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Months before the official campaign for The Devil Wears Prada 2 began, the unofficial, audience-led one was lighting up social media. Instagram was flooded with glimpses of its designer-dressed stars, shot by eagle-eyed New Yorkers not yet immune to the double punch of celebrity and high-end fashion on their streets.
There was Meryl Streep wearing Gucci, Anne Hathaway in vintage Gaultier, Emily Blunt rocking Dior, and the typically stylish Stanley Tucci stepping out in three-piece splendour. So many shoulder pads! So much immaculately tailored grey!
The official campaign would go on to team Streep and the “real Miranda Priestly”, Anna Wintour, in a viral (and somewhat awkward) elevator clip tagged “Do We Know Each Other?”. But much of the work had already been done out there in the everyday, as fashion and fame combined to turn heads and mobile phones. A thousand Insta shares later, there’s no doubting the pavement-rocking power of a killer outfit, as these best-dressed street scenes demonstrate.
Killing Eve
As a psychopathic contract killer with an eye for fashion, Villanelle (Jodie Comer) inspired shock and wardrobe envy in equal measure. Not one to skulk, incognito, in the shadows, she flaunted her outrageousness in outfits that screamed look at me as loudly as her victims might scream for mercy. From a rose-coloured Burberry trench to a bright mustard Loewe coat and a fluffy green golfing get-up, she was quite literally dressed to kill. Her finest moment came courtesy of a floaty pink Molly Goddard frock she teamed with Balenciaga boots for a meeting with her long-suffering handler, Konstantin. The Place Vendome might be the heart of Paris fashion, but it has never seen anything quite so drop-dead gorgeous.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Audrey Hepburn’s style credentials were cemented in the opening frames of Blake Edward’s 1961 film, as a yellow taxi deposited her at the door of the world’s most iconic jewellery store. Dressed in a black, floor-length Givenchy dress, long black gloves, oversized sunglasses and pearls, she set an example of cinematic elegance that remains unrivalled. Early morning Manhattan was all but deserted, but even in a crowd, all eyes would have been on Holly Golightly as she nibbled a pastry, drank coffee from a paper cup and gazed longingly at all those bright, shiny things. Other parts of the film haven’t aged well (Mickey Rooney as her Japanese neighbour? What were they thinking?) but when it comes to timeless elegance, this is the couture jewel in the cinematic crown.
Emily in Paris
Coincidentally, Hepburn’s iconic early morning scene will be re-enacted by modern style icon Lily Collins when she appears in a new film about the making of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Not only does Collins bear an uncanny resemblance to Hepburn, but her scene-stealing wardrobe in Emily in Paris is as central to the show as her brash American enthusiasm. Parisians offer an uncharacteristically dull backdrop as Emily steps out in rose-covered hot pants by Dolce and Gabbana, polka-dot frocks straight from the ’50s and a pink-feathered jacket to ruffle more traditional fashion feathers. Picking a favourite is a tall order, but the geometric jumpsuit she chose for a moped ride through Rome was a true traffic-stopper.
Sex and the City
The outfits were as fundamental as the friendships in this long-running comedy-drama about newspaper columnist Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her pals. Each character brought a particular vibe to the show’s wardrobe mix, but the leader of the fashion pack was unquestionably Carrie. There were tutus, Fendi bags and pink snakeskin boots but her most iconic head-turner was that voluminous Vivienne Westwood wedding dress at the centre of the show’s most memorable scene. The sight of our heroine thumping her commitment-phobic betrothed over the head with a bunch of white roses is seared in pop culture’s collective memory.
All eyes were on an older and wiser Carrie when she stepped out in the same gown in the sequel series, And Just Like That (above), this time en route to a much happier ever-after, courtesy of the Met Gala.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Best known for pitting lamé and sequins against the red dust of the outback, Stephan Elliot’s drag extravaganza not only redefined the road trip, it also includes a delicious street walk that turns Akubra-hatted heads in Broken Hill. Tired of all those hours on the bus, Tick (Hugo Weaving), Adam (Guy Pearce) and Bernadette (Terence Stamp) step out in strappy sandals, candy-coloured wigs and – in Tick’s case – a flip-flop dress with matching earrings and handbag. Weaving later described the dress as “almost impossible to wear”, but summed up the art of costume design when he acknowledged “it tells you a great deal about the character and the lengths that a drag queen will go to to get noticed”.
In the Mood for Love
Dressed in a swoon-worthy array of figure-hugging cheongsams, Maggie Cheung’s character in Wong Kar-Wai’s 2000 romantic drama is a picture of old-world glamour and emotional restraint. When Mrs Chan discovers that her husband is having an affair with the wife of her neighbour, Cheung, the wronged pair embark on a dangerous game of speculative re-enactments of what their spouses might be up to. Her shifting moods are captured in bold floral fabrics, geometric patterns and pulsating reds that are exquisitely shot against dimly lit Hong Kong streets dripping with humidity. Furtive glances are exchanged across a narrow concrete stairway, and though the silent figures go unnoticed amid the clamour of a busy food stall, that self-contained elegance is impossible to forget.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 opens on April 30.
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