Meryl Streep channels Miranda Priestly in Prada at London premiere

Meryl Streep did not arrive in London so much as reassert a dress code. At the European premiere of The Devil Wears Prada 2 in Leicester Square on April 22, 2026, she wore head-to-toe Prada and leaned hard into the kind of disciplined glamour that made Miranda Priestly an enduring archetype: clean lines, polished severity and just enough sparkle to feel expensive, not decorative.

The sharpest detail was the accessory, a custom bedazzled Runway-themed clutch shaped like a miniature version of the fictional magazine’s book from the original film. It was a wink, but an exacting one. Paired with red accents and red pumps, the look drew a straight line back to the original film’s visual language, where red functioned less as a trend than as a warning signal. In old-money terms, this is the formula readers can actually use: restraint first, then one controlled flourish that lands because everything else is held in check.

That is what makes the outfit work beyond the fan-service. Prada gave Streep the tailoring, the polish and the authority. The clutch supplied the joke, but it also reinforced the character study. The result felt less like costume and more like a wardrobe philosophy built on stillness, precision and expensive understatement. Nothing was loud except the message.

The premiere also marked a reunion nearly two decades in the making. Streep returned alongside Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, with David Frankel back in the director’s chair and Aline Brosh McKenna returning as screenwriter. Hathaway wore Versace and Blunt stepped out in custom Balenciaga, turning the red carpet into a neat study in how fashion houses and movie nostalgia now feed each other. The franchise knows exactly what its audience remembers: the book, Runway and the ritual of dressing like power has a geometry.

With the theatrical release scheduled for May 1, 2026, the London premiere did more than promote a sequel. It reminded everyone why Miranda Priestly still reads as the ultimate old-guard style reference: not precious, never overworked, and always a little more controlled than the room around her.