Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546154
ome films arrive with a look so specific they become part of culture. The Devil Wears Prada is one of them. Its world of polished offices, immaculate tailoring, and that now-icon- ic cerulean (not just blue) monologue became as visually recognizable as any line in the script. Returning to that world 20 years later meant walking a careful line of preserving what made the original timeless without letting the sequel feel like an imitation of its past. The film reunites the original main cast — Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci — with director David Frankel and writer Aline Brosh McKenna, and introduces an all-new runway of characters, including Kenneth Branagh, Simone Ashley, Justin Theroux, Lucy Liu, Patrick Brammall, Caleb Hearon, Helen J. Shen, Pauline Chalamet, B.J. Novak and Conrad Ricamora. The Devil Wears Prada 2 opened in theaters May 1 st . For cinematographer Florian Ballhaus and Harbor colorist Joe Gawler, the goal was never nostalgia. The challenge was continuity. The same characters, the same world, but 20 years later. Actors had changed. New York had changed. Fashion had changed. Technology had changed. But the emotional architecture of the film had to feel untouched. Rather than chasing a retro look or overcorrecting toward something con- temporary, they focused on subtle evo- lution: digital capture shaped by custom film emulation LUTs, careful preservation of fashion color, and a visual language that still felt grounded in reality and away from all the gloss. From candlelit Milan interiors, inspired by Barry Lyndon, to documentary-style fashion-show se- quences, shot inside live runway events, the work was about precision without preciousness. They had to know when to add grit and grain, and when to smooth everything out. The endeavor also marked something rarer than a sequel: a creative partnership returning to the same story two decades later. Ballhaus and Gawler first collaborat- ed on the original film, and have contin- ued working together ever since. "Continuity was really the goal," says Ballhaus. "We did not want it to feel like we were making a retro version of the first film, but we also did not want it to feel di- connected from where we left off. It had to feel like the same world, just 20 years later." "We talked about that very early," adds Gawler. "I remember asking Florian if we needed to be studying the first film frame by frame, and his answer was basically no, this is 20 years later. It is the same people, the same taste, the same emotional world." The new film was shot digitally and then grain was carefully added. "One thing I kept thinking about from the original was how clean the Runway office needed to feel," says Ballhaus. "Back then, we were actually trying to fight grain because of all the white walls. We shot slow stock inside because we wanted that creamy perfection. That stayed in my mind this time too. Even while adding grain, we were careful never to overdo it. That world still needed to feel polished." According to Gawler, today's tools provide much more precision. "Florian and I could make subtle fixes inside the grade that 20 years ago would have required sending things out to VFX. That freedom changes everything because it keeps you in the driver's seat creatively." The team got involved early on during hair and makeup tests, with Harbor color scientist CJ Julian helping to build a custom film-emulation LUT based on the original film and how those colors need- ed to translate digitally. "We had the main cast there for ward- robe tests, and they were very involved," Gawler recalls. "Everyone was looking at the monitor, checking how fabrics and makeup were coming through, and we made adjustments in realtime. Certain colors needed to be protected. Cerulean blue was one of them. Red was anoth- er, especially for Miranda's wardrobe. If those feel off, you notice it immediately." There is a sequence lit almost entirely by candlelight. It feels very controlled, but still natural. According to Gawler, the sequence was one of the most challenging. "There was very little natural light, and the space was very enclosed," he ex- plains. "We were pushing mood without tipping into theatricality. You still need beautiful skin tones. You still need clarity. But emotionally, it needed that heavier, darker feeling. That is where the grade becomes about nuance. Not just dark- ness for the sake of darkness, but making sure the tone supports what the scene is actually doing." The fashion show sequences also pre- sented their share of challenges, as they appear almost documentary in style. "That was one of the most fun parts, because we went from controlling ev- erything to controlling almost nothing," recalls Ballhaus. "We were inside real Dolce & Gabbana shows with very limited access. We shot with a SL25 digital Leica camera, handheld, like a documentary crew. We could not light anything. We just had to live inside what was happening." The Leica handheld material got its own separate look, says Gawler, and the montage structure offered some freedom. "Those moments are meant to wake the audience up," Gawler shares. "The music hits, the movement changes, the color changes. You feel it. The scenes are technically complex [to grade] because there are so many shots and continuity becomes less rigid because the light is always moving. Those sequences are all about making them feel alive." THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE FIRST FILM'S RELEASE, THIS DP & COLORIST REUNITE TO HELP MAINTAIN CONTINUITY S COLOR GRADING www.postmagazine.com 24 POST JULY/AUG 2026 The film was shot digitally and grain was later added.