld at the French one from 2001 to 2011, Franca Sozzani at Vogue Italia from 1988 to 2016), capable of creating (and destroying) reputations of brands, stylists, photographers and top models, the sequel that arrives in Italian cinemas today photographs the current panorama of publishing, where the announcement of the closure of a magazine can reach employees via email, where advertisers impose topics and number of pages dedicated to them, where administrative cuts affect staff privileges (Miranda has to fly in economy) such as the budgets of fashion shootings, where the codes of a more formal than real inclusiveness impose the director to no longer throw the coat on the assistants' table but to hang it up herself, to have a first Indian assistant and a second oversized assistant and gay.

A world where everything is measured in terms of followers and likes, and where a Bezos-like billionaire can decide to buy the newspaper to give to his partner, just as he gave her a Tiffany necklace, a Monet, a Klimt, and a future trip into space (any reference to Lauren Sanchez's highly controversial flight with Katy Perry is obviously not coincidental). While Miranda remains sarcastic, with a scathing wit and lacking empathy, she is terrified of losing her role, and the new limits on her tyranny make the character more blurred than in the first film.

Anne Hathaway in a still from “The Devil Wears Prada 2” (20th Century Studios)

Anne Hathaway, who we see at the beginning of the film winning a prestigious journalism award, is only too happy to be called back to Runway after being fired via email to restore its reputation, which had been damaged by having glorified a brand that wasn't exactly fair in an article (probably paid for). Lacking the criticism with which she once judged the absurdities of the fashion system, anxious only to keep her job, her character is less captivating than in the first film, and isn't helped by a tacked-on affair with a totally unappealing real estate developer. Emily Blunt, on the other hand, is Dior's communications director, making Miranda feel the full weight of the shift in power from magazines to big brands, and is engaged to the billionaire who showers her with gifts, even trying to buy Runway so she can manage it. Another key figure is Lucy Liu, the billionaire's ex-wife, but explaining why would be too much of a spoiler.

Emily Blunt in a still from “The Devil Wears Prada 2” (20th Century Studios)

<h3>Fashion and Milan: little magic, lots of postcards</h3>
The cast's outfits reflect American taste; few are truly wow-worthy; there's no equivalent of the Chanel jacket with thigh-high boots that marks Hathaway's transformation in the first film, for example. Only Emily Blunt's aquamarine Tiffany necklace, her little black dress over a white Dior shirt, and Hathaway's sequined evening gown stand out on screen. The Milan we see is picture-perfect, from an improbably arranged dinner in Leonardo's Last Supper room to Donatella Versace's cameo at lunch with Emily at Salumaio on Montenapoleone, to hotel rooms that barely reflect Milanese style, and the Dolce &amp; Gabbana fashion show with Lady Gaga singing. &nbsp;

<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Watch the trailer for "The Devil Wears Prada 2"</h3>

The Devil Wears Prada 2 Review: Fashion’s Sharpest Duo Returns

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