transcript

Speaker 1:
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Speaker 2:
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Speaker 3:
[01:08] This is The RunThrough, I'm Chloé Malle, and today I'm here in the studio with our wonderful co-host, Nicole Phelps.

Speaker 4:
[01:16] Hi, Chloé.

Speaker 3:
[01:17] Nicole, it's a big week. I feel like basically since I got back from spring break the end of March, we've been in sort of a full court sprint towards the Met Gala, and it also is very robust event season in New York City. I feel like everyone's come out of winter hibernation.

Speaker 4:
[01:36] Even though the temps remain chilly.

Speaker 3:
[01:38] The temps do remain chilly, but we're starting to see our gala season has commenced. I went to the Black Tie Tiffany Gala last week, and I was like, oh, having to like multiple black tie dress codes is a tall order. But we want to talk about the Devil Wears Prada 2.

Speaker 4:
[01:56] You were at the premiere.

Speaker 3:
[01:57] I was, and we have Molly Rogers, the costume designer on the show this week. She and Alice Newbold, executive fashion news and features editor at Vogue, UK, are on the podcast later this episode. And I am very intrigued to hear what you have to say, because the costumes are wacky.

Speaker 4:
[02:16] That quote, was it Meryl who gave it from the first film that they couldn't work with fashion labels because people were afraid to loan them clothes because of offending Anna at the time? And I guess this time was a completely different story.

Speaker 3:
[02:31] That is not the case now. You really see everyone, there's a lot of designer cameos in the movie, Marc Jacobs, Donatello Versace, Domenico Dolce. So there's certainly, it's a different approach. But yes, the costumes are eye-catching.

Speaker 4:
[02:49] Were you at the Dolce & Gabbana show?

Speaker 3:
[02:51] I was not.

Speaker 4:
[02:52] When Miranda Priestly walked in?

Speaker 3:
[02:54] No, but there are big overhead shots of that. And I was hoping that they would do sort of a wink and pan to Anna across the catwalk, but they did not.

Speaker 4:
[03:04] That was a very meta moment for all of us.

Speaker 3:
[03:06] Yes. No, that features prominently. A lot of the movie takes place in Milan.

Speaker 4:
[03:10] Talk about meta.

Speaker 3:
[03:11] Yes. But the premiere was overwhelming.

Speaker 4:
[03:15] What did you think of the red carpet fashion?

Speaker 3:
[03:18] Well, the red carpet itself, it was bigger than the Mets red carpet. I mean, it truly, they built it around the fountain at Lincoln Center. So it was a full keyhole shape to go around it. And people were on the red carpet for like almost an hour. It was unbelievable to witness. And then you got inside and it was like Epcot Center of activation booths from a Zillow photo booth in an elevator to a sitting in a mini version of Miranda's office, to trying on clothes in the closet. It was just overwhelming.

Speaker 4:
[03:51] I was very intrigued to see both Meryl and Anne in red. And then to see Emily Blunt in the scene-stealing Schiaparelli couture.

Speaker 3:
[04:01] I do agree with some fashion commentary that Emily Blunt's dress looked fantastic on her, but maybe wasn't a group photo dress. But yes, I thought everyone looked great. I've been loving Meryl's press tour looks. I think she's been really having fun with it. Her stylist, Michaela Erlinger, did an interview with Christian about it, and they're just sort of being cheeky and going wild. She wore an amazing furry tiger print Gucci jacket earlier in the day.

Speaker 4:
[04:30] I love that look.

Speaker 3:
[04:31] I know. And then a Givenchy leather, bright vermilion leather cape, long cape dress to the premiere with black gloves. I thought she looked fab. And Anne Hathaway, I thought looked great in custom Vuitton.

Speaker 4:
[04:44] Yeah, I really like Meryl too. It's a way to be formal but sort of casual at the same time. And I think that's a hard balance to strike. And I think she's doing a good job of that.

Speaker 3:
[04:55] I mean, it was such a big premiere. It was 2,000 people at Lincoln Center and David Geffen Hall. And from Bob Iger to our CEO Roger Lynch, but then also every person in the movie, which had so many cameos, including Lady Gaga. And every designer and commentator and personality, it was just, I felt overwhelmed.

Speaker 4:
[05:21] Well, I have to say that I never read the book when it came out. And thanks to the Vogue Book Club, I did. And I was bemused, I would say, is my general reaction. I felt it was less insider-y than maybe it got credit for at the time.

Speaker 3:
[05:38] And what I like about the book is that she clearly took very copious notes throughout her time working for Anna because it is almost like a forensic accounting of the day in Anna's office in the early aughts. And I thought that was really interesting.

Speaker 4:
[05:57] I am totally with you. It was like, you saw a very, very clear picture of what that office was like, but not what the rest of the dealings of the magazine were so much. And to me, you know, there's a lot, I'm very interested. I'm a girl who's behind my computer all day working with copy, so the way a photo shoot on spools is super fascinating to me. So if there's ever another expose about Vogue, I hope that's what somebody writes about.

