Fashion officially enters the auction market as a contemporary collectible. Christie's has announced one of the season's most exciting deals: an online auction of costumes and accessories from The Devil Wears Prada 2, the new film from 20th Century Studios, taking place from September 1 to 15, 2026. All proceeds will support the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), two institutions committed, respectively, to protecting press freedom and nurturing new American creativity. The initiative represents much more than a memorabilia sale: it is an example of how luxury, film, and the cultural economy can converge in a highly symbolic philanthropic model, transforming props into cultural assets destined for international collections.
From prop to collector's item
The project was spearheaded by Meryl Streep, who had already promoted a similar charity auction after the first film in 2006. This new edition brings together garments actually worn on set by Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Simone Ashley and Lady Gaga, as well as some prototypes and one-of-a-kind pieces signed by the most important luxury houses.
Among the most anticipated lots are:
- Gabriela Hearst's Niki Dress worn by Anne Hathaway, featuring the famous stain featured in the film;
- the Dries Van Noten tasseled jacket worn by Miranda Priestly during a Runway meeting;
- the Dolce & Gabbana looks from the Spring/Summer 2026 fashion show set in Milan;
- the Bad Binch TongTong feathered dress created by Terrence Zhou and worn by Lady Gaga in the RUNWAY music video;
- the famous Bone Cuff by Elsa Peretti, worn by Emily Blunt, with a retail value of approximately $107.000;
- a prototype of the iconic red Valentino Garavani Rockstud pumps, identical to the ones worn by Meryl Streep in the trailer and autographed by the actress.
The estimates are deliberately accessible for many lots: the Valentino shoes, for example, will start at $500–$1.000, a choice that broadens the range of potential bidders and strengthens the participatory nature of the auction.
A new economic model for luxury
For Christie's, the transaction taps into a well-established trend: the shift in collecting from the simple possession of luxury goods to the pursuit of objects with a cultural narrative. Value derives not only from the signature of Valentino, Dior, or Schiaparelli, but from their connection to a cinematic work that has become a generational phenomenon. The market defines these goods as screen-used collectibles, a category that has seen significant growth in recent years thanks to the intersection of fashion, entertainment, and collecting. The archives of major fashion houses thus become economic assets, while film costumes acquire the same collectible status as a work of design.
New York Fashion Week as a philanthropic platform
The online auction will be accompanied by a free public exhibition at Christie's New York, from September 8 to 13, and will culminate on September 10 with a benefit evening during New York Fashion Week. On that occasion, not only exclusive pieces but also luxury experiences inspired by the film will be auctioned, with Rachel Koffsky Parker, International Head of Handbags at Christie's, serving as auctioneer. The event confirms how fashion weeks are evolving from mere commercial events to platforms capable of generating fundraising, cultural diplomacy, and international visibility for social causes.
Fashion and journalism, a not accidental alliance
The choice of beneficiaries also reveals the film's message. The Devil Wears Prada 2 revisits the relationship between publishing and the fashion industry, two sectors currently undergoing profound economic transformation. "The need to defend press freedom has never been more urgent," said Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists, emphasizing how the initiative will have a concrete impact in supporting journalists working in high-risk environments. At the same time, the CFDA will donate a portion of the proceeds to the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, the program that supports and supports emerging American designers.
The value of the imagination
From an economic perspective, this sale demonstrates an increasingly evident truth: in the luxury industry, a material good is only as valuable as its history. A stained dress, a jacket worn in a memorable scene, or a pair of signed and autographed shoes become instruments of emotional investment even before financial ones. It is the new economy of the imaginary: a market in which cinema, fashion, and culture build value through collective memory, transforming customs into heritage and the collector into the custodian of a fragment of contemporary history.
Christie's auction of The Devil Wears Prada 2 reveals a transformation that's more profound than the simple success of a film. It reminds us that contemporary luxury no longer simply produces precious objects: it produces imaginaries, and these imaginaries become economic value. A pair of pumps, a dress with a scene stain, or a jacket worn by an iconic character acquire significance not because of their production cost, but because of the story they embody. Material goods become the medium of a shared narrative, a collective emotion, and a cultural identity. This is where a new economy is born, in which the rarest capital is not material, but rather meaning. Twenty-first-century luxury is thus shifting from ownership to belonging: one doesn't simply purchase an object, but the opportunity to become part of a narrative. Film, fashion, art, and collecting converge in an ecosystem where value is generated by memory, symbolic desirability, and the ability to transform an aesthetic experience into cultural heritage. More than a luxury market, we are witnessing the birth of an economy of the imagination, where the true safe haven is what manages to become an icon.
On the cover: An identical pair of red Rockstud pumps to the ones worn by Meryl Streep in the film's trailer, designed by Valentino Garavani.
