Killer heels and sweet revenge

Having just taken part in a ‘stiletto strut’ with 36 other women in canary-yellow mile-high shoes to promote her new novel, Revenge Wears Prada, Lauren Weisberger looks relieved to have changed into soft, beige ballet pumps.

The book, an instant New York Times best-seller, sold four million copies, was translated into 40 languages and became a hit movie in 2006, starring Meryl Streep as the icy, impossibly demanding Runway editor Miranda Priestly, and Anne Hathaway as her put-upon assistant Andy Sachs.

Unsurprisingly, Weisberger, who made a mint out of her satirical slant on the fickle world of fashion, doesn’t have a wardrobe full of designer labels and haute couture pieces.

“I do have one pair of fluorescent orange Jimmy Choos, which were as expensive as they are uncomfortable,” the 36-year-old says, although she won’t reveal what she paid for them. “They look great. But they don’t feel as great as they look. They were purchased for this tour. At home, I’m in my mummy uniform – jeans and a T-shirt.”

She says she doesn’t really follow fashion and today looks casual in a floral short-sleeved, loose-fitting top over bright blue skinny cotton jeans and those comfy-looking pumps. Are any of them designer? She says not.

“I’ve never bought anything from Prada, for me, in my entire life. In terms of Chanel, Gucci, the really crazy high-end stuff? That’s not my thing, but I love buying clothes as much as the next girl. In New York I head for department stores like Bloomingdale’s and Saks. I do Gap and I love Toms Shoes.”

After the mammoth success of the first Prada book, she did feel pressure when writing the second. “I’ve never written a sequel but it gave me the best of both worlds. You keep the characters you know, so you’re not faced with a blank, terrifying screen, you get the creative part of filling in the lapsed time. It was fun for me and a new challenge.”

As the magazine goes from strength to strength, monstrous Miranda Priestly, who has now become editorial director of fictional publishing house Elias-Clark, turns up wanting to buy them out.

Simultaneously, Andy marries Max, the dashing head of a big media company, and has a child, so life for her changes beyond recognition. But things never turn out as planned.

Life imitating fiction?

The book seems closely linked to real life, as Weisberger also married and became a mother within the decade, while Wintour climbed the career ladder and is now artistic director for Condé Naste, Vogue’s publisher.

“To an extent, the changes in Andy reflect my own life,” she agrees. “I just think between your 20s and 30s there’s a huge change. I got married and had two kids. It’s officially adult time now. We both parallel that.”

“So much of what I did at Vogue was the regular boring assistant stuff, the finding and fetching things. I just set it against this very sexy, glamorous place and made it more readable.

“Some parts were exaggerated and some weren’t. It was crazy, very overwhelming for me.”

Trying to find the balance

Weisberger and her husband, playwright and screenwriter Mike Cohen, live in Manhattan with their son and daughter, aged two and one respectively. They have a nanny to look after the kids while they both pursue their careers but Weisberger admits juggling work and family hasn’t been easy.

“It’s challenging. My friends and I talk about it all the time. Women have to try to balance family and work in a way that you feel you’re giving both your all without driving yourself crazy.”

She describes her husband as “incredibly supportive and hands-on” and has more support from family nearby.

“I had come from such a small town. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen. I don’t know if it made me tougher but it probably gave me more of a ‘can do’ attitude, there’s always a way of getting things done. That was one of the great things I took away from that job.”

A decade – and a string of novels – later, she’s hoping that the Prada sequel may spawn another movie.

“It would be great if it happened. My fingers are crossed. There are always murmurings of interest. Fox owns the characters from the first film so it’s their call if they choose to make another.”

Weisberger still seems a little bewildered by all the attention she is attracting with the new book, 10 years after she was thrown into the limelight with the debut.

She already has ideas for her next book and hasn’t ruled out bringing Andy, Miranda and Emily back at some point – just not right now. In years to come, the character of Andy may well leave the place that’s been her home for so long.