Speaker 3:
[06:24] Speaking of the Vogue Book Club, we have our special screening of The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Book Club conversation next week at the Metrograph. Very excited, speaking to Billy Norwich and Kate Young, both of whom worked at Vogue in the early aughts and are very smart, funny, cultural critics, I would say.

Speaker 4:
[06:44] I'm looking forward to that too. In other fashion news, it has been a very big moment for high-low collaborations. In fact, I think we're in a new golden age of high-low collaborations. Probably because high fashion is so damn expensive. And this week, we have Victoria Beckham in town from London. She's here in New York to celebrate her collaboration with Gap, thanks to Zach Posen, who made that happen.

Speaker 3:
[07:13] I'm excited for that. I saw a couple of pictures in the Vogue exclusive. And I think the Capris look cute. Yes. In the anorak.

Speaker 4:
[07:21] Yes. Victoria sort of casting her eye over all American essentials. I'm sure the Gap hoodie with her name underneath the GAP will be a hit. And there's not only that. Earlier this week, we announced that Cecilie Bahnsen, who is a very popular Danish designer, has a collaboration with Uniqlo. And people who like her romantic sensibility will be happy to see it sort of reimagined in more everyday jersey materials. Like if you want a ruffle and you want it on a t-shirt, this is the collection to shop.

Speaker 3:
[07:58] Not to mention last week, Christopher John Rogers with Old Navy. I thought a lot of those pieces looked fun.

Speaker 4:
[08:03] Yes, I mean the man.

Speaker 3:
[08:04] Classic colors.

Speaker 4:
[08:05] The greatest colorist there is. And of course, Stella McCartney and H&M.

Speaker 3:
[08:11] I love to hear that you still have your pieces from that collection 20 years ago. What a tribute to the staying lasting power.

Speaker 4:
[08:19] What is it called, the user cost ratio? I definitely got my money's worth from the denim jeans.

Speaker 3:
[08:25] You amortized this.

Speaker 4:
[08:26] I amortized the heck out of them. You know, that was a huge, huge scene. I remember when it happened. I think it was 2005. And it'll be interesting to see if, you know, she can stir up the same kind of enthusiasm all these years later. Obviously, as we've been saying, it's not a new concept. But there is a lot of hunger for pieces. Even though they're not true runway designer pieces, you can still see some of these collaboration pieces, like for sale on the RealReal. And there is a market for them, which I find really, really interesting.

Speaker 3:
[09:01] I know.

Speaker 4:
[09:01] It's intriguing to me.

Speaker 3:
[09:02] I mean, I still have my dress from the Isabelle Moran H&M collection that I, you know, was what, 15 years ago. I love that. So yeah, those collections really do feel special.

Speaker 4:
[09:15] Sort of markers of time, I think.

Speaker 3:
[09:18] I wear my Gapdoan stuff all summer.

Speaker 4:
[09:21] I have a great little tote that has Albert Elbaas' famous illustrations on it. And we should, I'm glad Albert came up because it's the fifth anniversary of his passing. And, you know, it's a sad, sad thing to think about, but also really intriguing that designers keep mentioning him on the runways. You know, I'm thinking about the Daniel Rosemary at Schiaparelli was talking about his La Vente collections. And so he's been on my mind lately.

Speaker 3:
[09:50] There's been so many events. I mean, poor Freya, who oversees our party coverage, has been absolutely scrambling. But my big event last week was Tiffany's big Blue Book Gala at the Park Avenue Armory. They took over the enormous armory and turned it into basically bunny melons garden in Virginia. And they had enormous flowering plants everywhere, which then they donated to Bette Midler's New York Restoration Project to be planted. And Mariah Carey performed, which was very exciting. And I sat across from Connor Story, which I was very excited about.

Speaker 4:
[10:27] Because he is charming in real life.

Speaker 3:
[10:28] He was charming and happy to be there, happy to be at the party, which we love to see. And everyone was very focused on Coachella this past weekend. I was at Dave and Buster's Times Square with my children. But I know that everyone was extremely activated about Justin Bieber bringing Billie Eilish on stage for One Less Lonely Girl. And Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter was a big moment.

Speaker 4:
[10:55] And how about poor Madonna's clothes going missing? Did you see that?

Speaker 3:
[10:59] No.

Speaker 4:
[10:59] She posted that the pieces that she wore on stage, that purple leotard were stolen. I don't know if they've been recovered yet. Oh, my God.

Speaker 3:
[11:10] It's like the Louvre scandal part two.

Speaker 4:
[11:12] Yes, because she wore them back in the day on the, I think, the Confessions tour.

Speaker 3:
[11:17] Oh, my God.

Speaker 4:
[11:18] I missed that whole story line. It's fashion history. Fashion and pop music history there.

