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Recently I joined members of the NYC Bar Association FashionLaw Committee for a showing of The Devil Wears Prada 2. As the only employment lawyer on a Bar committee filled with lawyers focused on fashion, IP, Antitrust, and general transaction law, I looked forward to enjoying my popcorn while checking out beautiful clothes, celebrity cameos, and eavesdropping on the palace intrigue at Runway magazine. I got those experiences but there was more. The fact that there had been H.R. complaints about the infamously demanding Miranda Priestly featured prominently in the plot. Throughout the movie Miranda was counseled by her new assistant, who apparently had been hired to police her workplace behavior, and advise Miranda on what she should or should not say or do. Whether Miranda was at an editorial meeting or hanging up her own coat, her assistant was there to whisper H.R. friendly advice to her.
The difference between Runway’s workplace atmosphere in the original movie and in The Devil Wears Prada 2 reflects significant changes in discrimination law which have occurred over the intervening twenty plus years. Now, “Me too” is a fixture in the workplace and there are legally required sexual harassment and sex discrimination policies providing guidance on acceptable and unacceptable behavior under the law. Perhaps the sea change there has been in employment law is the reason the new movie focuses more on Runway’s high-pressure fashion environment rather than depicting sexual harassment which had been on full display in the first movie.
I enjoyed The Devil Wears Prada 2, and the other committee members did too. Afterwards, we relished talking about the movie and the fabulous fashion it showcases over drinks and hors d’oeuvres at a Times Square rooftop bar. It was just the type of venue Runway staff might favor for some fun and gossip after work while (hopefully) observing the company’s anti-harassment policies.
Laurie Berke-Weiss
