The Jet-Setting World Of Devil Wears Prada 2 Through The Eyes Of Production Designer Jess Gonchor

Fashion and design enthusiasts are in for a visual treat, and so are the modern travellers, finding plenty to admire in the film’s stunning locations. If you missed the sequel, here’s a quick recap: the legacy fashion magazine Runway is grappling with the rapidly changing media landscape as publishing shifts from print to digital. Ever-stylish and commanding as always, Miranda Priestly must navigate Runway through the dark ages of modern publishing, where editors increasingly find themselves at the mercy of advertisers. Andy Sachs has come up as an award-winning journalist and returns to Runway this time as a far more confident and valuable force. Emily Charlton is now the marketing director of the prestigious fashion house, The House of Dior, while Nigel, our favourite Stanley Tucci, continues to serve as the loyal backbone and guiding force for both Miranda and Andy.

New York once again plays a pivotal role, almost becoming a character in itself and shaping the spirit of the film. But the sequel expands its canvas further, raising anticipation around how the filmmakers would capture the essence of a story. Much of that magic comes from the locations, carefully envisioned by production designer Jess Gonchor. This time, the story travels beyond Manhattan to the style capitals and idyllic landscapes of Milan and Lake Como. From a magnificent mansion on Long Island to an opulent villa overlooking Lake Como, the sequel embraces a grander cinematic scale. As Gonchor puts it, “We had to get bigger and better for the sequel” — and the locations reflect exactly that ambition.

Manhattan Highlights 

The New House of Dior Showcases French Elegance in Manhattan

At the corner of 57th Street and Madison Avenue, House of Dior New York has unveiled its newest flagship, a striking expression of Parisian refinement in the heart of Manhattan. Conceived by acclaimed architect Peter Marino, the multi-level boutique merges fashion, art, and architecture with Dior’s unmistakable codes of elegance.

For the film’s sequel, the production was granted rare access to the boutique before its official opening. Production designer Jess Gonchor describes the location as one of the production’s standout settings. “It’s an amazing store, with so many levels,” he notes. The team filmed inside one of the showroom spaces and along a sweeping staircase for a scene in which Miranda Priestly and Andy Sachs arrive to visit Emily. The following day, the store becomes the setting for another pivotal moment as Emily leads Andy through a private unveiling of the new Dior flagship ahead of its public debut — a walkthrough intended to inspire Andy’s forthcoming feature.

Long Island Estate 

In The Devil Wears Prada 2, Lucy Liu joins the cast as Sasha Barnes, a billionaire philanthropist whose carefully guarded private life has made her one of the most elusive women in society. Living in a secluded Vermont estate far from the public eye, Sasha has avoided the media for years before ultimately agreeing to grant Runway an exclusive interview.

The story briefly departs Manhattan for the ultra-private waterfront enclaves of Long Island, where the production team was spotted filming at a sprawling $8.3 million estate on Centre Island Road the former estate of an American singer and pianist, Billy Joel. Crews reportedly transformed the gated property with an expansive white event tent across the grounds and heightened security throughout the shoot. Picturesque grounds laced with rolling lawns, expansive gardens and a telepad were seen in a helicopter shot that weeps low over Oyster Bay, dropping Miranda and Andy at a sprawling waterfront compound of Sasha Barnes. 

Miranda Priestly’s Hamptons residence was portrayed by a home just a few houses down, in Centre Island.

Milan Gets Its Fashion Moment

Of course, a stop in Milan could only mean one thing: fashion week. And true to form, the sequel doesn’t imitate the spectacle — it immerses itself in the real thing. Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci were spotted fully in character, seated front row at Dolce & Gabbana’s Spring/Summer 2026 presentation last September, blurring the line between cinema and the fashion world itself.

One of the film’s most striking fashion sequences unfolds at the ‘Accademia di Brera’, the storied fine arts institution in Milan, where Runway stages an elaborate runway show. To bring the moment to life, production enlisted a local Milanese crew renowned for producing real fashion week presentations. In just five days, the team constructed a fully realised runway within the historic setting—marrying the grandeur of Italian art and architecture with the high-gloss drama of contemporary fashion.

Beyond the catwalk, the scenes flash through the soaring glass vaults of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, along the city’s streets, and into the opera house, Teatro alla Scala. It is also reported that the five-star Palazzo Parigi Hotel & Grand Spa served as a backdrop for several Milan scenes, set within the grand hotel lobby as well as instantly recognisable locations, including the Tiffany & Co. Boutique on Via Monte Napoleone, one of Milan’s most renowned shopping streets.

A little trivia from the production designer on the last supper scene. 

Gonchor sheds light that a replica of the interior of the ‘Museo del Cenacolo Vinciano’, also known as the Refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, was recreated at the design studio for The Devil Wears Prada 2. The production team was unable to film inside the actual site, which houses Leonardo da Vinci’s famed painting, The Last Supper, as the lighting required for filming could potentially damage the original work. Instead, a team of highly skilled Italian scenic painters was flown in from Rome to construct and hand-paint a set approximately three-quarters the size of the original space. The recreated scene was used for a celebratory dinner sequence during the Runway event.

Lake Como: The Showstopper Of All Filming Locations 

Villa Balbiano, a private residence on Lake Como that also functions as a wedding and event venue, serves as Benji Barnes’ villa in The Devil Wears Prada 2. Benji Barnes is Emily’s millionaire fiancé, who was forging a motive to take over Runway. For the shoot, production designer Jess Gonchor and his team installed a fresh lawn and created a statue garden to transform the estate for filming. In one scene from the trailer, Andy and Emily are seen arriving at the spectacular villa by boat.

Perched at the water’s edge with the dramatic Lombardy Prealps as its backdrop, the 16th-century villa is believed to sit at the heart of the film’s Lake Como sequences. The property also appeared in House of Gucci, reinforcing the fashion-world connection running through the production. In real life, Villa Balbiano is available for holiday rentals and weddings, accommodating up to 30 guests across six expansive suites and several outhouses, alongside immaculately manicured gardens and beautifully preserved 17th-century frescoes.

A little trivia from Gonchor, who was also the production designer for the 2006 Devil Wears Prada, says, “You don’t really get a chance to go back and do something again in this industry.” “It’s not like I wanted to fix anything—I had just matured in a massive way.”

While New York remained a character in its own right, for modern travellers, The Devil Wears Prada 2 scenes set in Milan and Lake Como sparked a full-blown travel frenzy.