Speaker 3:
[11:23] Wow. I also thought it was interesting seeing how brands, luxury brands used Coachella. And I think Vogue Business also did an article about how powerful Coachella still is as a marketing ground. And having Sabrina and Dior and Ethel Kane was in Dior, two very different versions of a Jonathan Anderson lady.

Speaker 4:
[11:45] Such a big platform.

Speaker 3:
[11:47] Platform is the word I was looking for.

Speaker 4:
[11:48] And of course, the biggest platform of all is the Met Gala. Less than two weeks away.

Speaker 3:
[11:56] Yeah, we're really in full Met Gala prep mode here at Vogue. We, many meetings, many editorial planning meetings. Nicole, what are you wearing to the Met?

Speaker 4:
[12:06] Ooh, it's a work in progress. I'm really cutting it close this year.

Speaker 3:
[12:11] Are you going to hint anything?

Speaker 4:
[12:13] It's looking like it will be an American designer. Excellent.

Speaker 3:
[12:17] Me too.

Speaker 4:
[12:18] Right. We'll be representing New York.

Speaker 3:
[12:20] Very excited. And we actually just yesterday published photographs by Annie Leibovitz, Stout by Law Roach featuring members of our Met Gala host committee like Misty Copeland and Alex Consani. I have to say I love the photo of Alex in this billowing, mango-colored Balenciaga dress. That was one of my favorites. And we also announced today, we have a big two weeks coming up because we have our book club event next Monday. Next Friday, we have our pre-met staff party, which we're very excited about. And then next weekend, we are doing New York City's first ever Vogue Cafe in SoHo. And I think it's going to be fantastic. I can't wait.

Speaker 4:
[12:59] Stop by.

Speaker 3:
[12:59] Yeah, stop by. It's at the Altro Paradiso popping up Saturday through Monday. Very excited about the pastries. Honeys Bakery are doing custom pastries for us. It's going to be great.

Speaker 4:
[13:10] Chloe likes them. You know they will be good.

Speaker 3:
[13:13] Nicole, thank you so much for joining us this week on Headlines.

Speaker 4:
[13:15] Thank you.

Speaker 3:
[13:16] We always love to hear about all of our fashion news. And we'll be back with Molly Rogers, the Devil Wears Prada 2 costume designer after a quick break.

Speaker 5:
[13:39] If group chats had a podcast, it would sound exactly like this. Unfiltered beauty secrets, wellness trends we actually try, and the kind of real talk you won't find on Instagram or anywhere else. From celeb confessions to life's messy moments, nothing's off limits. I'm Molly Simms, Founder, Actress, Model Producer, and now your text or audio BFF. And I'm Emma Shigwormley. We're in this together, ladies. Join us every week for Lip Sync on the Rim.

Speaker 1:
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Speaker 6:
[16:35] Hi, Molly. Congratulations on The Devil Wears Prada 2.

Speaker 7:
[16:38] So exciting.

Speaker 6:
[16:39] Take me back to when you first got the call. What was your original reaction?

Speaker 7:
[16:44] I was so thrilled that I was going to get to revisit that world. I knew that I was fortunate that I had worked on the first one with Patricia Field and that I had a, let's say, legacy with it. So I knew I was the best person for it. It just really helps to have that historical perspective, I think. I mean, it does add something to what you're bringing to a project. It felt kind of like coming back within just like that, like coming back to summer camp with people that you missed and you wanted to see again. So I was not concerned about bringing them forward in time even before I read the script. I knew that Pat had established their DNA. So this is the editor, this is the assistant, this is the fish out of water, that it would just be about continuing that DNA in the second one. So I just kept saying to myself, a million girls would kill. So enjoy it.

Speaker 6:
[18:00] Talk us through your CV in case our listeners don't know you're, of course, the woman behind and just like that's headline making costumes, such as Carrie Bradshaw's JW. Anderson Pigeon Clutch.

Speaker 7:
[18:10] Yes. What a win that was. I owe all of this to having worked and been friends with Patricia Field since the 80s. When I was a small, small baby, I came to New York with a dream and I met Pat and she had a very famous store on 8th Street in the 80s. It was just the intersection of social life. Let's say that store was the Internet now. Everybody went there and MTV had just started and we started styling and that just progressed over the years into Sex in the City and the two movies and the first Devil Wears Prada. Then I never dreamed I would see the Sex in the City girls again and just like that. Pat was busy doing Emily in Paris and I wanted to do that with her. But it was great to stay in New York with Sarah Jessica and have fun re-imagining them. But The Pigeon Bag, it's funny that you mentioned that. I wasn't aware of it. My friend who is my date tonight at the London premiere is a very good documentarian, a French guy. And he's really good friends with Sarah Jessica, Fabian. And he was on vacation in Italy or Greece or somewhere. And he sent a picture to me and he was holding a pigeon. And I was like, have you trained a bird? And he was like, no, this is a JW Anderson bag. And I was like, well, that's a Sex in the City moment. That's a carry prop if I've ever seen one. Because, not to make this a super long story, but I found the Eiffel Tower bag that Carrie carried quite a bit. We crystal it and she had it in one of the movies and I think maybe the sixth season when she was running around Paris. And I had always looked for a bag that would memorialize the city of New York. And I would see apples and statues. They just didn't move me. I didn't want a rat or a piece of pizza. It's too corny. And when I saw that pigeon, I was like, that's a New York mascot. Let's make it famous. And I loved what she did in that scene.

