Anne Hathaway Had “a Few Notes” for Andy Sachs's Apartment
It’s been 20 years since Anne Hathaway portrayed fictional aspiring journalist Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada. In those two decades, both Hathaway and Sachs have honed their eye for design. In the long-awaited sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2, in theaters today,Andy returns to her roots as a senior editor for the fictional Runway magazine, run by her former mentor, Miranda Priestley (Meryl Streep). Along with the revamped Runway offices , the latest film brings audiences into the private residences of both Andy and Miranda once again, with Andy’s newly updated to reflect her current stage of life.
In the first movie, Andy lived with her chef boyfriend Nate (Adrian Grenier) and relaxed after work at Runway by eating grilled cheese made from Dean and Deluca fromage in their sparse studio apartment. The sequel, however, sees Andy now living alone in a home that illustrates her successful journalism career with eclectic knickknacks accumulated over decades of reporting onsite. Actress and producer Hathaway gave input as to how Andy’s apartment could show her growth over time.
“Anne Hathaway gave us a few notes for [Andy’s] apartment. It was important to make sure she felt like it reflected her character,” set decorator Stephanie Bowen tells ELLE Decor. “Andy Sachs is a journalist with limited funds and her clothing style [is rooted in] vintage selections. We agreed her apartment should reflect that.”
Bowen decided to decorate Andy’s house with midcentury pieces and layered textiles. She sourced furniture mostly from auctions, secondhand stores, and antique dealers. Andy’s upholstered bed was custom made for the sequel and adorned with Nikki Kehoe linens to add a more upscale touch. “Anne wanted her character to feel worldly and well traveled,” Bowen continues. “We had lots of books, collectibles and textiles from different countries.”
While Andy’s apartment is much upgraded from her studio space in the original installment, Miranda is still living in the same regal townhouse as she did in the first film. “It was really exciting when we got the news that we could return to Miranda's townhouse from twenty years ago,” says Bowen. “There was much uncertainty if this could happen, but [producer] Wendy Finerman knew the original owners who were able to connect us with the new owners.”
Luckily, in the townhouse, the wallpaper and window treatments used in the first film were still intact, along with the spiral staircase and its blue rug. Bowen also brought the Wayne Thiebaud cityscape painting “Downhill Cross Streets” that was in the original film back to Miranda’s townhouse. Despite these moments of continuity, the home still had to showcase both the passing of time in the characters’ private lives and modern design sensibilities. Production designer Jess Gonchor, who created the first movie’s sets, returned to establish this evolution.
“The design choices felt instinctive. The characters are so beloved, and I had complete faith in the project knowing that the original cast would be returning along with the enormously talented Jess, and director David Frankel,” Bowen says. “I would say yes to any project that Jess was a part of, but I have to say, I felt extra pleased to be on this one.”
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