Patricia Field interview

The famous Sex and the City costume designer Patricia Field is back, this time for Hollywood blockbuster The Devil Wears Prada

  Patricia Field Stylist to the stars
She's a world-famous stylist, Emmy Award winning film and television costume designer and a successful businesswoman with her own clothing label – plus she raised the standards for the world of television glamour when she costumed 'Sex and the City', making it the most fashionable show (and its star Sarah Jessica Parker the biggest style icon) in television history. So when we heard that Patricia Field was set to be costume designer on the latest Hollywood blockbuster, 'The Devil Wears Prada', we knew we were in for a treat – and possibly the biggest fashion extravaganza the big screen has ever seen.

Dancing with the Devil
'The Devil Wears Prada' is set in the dizzying world of New York fashion, where size 0 is the new 2, a bad-hair day can end a career and 'Runway Magazine' is the holy grail of fashion (much like the actual American 'Vogue'). The film gets even juicier, as the plot – about the magazine and the fashion industry at large - is based on a book by Lauren Weisberger, who did actually spend a year working as the assistant (played by Anne Hathaway) to Anna Wintour, then betrayed her boss (played by Meryl Streep) by dishing the dirt on all her demanding antics. As if this didn't create enough of a PR problem for Anna Wintour and her team, the hype surrounding the film wouldn't let the 'based on a true story' angle slide. To her credit, Anna Wintour handled the whole hoo-ha with a sense of humour; turning up to the premiere dressed head-to-toe in Prada.

'SJP is a very alert, astute professional: our collaboration was like a dance' With that in mind, Patricia Field's task of convincing designers to lend to her (and risk offending Anna Wintour – the not-so-fictional most powerful woman in fashion) must have been at best an obstacle, if not a minefield. 'Some designers were certainly in a difficult situation when they were presented with this script,' she told handbag.com, 'but we didn't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable, so we just moved away from anyone that did.'

Designers of choice
Patricia was more interested in categories of clothing than a particular label, so she could choose from plenty of talented designers. 'Meryl Streep wore a lot of Bill Blass and Donna Karan, but Oscar De La Renta or Carolina Herrera would have worked too,' she explained. For Anne Hathaway, Patricia opted for Chanel, which suited the young starlet: 'I could have used Lanvin to create the same idea, but more people know Chanel, and the movie audience isn't really the fashion world,' she added.

  Anne Hathaway in the Devil Wears PradaSo why did Patricia decide to feature the designers that she did (Bill Blass, Prada, DVF, Chanel and Donna Karan amongst others)? It wasn't a particular admiration for the designers – although she does love them – but what was appropriate for each character, actor and wardrobe. 'With an actress, it's important to take everything into account – the way she talks, reacts, her body, persona and identity,' Patricia explains. 'A script is a much more dimensional experience than dressing a model – where you are confined to static details like 5ft 10 and slim. In film it's more complex, creative and real.' Having said that, Patricia admits that what she loves about styling is 'its elevation of reality to a nicer place' – it takes you up 'on your toes, although not quite as far as “Star Wars”,' she muses, with a smile on her face.

Seeing red
Patricia, who cites Cleopatra as her style icon, embraces this philosophy in her own style, which she describes as a mix of radical and class. 'My hair is obviously radical, it's red!' she laughs, 'but my clothes are simple. I own lots of Manolos and Dior. My favourite designers are Chanel, John Galliano, DVF, Fendi, Cavalli and Donna Karan, but I also wear small designers from my shop.' Patricia's boutique, which is at 302 Bowery, NYC, is another string to her bow, and an achievement that she sees as one of the highlights of her career to date.

Sex and the City
The other highlight of course, was working with Sarah Jessica Parker on 'Sex and the City'. Patricia clearly has nothing but respect for the actress whose role influenced so many women across the world: 'Sarah Jessica Parker is a very alert, astute professional. We went on a fashion trip with Carrie – it's not her personal style – and we completely enjoyed it. We were on the same page; our collaboration was like a dance.' Might there be another tie-up in future? 'I hope so and she hopes so,' Patricia tells handbag.com, 'but there's nothing specific in the pipeline.'

Hostess with the mostess
As a woman at the top of her industry who boasts a glittering CV, it's hard to imagine what else Patricia Field has left to achieve. The costume designer is currently working on 'Six Degrees' which is set to hit the small screen in America this autumn, and is based on the six degrees of separation theory. Aside from that, Patricia tells handbag.com that she harbours a secret desire to be a TV host. 'I've been approached, but we didn't have the same vision,' she reveals. 'I'd like my show to be conversations about interesting issues with famous people of interest.' As whatever Patricia puts her mind to is a success, we're confident this would be too – which begs the question, would her first line-up be Sarah Jessica Parker or a panel that included Anna Wintour, Meryl Streep and Lauren Weisberger - the woman who wrote the book that 'The Devil Wears Prada' is based on?

'The Devil Wears Prada' is released at cinemas in the UK on 5 October