Speaker 6:
[20:34] Yeah.

Speaker 7:
[20:35] Took a piece of chewing gum out of the wing.

Speaker 6:
[20:38] Incredible.

Speaker 7:
[20:39] She really knows what to do with garments.

Speaker 6:
[20:43] I love that it was a pigeon that did it for you.

Speaker 7:
[20:45] Honestly, I had to call them and ask them for one for myself. I was like, I hate to beg, but I mean, guys, will you send me one?

Speaker 6:
[20:55] Can you take me back to working with Patricia Field who costumed the original film, obviously, as you said? Did she give you any advice for this new film?

Speaker 7:
[21:03] No, I really didn't bother her for, what's your take on it? You got a little hint, got a good idea for me. I felt like I had gotten so much from her through the cosmosis in all these many, many fitting rooms over the years that I knew it just needed, I wanted to give it my perspective. And I'm sure there's a lot of her in me, obviously. I've just been by her side through so many closet scenes and shoe shots. And I just thought, you know, she wished me well, she's busy. But I just felt like it was good to interpret it on my own with my own experiences because she has a style and I do as well for characters. I don't like to do red carpet. I like to read a script and assign a look, not just request looks.

Speaker 6:
[22:05] So good. When the trailer came out, one of the first pieces that stuck out for us was the Siren Red Valentino rock stud pumps. Did you know that The Nostalgic Hills would make such a splash?

Speaker 7:
[22:16] I'm going to give you the real story, okay? I had gone forward to Milan, where we were going to shoot some scenes. I was not there that day when they were shooting another scene and they just popped the shoes on Meryl. I had chosen another shoe. I got panicked phone calls from my assistants saying that the marketing team had decided that they liked this other shoe, which at the time I took great offense to because I knew that a marketing person didn't know anything about a rock stud. Right. I did not think it was appropriate for Miranda to wear a rock stud, but they liked the way that it looked, but it was not character appropriate. So from afar, I was sending pens into voodoo dolls, let's say. But marketing, they have a different objective. They need to catch eyeballs, and they don't know about character. I was telling someone the other day, you could give most of us, especially me, a rack full of white blouses, and I could choose the one that Miranda would wear, and the one that Emily would wear, and the one that Annie would wear. There are nuances just like the two blue belts in the first movie. We know the difference. So when I saw that hubbub about that shoe, I was like, I'm innocent. I'm glad if people like it because it's a callback or whatever, but if you don't like it, I understand that too.

Speaker 6:
[24:03] But it caused quite the furor.

Speaker 7:
[24:04] It's a great shoe, and it did what it needed to do, walk into the elevator, but there were others there.

Speaker 6:
[24:12] Got it. Well, tell me about the process of picking up the Devil Wears Prada character's wardrobes 20 years on. What did you take from the first film? What through lines can we see?

Speaker 7:
[24:21] Well, like I said earlier, the DNA for the first film is so strong. You know, a woman that, a character that Meryl and Pat created, we weren't shooting a documentary on Anna. You know, it's true, they needed to create a character that didn't exist appearance-wise and other reasons. But, you know, it was obvious that a powerful woman like that would have a very strong silhouette. She would need a lot of frills or bows and whistles. And with an actress like Meryl, you don't need to adorn them, you know. You just need to create a frame. So that was kind of my moda operandi. You know, I followed that rule to just go very clean and powerful and confident in all those buzzwords for a woman of that stature. And Emily Blunt's character, because she's so sharp-witted, British, that rotten, biting humor that we all love so much, her costumes got to have the edge in the first movie. And we went to Century 21 all day long and scooped Vivian Westwood and Rick Owen and Margiela and threw that all together for her. So she is the most fashion forward of the characters in the first movie, so I followed that through line. And Andrea Sacks was not as difficult in the first movie as she was to formulate an idea in the second one. She was a fish out of water in the first movie, the end, okay? Her transformation scene is the Chanel thigh-high boot. That's when she has access to this fabulous closet. But in the second one, she's a world traveler because she's a reporter. She's been exposed to a lot. She didn't totally reject the fashion world because she's a New Yorker, and she's smart, and she shops consignment stores. So she needed a real mix of believability. And her transformation in the second one is because Nigel throws her stuff for loan from the closet. So it also had to be something her character would wear, just heightened, a label, let's say. So she was a process for sure.

