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Is Fashion Really Art? Look What 'The Devil Wears Prada’ Says!
- Sutithi
- 23 hours ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 5 minutes ago
Do fashion and art look like close allies or opposites? If you are curious about this unique chemistry between art and fashion, let’s begin with the basics, like what art is, really! Don’t go by the experts; there are too many voices. To put it simply, art is all about aesthetics. And that is something which people see from different angles, from different perspectives. The same goes for fashion.
Yet, for many, fashion seems like a ‘surface’ thing to show off. Superficial, not measuring up to real art — a glitzy world of ramp walks and runway buzz that dominates the multi-billion-dollar industry. Do you feel the same? If yes, ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ the 2006 cult movie, has something interesting to reveal about high fashion, art, and influence.
Through the main characters of the film, Miranda Priestly, the formidable editor-in-chief of Runway magazine, and Andrea Sachs, a journalist assisting Miranda, it shows what goes on behind the glamour and shimmer of the world of mannequins and luxury brands.
It feels like art fashion are both sides of the same coin, where fashion designers and curators act like painters or sculptors, influencing and shaping the visual culture.
In this blog, we’ll explore fashion not as something to pamper shopaholic women but as a storyteller and expressive art. We’ll see how designers act like artists, curating wow-worthy collections that people not only wear but also make a part of their identity.
Obviously, not everyone can see the effort and creative challenges that go into making this wearable art, from couture collections or statement pieces. Let’s intrigue ourselves more to reveal what goes into the game.
Is There a Fine Line between Fashion and Art?
Art is Art. Fashion in fashion—Karl Lagerfeld
Is fashion something as serious as high art? There is a lot of hype about fine arts and high fashion. Once, Karl Lagerfeld, a celebrated German fashion designer and photographer, claimed them as separate segments of the visual culture.
But if we think of fashion designers like Alexander McQueen or Rei Kawakubo, we’d see that they have treated the concept of clothing quite differently. McQueen even called fashion high art. They didn’t just design outfits but challenged the very definition of couture, adding more drama, storytelling, experiences, and abstract concepts into it.
To these designers, fashion is the most visible and extensively commercial form of art, where designs dominate display.
In the movie The Devil Wears Prada, top-notch fashion brands and elite wardrobes are shown to highlight subtle dressing that goes well with a privileged, fashion-savvy class and not the masses. This also happens for the blue-chip paintings!
The film also makes us think about the role of dressing in our lives, expressing identities, belief systems, cultural preferences, and prejudices. That’s how it places Andrea Sachs and Miranda Priestly on the polar ends of the fashion scale — one end belongs to the die-hard fashionista Miranda, and on the other end, Andrea is struck by the allure but struggles to find any sense of it!
“A million girls would kill for this job.” – Andrea Sachs (from the movie)
When Fashion Brands Are Visual Clues!
In old masterpieces, like oil painting portraits of the royal family, we see the elite classes wearing gaudy outfits. It clearly shows that clothing not only meant comfort but also was a statement of status and wealth.
Over the years, clothing has become a medium of expression, where fabrics, textures, silhouettes, and tones are used by fashion designers as cultural references to show personal identities, political statements, and gender roles.
The only thing is, clothing is an artistic medium that you can wear. It is a real thing that works as an object and a performance at the same time. It reflects the vibes of the person wearing a particular brand, how they carry it, and how they want to be seen in the public gaze.
The film also shares this idea, highlighting some major brands, like Chanel, Dior, Versace, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana, Calvin Klein, Jean Paul Gaultier, and, most importantly, Prada — the heart and soul of the story. These brands dominate the storyline, especially for the Runway world and the editor-in-chief, Miranda Priestly.
Prada, the flashy brand, redefines the meaning of ‘luxury.’ When one carries a brand like Prada, it’s not only the look that matters; it talks about a design philosophy, bold and evolving with time.
At the same time, the film also reveals the survival instincts of the fashion industry, the discipline, and the hardcore dedication that goes behind the glamour. Here, fashion shows are just like coordinating any premier art exhibition, like biennales.
What Makes Prada Worn by Devils?
Is Prada a fashion movement? Let’s go back to the time when Miuccia Prada came up with the Prada collections to reshape fashion taste and redefine styles. It turned heads! What was initially termed ‘unfashionable’ turned out to be a trendsetter.
Even today, designers and fashion curators follow the shifts in the brand and how Prada reacts to the current trends. They treat this brand almost as seriously as any major art movement!
So, what made Prada worn by devils?
It’s all about the ‘ugly chic’ looks, the minimalist yet thoughtful styling, and the muted colors that actually make one look twice. That’s how the brand is loved for its modest luxury, a subtle taste of sophistication — and to top it all, a bit of tension in the design, a contrast of simple and complex, wearable and conceptual, minimalist and flashy.
Miranda Priestly and the Cerulean Sweater!
“You think this has nothing to do with you… But what you’re wearing was selected for you by the people in this room.” – Miranda Priestly (from the movie)
Miranda Priestly, the editor of the fashion magazine, is as intimidating as she is interesting — she dresses like a devil, walks like a diva, and works with the zeal of an art gallery director, shaping opinions.
For her, Prada is not only an obsession but also a symbol of authority, power, and status. This is where she makes it clear to Andrea (who’s quite naïve about fashion) that clothing is not a random choice but a concept well-thought before. Like high art, it is also curated and shows a chain of influence flowing top-down from high-end designers, shaping stories that people eventually wear.
Here, she points out the seriousness of everything termed as 'fashionable' when she talks about the ‘cerulean sweater,' the blue-colored sweater Andrea was wearing.
'What you’re wearing was selected for you by the people in this room.’
While saying that, Miranda meant to say that Andrea didn’t just pick the blue-colored sweater randomly from the market; what she purchased belongs to a design hierarchy where the exact shade of blue, ‘cerulean,’ was invented years back by some elite designers, filtered through the fashion world, and landed in everyday stores, from where Andrea picked this piece.
It’s a fascinating journey, similar to an artistic piece making its way to general viewers. It shows how deeply cultural and artistic influence flows from the top to the masses.
She reminds us that behind the glitz and glamour of the industry, there is rigorous curation, just like any premier gallery show.
How Designers Shape Collections Like a Moving Gallery
What if a runway were never just a runway?
This takes us to where we started from — the fusion of art fashion. When you think of them together, you will see that the connection is not just symbolic; they bond in real space, where runway shows look like exhibitions and clothing acts as an artistic medium.
Yes, of course, fashion is more than just a ramp walk — it's an experience and a story that is presented on a stage, similar to a gallery opening. The sound of music, pacing, and sequencing of models walking, like displaying art pieces, makes a lot of sense. If you have been to major shows like Paris Fashion Week, you can feel almost the same vibes as attending an art biennale.
Behind all the drama and buzz, the excitement of the audience, buyers, critics, and quick camera flashes, one emotion that runs deep is a sense of exploration — an experience that is similar to any fine art exhibition. That’s how runways become moving galleries, where each piece is displayed as part of a bigger story.
Stay tuned to know how designers like Yves Saint Laurent and Louis Vuitton made their runway shows as curated art exhibitions in the next series …