4 min readWhen you think of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada, you picture Meryl Streep’s steely gaze set against a slick, monochromatic office. Two decades on, that space still defines a certain kind of aspirational workplace aesthetic. But as working habits have shifted and design trends have softened, why does Miranda’s office continue to feel so relevant—and so chic?
In the 2006 film, Miranda’s office offers our first real insight into her character. Clean-lined furniture, sculptural white florals, and a tightly controlled monochrome palette create a space that is as disciplined as it is beautiful. Fashion photography lines the walls, while every object feels deliberately placed. It’s an office designed not just to reflect Miranda’s taste, but to signal her authority as editor-in-chief of Runway.
“Miranda Priestly’s office in the original film was the epitome of controlled, editorial luxury,” Kunal Trehan, interior designer and founder of Touched Interiors, tells us. “It mirrored the fashion world it sat within: polished, exclusive and slightly untouchable.”
The exclusivity of the Runway office is reinforced throughout the film. “A million girls would kill for this job,” Miranda’s assistant Andy Sachs is repeatedly told. A million girls, they seem to suggest, would kill to work in that office.
The corporate coolness of Miranda’s office was part of what made it aspirational at the time. “In 2006, that kind of space communicated something we all understood instinctively: grandeur, formality, total command of your environment,” Lisa Hensby, founder & creative director of Lisa Hensby Design & Build Studio, explains.
The formality of Miranda's office was part of what signified its greatness—but do people still want the same thing from their workspaces in 2026?
As of October last year, 27 percent of workers in Great Britain were in “some kind of hybrid arrangement,” while a further 13 percent were fully remote. For many, working patterns shifted fundamentally during the pandemic—and with that shift came a change in what people expect from their workspaces.
The 2026 office decor report from BizSpace found that businesses are already responding. “Instead of prioritizing formality or hierarchy, businesses are now creating spaces that feel more relaxed, adaptable and useful day to day,” Aman Parmar, head of BizSpace’s marketing, tells us.
Grace Cooper, design director for workspace operator Department, noticed a similar trend. “We are seeing a much stronger appetite for offices that feel warmer, with softer lighting, quality furniture, more texture and pieces that might once have felt too homely for a traditional office,” she says.
As the line between work and home continues to blur, office design is shifting with it. So what does that mean for the corporate formality of Miranda Priestly’s office? To answer that, we need to look to the film’s upcoming sequel.
In The Devil Wears Prada 2, we’re given a fresh glimpse into Miranda’s workspace—and it’s noticeably softer. The octagonal mirror has disappeared, the glass desk has been replaced with a wooden-topped table, and the signature all-white flowers have been swapped for brighter orange blooms.
While there are subtle updates that nod to broader shifts in workplace design—Miranda’s lamps, for instance, wouldn’t look out of place in an upmarket living room—the core principles of her office remain intact.
The walls and carpets are still a muted cream, and largely monochrome photographs continue to line the space. The furniture remains sculptural, with clean, precise lines. Despite these softer touches, it is still unmistakably a formal, highly corporate environment.
So why hasn’t Miranda redecorated her office? The answer may be simpler than you’d expect: 20 years on, her aesthetic is still on trend.
“Corpcore,” a trend embracing the aesthetics of corporate workplaces, began gaining traction in the fashion world in 2024. Since then, the “office siren” and “corporate baddie” trends have emerged on TikTok, resulting in the glorification of back-to-work culture.
Now, those same visual cues are making their way into our homes. Online, decorators are embracing sculptural furniture, chrome accents and pared-back palettes in their WFH setups. It’s an interiors style that has Miranda Priestly written all over it—albeit with a softer, more liveable edge.
“I’d definitely say we’re seeing a rise in what could be described as ‘corpcore’ influences in the home,” Victoria Robinson, trend expert at Hillarys, says. “Elements that were once associated with corporate interiors—structured furniture, streamlined finishes and neutral color palettes are being softened and adapted for home.”
In 2026, this softened take on Miranda Priestly’s aesthetic isn’t just shaping dream office spaces—it’s influencing how we design our homes, too.
Toward the end of The Devil Wears Prada, there’s an often-quoted exchange. After a moment of self-reflection, Andy says to Miranda, “I mean, what if I don't want to live the way you live?” Miranda replies, “Oh don't be ridiculous Andrea. Everybody wants this.”
The remark is delivered with a slightly flippant air, and yet, Miranda—prescient as ever—may have been right.
Follow House Beautiful on Instagram and TikTok.