Speaker 6:
[26:56] Speaking of the fashion cupboard, it feels like a pivotal moment in the film again. How did you deck it out? There's been so much discussion online about that totem embroidered two piece.

Speaker 7:
[27:05] Really? Well, that was in the script. When things are referred to in the script, we try to follow that rule. Set Decoration had a great deal to do. It's really not my job to deck a closet out, but of course, they come into our room and say, what do you recommend? Who should we ask? Who's generous? Where should we go? No open-toed shoes, you know, rules to kind of make the eye candy delicious. There's a friend of mine that has this little picnic basket that looks like a three-tiered wicker cake. I made sure you'll see that right in the middle of the table in one of the, it's adorable. Things like that that are really special, that people have done their damnedest to get to us, but we haven't gotten on a character, I try to feature in the closet scene. A SCAD student, which is a fashion school in the US, their students submitted their graduation fashion lines, and I chose a dress to, and you see it right there, it has feathers on it. There's a mannequin in the closet of something we were all in love with, a Gaultier archive gown that had fishnet, Eiffel Tower on it. No one wore it in the movie, so we made sure it got in the closet. Those kind of things I think are important, like they were on Sex and the City. When she went into her closet, she was creating a moment, a magazine moment, watch Carrie style herself. So those closet scenes, I think are really looked forward to, and people examine them.

Speaker 6:
[28:49] They do. We love to hear that fashion grads are included. That's fab.

Speaker 7:
[28:52] I like to support that kind of thing.

Speaker 6:
[28:54] Moa Streep said unbelievably that no brands wanted to be part of the first Devil Wears Prada. Now brands are obviously fighting to be part of the film. How did you manage that?

Speaker 7:
[29:03] Let's see. I would say in the first movie, there were three design houses that said, we really can't participate. We don't know what the backlash would be. And for example, one totally understood Mr. DeLaurenta, who was very, very close to Anna and had no idea how this was going to be portrayed or, you know, a loyal friend. So, Pat just kept saying there's a lot of clothes in the world. And Mr. Valentino was the first designer who saw Meryl on holiday in Italy and said, whatever you need, I'm here to supply. So that was lovely. So, there was participation, but not like the second one, where this was, we've got to edit, there's so much coming into this room. We've got to be able to take all of these it bags and figure out which one you would want to see 10 years from now.

Speaker 6:
[30:01] Totally. I mean, there's been a lot of chat in our office about editors living in the same navy jumpers and jeans every day, rather than the catalog of fashion that we see play out in the film. Were you worried about tapping into reality or did you just want to make it above all fun?

Speaker 7:
[30:14] That is such a good question. I haven't gotten to really talk about this. In my mind, Andre Leon Talley and Carl Lagerfeld and numerous people wear a uniform. It's true. It's easy. You are recognizable as the icon that you are. It's a uniform. It's great. So in the beginning, early in the pre-production, I thought, I think Miranda should continue her pencil skirts and her short cropped bolero jackets. It looked great on her in the first movie. So all of that was shopped. That kind of silhouette that's just clean and streamlined. Well, we stuck our toe in the first fitting with Meryl and it was not working. Even though it was modern designers, it looked dated, it wasn't fresh. We weren't bringing anything new to the picture. And this was my thought process, which luckily for me, Meryl is one of those people who wants to experiment, does not mind trying on an idea until we find it. She thought, yeah, let's give a pencil skirt a chance again. So it was just luck that there was a skirt and a blazer there, a sport coat that had a totally different feel from everything we were trying on. And the minute she put the jacket on from this company, I saw her walk differently towards the mirror. Like it was a Miranda Priestly walk.

Speaker 6:
[31:53] Incredible.

Speaker 7:
[31:54] And I knew, and she looked at me and she was like, we found it. It's this shoulder pad, it's this cuff that I can use in the scene to exclamation point, whatever I'm talking about. So that was lucky because for a minute there I was like, are we going to find it?

Speaker 6:
[32:11] I mean, I read that you and Merrill collaborated a lot on her outfits for the film and she wanted a big say in the shoulder pads, which I think is maybe the best thing I've ever heard. How involved with the other actors in their wardrobe choices?

Speaker 7:
[32:21] Everyone. I'll tell you, it's been my experience in my career and in fitting rooms. If an actor is collaborative and there's a healthy change of ideas and no one feels afraid to offer an idea or no one feels timid to try it, you make a better outfit and you make a better movie, and everyone's like that. Meryl Gay was so generous with her time, of which she has none, and she kept coming back again and again, just honing things, honing the length of something or was it the right ear? You know, just giving us time, which is what you don't really have. And Anne Hathaway had many, many references that she wanted to share with my department. And, you know, when she, when Annie did the first movie, she, they were all babies, Emily and Annie, and Annie had never worn a high heel. She had not worn high heels in The Princess Diaries. And she told us, I have never worn a shoe like this. She was an innocent. So she came to the second one, extremely knowledgeable, and it was helpful because you can make a fashion reference and she knows exactly what you're talking about. And Emily, I mean, she's a national treasure. She has such an instinct. I had really wanted to put this porcupine needle Rick Owen gown on her in one of the scenes where there's a birthday party. And she bravely tried it on and then we proceeded to scratch her to death getting it off of her. But it looked incredible. If I could have figured out a way to not make her bleed that gown would have been in the movie.

