The costume design of ''The Devil Wears Prada''

”We wanted it to look like a fashion fantasy,” says Molly Rogers, the associate costume designer charged with dressing the cavernous closets of The Devil Wears Prada‘s fictional Runway magazine. ”I’m used to rummaging through showroom and magazine closets, but nothing is as glamorous as what we pulled off in this film.” Here, a (literal) inside peek.

1. TABLE READ

Knowing that Runway art director Nigel (Stanley Tucci) would actively troll the closets for Andrea’s (Anne Hathaway) pivotal makeover, costumers stocked the central tables with pieces they loved. ”I put glittery Chanel cocktail purses, a Nancy Gonzalez crocodile bag, and this crazy purse I bought in Marrakech that was beaded,” says Rogers. ”Anything that had a little twist, we threw on that table and spread it out like a treasure chest.”

2. CLOSET CASE

Once she realized that the suddenly geek-to-chic Andrea would be frequenting Runway‘s samples closets, Rogers called in favors from Hermès, Cavalli, Chanel, Fendi, and Carmen Marc Valvo (”all those big, huge gowns!”) to keep the shelves looking fab. She also drew on her experience putting together a faux Vogue closet for Sex and the City. Says Rogers, ”We went for things that were very camera-worthy?items that had a lot of color, interest, or glitter.”

3. URBAN OUTFITTER

As for the natty duds that adorn Meryl Streep and Hathaway? Head designer Patricia Field just wanted to make each woman look as good as possible. For Andrea, ”the idea was that she was getting all her clothes from this closet,” says Field. Streep’s acerbic editrix, Miranda Priestly, required a more luxe and eclectic look. ”Because of her position, I used Bill Blass, Donna Karan, and Prada, of course.”