She loves her job, she loves her job, she loves her job…And her new lob.
While we’ve vague on the plotlines and tying ourselves up with pap shots of the varied fashion from the set of Devil Wears Prada 2, a few things are sure. Andy Sachs has a similar Valentino penchant to Anne Hathaway, Miranda Priestly is devoted to her signature, severe bob, and now, that Emily Charlton will always be a smouldering redhead.
The frazzled and fashion crazy first assistant to Miranda Priestly, who we first met in 2006, was made iconic not just for her vicious, clipped English-accented barbs, itty-bitty skirt sets and sky-high heels, but for her sleek, shiny shade of chestnut red hair. It was high fashion, editorial, a kind of bitchy shade of red. Blunt, who was 23 at the time, dyed her then-brunette hair for the role. On the press tour and for premieres, she opted for a deeper cherry cola tone that kept her edge and intensity.
But paparazzi shots showed Blunt leaving the set last week still with her longheld lighter shade of brunette with blonde highlights. She’d yet to hit the salon chair. (Or get her wig fitted). For years, Blunt has oscillated between ashy blondes and oaky brunettes with expertly placed highlights. Auburn has been decidedly off the table.
Then this week, Blunt returned to the dialled-up world of Emily Charlton—as reported, Emily is now a high-flying exec at Dior, who comes up against Priestly again. Glam and fashions have to match the intensity. She was photographed in full costume on set in New York, wearing sunglasses, a bag, and graphic tee from Dior, paired with a pinstripe corset and trousers by Jean Paul Gaultier, and a Wiederhoeft corset. In keeping with Emily’s intense dedication to fashion, she added a sneaker heel from Brandon Blackwood. So far, so Emily Charlton 2025.
Blunt debuted a long, center-parted, shoulder-grazing bob in a copper red color, a few shades warmer than her character’s original style. Against her black and white look, it feels dramatic and powerful. Adding to that, it feels like a considered, contemporary update that’s in keeping with Emily’s ascent from first assistant to high-powered luxury fashion exec: the lob being a chic but easily maintained cut perfect for a woman on the go and leading the boardrooms. Emily doesn’t have to try so hard now, and a lob shows that. The bob, of course, continues to rule supreme in 2025—she knows what’s up. Her color, too, feels fresh and light, hopefully signalling that Emily Blunt as Emily Charlton is more ally than villain to Andy and Miranda as Runway magazine lays in peril.