Speaker 6:
[34:15] The ultimate fashion is art.

Speaker 7:
[34:18] What is there if there's not pain?

Speaker 3:
[34:24] The RunThrough will be back in a moment.

Speaker 1:
[34:35] And we're back.

Speaker 6:
[34:39] Of that the Cerulean Blue Jumper made a DIY comeback, such a nice nod to the first film. In what context did you imagine Andy wielding a pair of scissors to make it her own?

Speaker 7:
[34:49] When I read the script and I closed the, you know, fade to black, closed the last page, I knew immediately if that sweater still existed, it needed to come back into this movie. Like that is a no brainer. And I spoke to the director about it, and it was the first phone call I made to the archives out at the studio. Who, you know, stuff disappears, you know, it's, that's the thing. You finish a movie, all of the clothes go to the lot where other productions can rent them. And it was only recently, you know, that people really started hanging on to things, or studios did, because they saw the value or the loved aspect of a piece of clothing. So I called, there were three pieces in storage. They could not find Stanley's ring. Props had to recreate that. And they had the sweater and it still had the corn chowder stain on it. So we just searched and searched and searched until we found one very close, and they said, we can fix the color in the editing room. And I said to Annie, those pajamas that have holes at the elbows, you've just worn it to death and your friends won't let you wear it out in public, but you're not throwing it away. I said, we need to do something to this sweater. And so I went to get the tailor and while I was leaving the room, I heard snip, snip.

Speaker 6:
[36:22] Amazing.

Speaker 7:
[36:23] And she had grabbed scissors and chopped the sleeves off. And that's what I had wanted to do, but she had just done it without marking. It was so do-it-yourself. But I liked it because it continued this feminine men's wear that I was trying to sneak in to some of her clothing because it was a vest.

Speaker 6:
[36:47] I mean, we also love the amount of ties that are in the film on Annie in particular. Tell us about the tie moments.

Speaker 7:
[36:54] I hope that there's not too many. Pat's original inspiration way off in the corner of the room for Andrea Sacks was Annie Hall. That is such a strong silhouette if you're old enough to know.

Speaker 6:
[37:14] Totally explains the waistcoats as well, right?

Speaker 7:
[37:16] Yeah. I love ties on women. Andrea Sacks is a reporter and there was this image that kept coming up in my mind of old newsrooms where the guys have the rolled up and like shigars and I just kept thinking, we need to really explore vests and ties and suspenders and whatever we can to just hopefully not knock you over the head with it. But that it's a part of her closet that's organic, she would go for.

Speaker 6:
[37:52] I like the nods to thrifting as well, like Andy's Margiela blazer, her assistant's Galeano dress. Why was that important to you?

Speaker 7:
[37:58] They felt it was important to add some dialogue, giving a little hint to that. She's well-traveled on her reporting gigs, and so she would stop in a city where she was doing a story and roam around and see what was at resale shops. I think they wanted to not explain that, but just to give it a little throwaway line. That she wasn't steeped in fashion and might not know what the current it bag was because she's a serious reporter, but she had a takeaway from the first experience at Runway.

Speaker 6:
[38:37] Can you tell me about Miranda's insane Dries tassel jacket? I like the little shoulder wiggle she gives to get her in the zone.

Speaker 7:
[38:43] I was furious that that was in the trailer. They give away so much of not locations necessarily, but clothing, it's like save it, save it. I was devastated when I saw that little tassel shake. The tassel jacket was one of the first things I saw that I thought had a chance on Miranda Priestly in the second movie. And I earmarked it and I showed it to Meryl and she responded immediately. She saw it as over the top and I saw it as a rarefied piece that an editor would have. Then it became apparent that there was an actual scene for it when she goes to meet this huge table of let's say corporate banker types. And they're all in their dark pinstripe and she is there in what I consider to be the thigh-high Chanel boot, a tassel jacket. I mean, what a piece to have amongst all these pencil pushers. I thought it was a great place for it there. And I was amazed at what she did in the elevator. I love it. I hope people enjoy it. The studio was very, very nervous about that. As they were in the first movie, they were super nervous about her white hair.

Speaker 6:
[40:15] That's crazy.

