“The Devil Wears Prada” Costume Designer Reveals the Brands Who Said No to the Original Movie

Before The Devil Wears Prada became a cult classic, it was a divisive project that scared half the fashion world away. The film is based on Lauren Weisberger’s novel of the same name, which partly depicts her experience as Anna Wintour’s assistant during her stint at Vogue. Because of this, costume designer Patricia Field had a difficult time procuring branded pieces for the original movie.

This fact has long been part of The Devil Wears Prada’s lore. Twenty years later, we finally find out which designers declined to take part in what is now inarguably one of the most famous fashion movies of all time.

Costume designer Molly Rogers recently sat down with Grazia UK to talk all things fashion and film, including her work on The Devil Wears Prada 2. During the interview, she revealed the names of three designers who said no to the original film, fearing Anna Wintour’s reaction.

One of them was the Vogue editor-in-chief’s good friend Oscar de la Renta. “From loyalty, he didn’t know how [Anna] was going to be portrayed. He said, ‘I can’t help you guys’,” said Molly.

The other two were French fashion house Lanvin, who feared “retribution” from Anna, and designer John Paul Gaultier. Molly explained, “Those were the three that said ‘We really want to help, we love you guys. But not this time’.”

At a time when revered designers were turning their backs on the project, it was Patricia Field who saved the day. Reports recount how she used up her connections in the fashion industry and eventually convinced the most important brand of all, Prada, to lend the film their pieces.

“'I think it was Prada that helped her break the ice and said that Anna's not going to be upset,” said the movie’s director David Frankel in a 2021 article. In the end, Patricia managed to procure around 150 designer pieces in just four weeks from the likes of Prada, Valentino, Chanel, and Zac Posen—a feat the director called a “miracle.” He described, “It's like all the special effects in Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible movies, this is the female equivalent of that.”

For The Devil Wears Prada 2, the story is completely different with “dump trucks” of designers volunteering to get their clothes into the sequel. “When I tell them I’m working on The Devil Wears Prada 2, they fall all over themselves because this is great, incredible, best-in-the-world placement,” Molly told Good Morning America in another interview.

It reached a point where production couldn’t keep up with all the fanfare from houses and designers. Instead of struggling to get pieces in, they battled with which ones they had to cut. “It was a lot of editing. It was like, ‘Oh, I can’t believe we’re kicking that bag out the door',” shared Molly. “But I really strived to make the clothing, like Pat did in the original film…I wanted it to hopefully hold up over time.”