The Devil Wears Prada is back – and oh, those fat jokes are wearing thin | Chloe Mac Donnell

There has been much talk of the long-awaited sequel making the most of body diversity. The reality seems to be one plus-size actor and gags worthy of the 00s During the two-month endurance test that was The Devil Wears Prada 2’s global press tour, Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway hinted that the long-awaited sequel to the 2006 hit would champion body diversity. In interviews, both actors explained that while attending Milan fashion week they were surprised by how “alarmingly thin the models were”. As a result, Hathaway made “a beeline to the producers”, Streep said, to ensure that “skeletal” models wouldn’t feature in the film. Spoiler alert: only 15 minutes into the sequel the first weight gag lands, and it becomes clear that all the chatter around size inclusivity was, in fact, just simple size-washing.

That means there’s just enough for the producers to tick the inclusivity box – mainly in the casting of the comedian Caleb Hearon as Miranda Priestly’s second assistant, and a quick glimpse of a couple of plus-size models including Ashley Graham in a catwalk montage – but not enough for any actual credibility. Chloe Mac Donnell is the Guardian’s deputy fashion and lifestyle editor Continue reading... Chloe Mac Donnell There has been much talk of the long-awaited sequel making the most of body diversity. The reality seems to be one plus-size actor and gags worthy of the 00s D uring the two-month endurance test that was The Devil Wears Prada 2’s global press tour, Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway hinted that the long-awaited sequel to the 2006 hit would champion body diversity. In interviews, both actors explained that while attending Milan fashion week they were surprised by how “ alarmingly thin the models were ”.

As a result, Hathaway made “a beeline to the producers”, Streep said, to ensure that “skeletal” models wouldn’t feature in the film. Spoiler alert: only 15 minutes into the sequel the first weight gag lands, and it becomes clear that all the chatter around size inclusivity was, in fact, just simple size-washing. That means there’s just enough for the producers to tick the inclusivity box – mainly in the casting of the comedian Caleb Hearon as Miranda Priestly’s second assistant, and a quick glimpse of a couple of plus-size models including Ashley Graham in a catwalk montage – but not enough for any actual credibility. Runway, the film’s fictional luxury fashion magazine, didn’t stoop this low, but The Devil Wears Prada leaned heavily into the idea that everyone in fashion is obsessed with being thin. If the one-liners about fashion (“Florals?

Groundbreaking”) were unforgettable, so too were the quips geared around weight. The term “body positivity” began to infiltrate fashion. In 2017, Graham became the first plus-size model to feature on the cover of Vogue. Later in the sequel, Miranda gets confused about the term “body positivity”. The reality seems to be one plus-size actor and gags worthy of the 00s During the two-month endurance test that was The Devil Wears Prada 2’s global press tour, Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway hinted that the long-awaited sequel to the 2006 hit would champion body diversity.

In interviews, both actors explained that while attending Milan fashion week they were surprised by how “alarmingly thin the models were”. As a result, Hathaway made “a beeline to the producers”, Streep said, to ensure that “skeletal” models wouldn’t feature in the film. Spoiler alert: only 15 minutes into the sequel the first weight gag lands, and it becomes clear that all the chatter around size inclusivity was, in fact, just simple size-washing. Chloe Mac Donnell is the Guardian’s deputy fashion and lifestyle editor Continue reading... The Devil Wears Prada is back – and oh, those fat jokes are wearing thin | Chloe Mac Donnell