Speaker 7:
[40:16] They had no fashion reference, who we were nodding to, Polly Mellon or Carmen, that famous model. And so they see it and they don't understand it. So the tassel jacket was hotly debated. And I warned Meryl. And she was like, we'll see about that. So we tested it, we camera tested it. And she was like, nobody's, they're gonna pry it from my dead fingers. It's gotta be in the movie.

Speaker 6:
[40:44] Go on, Meryl.

Speaker 7:
[40:46] I wonder how the sales are for it.

Speaker 6:
[40:49] I mean, I bet they're thrilled.

Speaker 7:
[40:50] I love tassels. I love them.

Speaker 6:
[40:53] Did you have any say on the script? And thinking also about the Rodeo Bow tie moment in the meeting, did that come from you guys? Or was it a script writer decision?

Speaker 7:
[41:01] You know, those conference room scenes in the movie are like a coffee shop in Sex and the City. A lot of storytelling needs to be told, you know? And that day we were shooting a scene and I was in love with these ties from a girl here in London. I thought they were so unique and there were beautiful ones, green ones, small ones, you know, just beautifully embroidered and glittered and sparkled and rhinestone and just the perfect, if you don't want a pussy bow blouse, you could put that there. And I had pulled them for Mr. Tucci. And he was like, oh, you'll never get me in that. And I knew that it wasn't really his character to do that. It's a little too far flung. But I had them on my desk on a tray and I knew they were calling the actors to a big conference scene. And I went to Meryl and I said, I have a great tray if you want to pick anything up in the scene. And they, she did probably ad lib that and they're in. So at least I got them in.

Speaker 6:
[42:13] You got them in.

Speaker 7:
[42:13] And I got one of this designer's butterfly chokers in another scene. People will see it. It's at a dinner.

Speaker 6:
[42:21] There's so many fashion montage moments. Tell me how many outfits you pulled for scenes.

Speaker 7:
[42:26] Oh my gosh.

Speaker 6:
[42:26] In which Andy walks across the road with a spring in her step, a heel boot on.

Speaker 7:
[42:30] Honestly, montages, as much as I love them, they create chaos, despair, depression in my department. You want the very best. It's less than a second some of those flashes. You need something strong. I was sitting at the Fendi show in Milan, and they had a lot of blue. I knew something from that show had to happen in one of these montages. It was just so striking. And Annie wears a Fendi spring look in one of them. Very, very fast. But the other problem, although I love them, they're not on the shooting schedule usually. It's always at the bottom of the call sheet saying, if time permits. So you're like at the starting gate of a horse race. You don't know if it's going to happen today. You may be waiting on a shoe from Chanel that may not be there the day that you, but you kind of style it on the fly. You have these massive amounts of clothes for each of the characters. And then they're like, we're going to have time today. We're going to have enough sunlight or this is perfect. We're going to use a corner of that restaurant. And you just art direct it on the fly and you pin it or glue it on them because it's so fast you don't have to tailor it. But everything, when I art direct scenes like that, I always go off of what Meryl's wear. She determines what color or print someone else is going to be in.

Speaker 6:
[44:07] To the big party and fashion show moments, give your team similar PTSD. What does it take to pull that many extras costumes together?

Speaker 7:
[44:14] No, that you usually have time to prep. It's not on the fly. You of course have the generosity of everyone in the fashion world. And you usually know ahead of time what cameos are coming in. And that is usually an organized confusion. Yeah. It's fun.

Speaker 6:
[44:35] The question we all want to know, did anyone steal anything from set? Was it Stanley Tucci?

Speaker 7:
[44:40] I don't think they would admit to it, but I don't think so. I don't think, I don't remember. Meryl asked for something as she was leaving. I don't remember what it was. Annie, Emily, no, they didn't take anything. There was something I wanted really bad, and I forgot that I wanted it, and now it's in the nether regions of Italy somewhere.

Speaker 6:
[45:02] What was it?

Speaker 7:
[45:03] I am in love with the jeweled, encrusted tops of Mary McFadden gowns, and I like to hack off the bottom half and wear the top half, make it into like a jean jacket. I had found one on the uppery side that was actually a proper jacket, and it was stunning. And I forgot that I wanted it.

Speaker 6:
[45:29] It's hopefully-

Speaker 7:
[45:30] And it stayed in Italy and is in some storage, you know.

Speaker 6:
[45:33] It's hopefully making its way back to you after this.

Speaker 7:
[45:35] I hope so.

Speaker 6:
[45:36] Is there a piece of clothing that you wish could have made it into the film, but you couldn't get in?

Speaker 7:
[45:41] I hate you for asking that. One of my favorite outfits did not make it into the movie.

Speaker 6:
[45:47] Tell us about it.

