Meryl Streep shifts from spotted satin to glossy red Prada sequel style

Meryl Streep made a press day in New York’s Financial District feel like a sequel all by itself, opening in a bright green satin topper scattered with oversized black spots before changing into a long red patent Dolce & Gabbana trench that looked built for maximum Miranda Priestly impact. The shift was not just dramatic, it was controlled: loose, playful polish in the first look, then hard-edged authority in the second.

The first outfit softened the statement. Streep wore the green spotted satin coat over a white collared shirt and medium-wash jeans, then finished with black sunglasses, small gold hoops, black slip-ons and a slate-blue top-handle bag. It read as fashion insider rather than character cosplay, a reminder that even a glossy promotional stop can work best when one piece does the talking and everything else quiets down.

The second look tightened the script. Streep switched into the red patent Dolce & Gabbana trench over a Gabriela Hearst dress, then stacked on a brighter red Manu Atelier top-handle bag, pointed red Dolce & Gabbana pumps, Emmanuelle Khanh sunglasses and Effy Jewelry. The effect was cleaner and more severe, the kind of high-contrast styling that turns outerwear into the entire message. If the green coat felt like a nod to ease, the red patent version delivered the sequel’s real thesis: power dressing still lands hardest when it is glossy, precise and a little intimidating.

The timing matters because The Devil Wears Prada remains one of fashion’s most durable pop-culture references, with the 2006 film taking in $326,551,094 worldwide. Disney’s trailer page says Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci return for The Devil Wears Prada 2, which is set for theaters on May 1. That gives every public appearance around the film an extra layer of scrutiny, especially when the wardrobe is this pointed.

Streep has already leaned into the franchise’s fashion memory elsewhere. At the Seoul premiere on April 8, she wore a custom red Prada suit that W Magazine said appeared to draw from Prada’s fall 2009 runway, the collection Miuccia Prada linked to feminine empowerment. Add in Streep’s own description of the New York filming frenzy as an “ambush” and the joke about a “PTSD-like reaction” after 16 weeks in Miranda Priestly’s heels, and the message is clear: this sequel is being dressed like an event, not a nostalgia trip.