I begin this text giving voice to the 21-year-old Juliana who is screaming with excitement at the news that The Devil Wears Prada will have a new version in 2026. This film is, for me, VERY iconic and, honestly, it kept reverberating in my mind as I matured. I changed my perspective on the script considerably over the years as I reconsidered my relationship with the job market, my ideas about gender and relationships. Anyway, it is always good to revisit our own beliefs and adjust them to current reality, isn’t it? Well then: I found myself impacted in this scenario by a major collab between Devil Wears Prada and Diet Coke, and this became my starting point for this reflection as the brand strategist that I am.

For a brand — or a film — to remain iconic, even after so many years, we are talking about a combination of brand consistency and relevance. To remain consistent, you need to know very clearly what you are: your purpose, what you deliver to the world, and to have an absolutely precise language to bring all of that into the world and generate connection with your audience in order to reverberate that message. And, to remain relevant, we need to continue being pertinent not only to current topics, but also to current channels, updating this language so that it continues to build the attributes of the brand’s essence. In other words: we need to evolve with essence. To evolve into a current context without losing what is most pertinent: to keep being part of conversations effortlessly, with the authority to belong.

Just as I changed my perspective since 2006, society collectively changed enormously over 20 years (and I won’t even try to list all the changes we’ve been through here) and is transforming ever more rapidly. So, seeing a collab between iconic brands like Devil Wears Prada and Diet Coke is proof that brands with a legacy can (and should) continue to be extremely relevant, as long as they understand the new landscape and bring their updated essences into new conversations and new channels. Beyond that, this partnership also demonstrates how brands can add value to each other, drawing on their own attributes, to stay relevant. If, for us millennials, this duo represents nostalgia and squeals of joy (I’m sure I’m not alone in this), but finds us at a new moment in life, with new perspectives and reflections — for those who didn’t experience the first film live, it’s an opportunity to create a new reference, in a new context.

As we live through the anticipation of the release — with trailers, magazine covers, campaign launches — the truth is that we are witnessing in real time how icons consolidate and keep creating a new nostalgia. I feel ready to buy my ticket and watch how this new moment for these brands will be absorbed by our current culture. And, as Miranda Priestly would say, “That’s All.”