Speaker 7:
[45:49] It broke my heart. They warned me before I went to see a cut of the movie. They were like, okay, sit down, don't hurt us. This did not make the movie. But when that happens, and it does to every department, kill your darlings is the saying, right? It happens for a reason. The sequence that this particular garment was in was on Emily Blunt and it made the movie too long. And it was the opening sequence of the movie. And it just, to make sense, it went on too long. And who wants a slow start to that movie? It was intercut with Miranda and Nigel on the red carpet in her red. And this was custom made by JW. Anderson for Dior. He had just stepped foot into that door. And because we were shooting a big scene at the Dior flagship store in New York on 57th Street, we got access to Jonathan and his team. And I needed a gown for her. And I wasn't really concerned. I knew that he had just landed there. And it would be his fresh take. And maybe what he was thinking about for his first show. So that was really exciting. And it was super top secret when we would talk to that team. But I was concerned because sometimes when I think of Dior, I think of Charlotte and Bose. But then when I dug a little deeper, I think of harnesses. I think of braids. And it's Emily's Lane. So he just carried that through with this gown that was black satin and lace. And it moved insane. And with her red hair. And I had dressed her two assistants on either side of her in these Richard Quinn feather balls kind of, black balls. They looked like three cockroaches running through a New York hallway. The crew was going wild for these outfits. So I knew if the crew who've seen everything react, it's a keeper and a good one. So yeah, that'll be on some show where it's like, what didn't make it in?

Speaker 6:
[48:19] Before we let you go, can you share any other nice anecdotes and the many, many, many fittings you've been in?

Speaker 7:
[48:24] I will say that Meryl Streep is the most generous person I have ever worked with. My whole department, we worship her. I don't know if that's said enough in other costume departments about her. And Sarah Jessica Parker is a rare bird. She will try on everything until her elbows are raw from pulling stuff over her head. She is a curious person. Other actresses, some of them go, that color, it never works on me. Or that's not gonna look good on my ass. She will try it on, whether it's flammable, no matter where it's from, she wants to know. She wants to know that she eliminated it for a reason, because it was brought into the room for a reason by someone. Someone saw something in it and they wanted to show it to her and present it to her. That is abnormal. Abnormally wonderful.

Speaker 6:
[49:24] How was it styling the new-gen fashion assistants in the film like Simone Ashley and Caleb Herron? Did you have a lot of fun?

Speaker 7:
[49:31] I did. Simone was also a process, which you just don't walk in the room and slide something on and everybody goes, oh, you're a genius, we found it. She's young, she's beautiful. My concern is that she would most likely always be behind Miranda's shoulder in a scene. I had thought without having seen her, I had thought that we needed to do her very, what I consider to be a Vogue girl, posh, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. Very, I'm in the row, I'm in this, I'm in that, it's a blank canvas. I can be anything, but it's moneyed. I tried that on her. She was written to be in All Tom Brown and I was like, don't do that. You're going to be sorry in 10 years. It's wonderful, but we need to be able, we need the liberty to mix things and give characters layers and depth. So I went back to pieces of Tom Brown and younger, younger things. And there's a Monse dress, I think, that I found out that Taylor Swift had worn. But yeah, it was a process with her. But new cast members are great. You get to explore what's happening now, especially Annie's assistant, Helen. I think her name is Jen in the movie.

Speaker 6:
[50:54] She's cute.

Speaker 7:
[50:55] She is the smart one, just like Annie was. It's like she's there for a great purpose, and we just love doing her in Vintage.

Speaker 6:
[51:06] And lastly, we have to talk about the showstopping Pier Paolo red look that Merrill wears.

Speaker 7:
[51:11] I cannot believe it turned out to be them. It was just so organic and just was supposed to be. When we found out there was a runway gala at the beginning of the movie, the first words out of Merrill and I's mouth when we had lunch was, there is no other color. The devil comes back in red. Okay. Don't even think about something else. Although we did try on tons of things, but it was always going to be red. On her mood board, some assistants had placed a lot of photos, and there was a archival Balenciaga dress or gown, and it had a feather hat, and the neck of it just looked like the most incredible frame for a white, shocking hair do. And so we called them, and he was also just landed from Valentino, just landed, just like JW. And we just implored them, get up to running, we need you. And they flew over twice to New York and fit her. She is the one that had the idea to make one sleeve long and the other sleeve not. Which is that little twist that a refined fashion person would find something to do of their own to make it personal. And that color, the swatches they sent, I mean the reds, oh my gosh.

Speaker 6:
[52:43] She looks phenomenal.

Speaker 7:
[52:44] Beautiful, I loved it. And she wanted something that was malleable. You know, she is greatly a contributor and a welcome contributor in fittings.

Speaker 6:
[52:58] Molly, thanks so much for coming on the show today.

Speaker 7:
[53:00] Thank you, I enjoyed it.

Speaker 3:
[53:07] All right, that's it for the show. See you next week. The Run-Through is produced by Chelsea Daniel, Alex DiPalma and Alex John Burns, with help from Emily Elias. This episode is engineered by Pran Bandy and Luke Moseley and mixed by Pran Bandy.

Speaker 5:
[53:33] From PRX.