Courtesy of Rafé Totengco
Ahead of its 2026 release, The Devil Wears Prada 2 teases a Met Gala scene where Simone Ashley carries an architectural Rafe New York minaudière.
“Molly and I go way back to Sex and the City,” Rafé Totengco recalls, remembering when Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha carried his designs; a connection revived years later with Carrie, Seema and Charlotte in And Just Like That.
Now, another pop culture moment has arrived in the upcoming The Devil Wears Prada 2. On the grand steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bridgerton’s Simone Ashley stands on a cerulean blue carpet in Jean Paul Gaultier’s fall 2010 couture, with her hands wrapped around an Azura Asymmetric Minaudière.
While her role remains under wraps, there’s something in her presence that suggests she could be an ‘Emily,’ perhaps even assistant to Emily Charlton herself, as one of the few British members of the cast. What is certain is that the clutch’s multi-faceted shell-inlay gleams in the paparazzi shots, stealing focus from the sea of couture around her. “This mix of pride, gratitude, and a little pinch-me disbelief,” Totengco says, “makes every late night and meticulous tweak worth it. After all, the devil’s in the details.”
Born Ramon Felix “Rafé” Totengco in Bacolod, Philippines, he grew up sketching, sewing and even altering his school uniform before moving to New York to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology. At eighteen, he launched his first label, Schizo, from a sari-sari store, and by the mid-1990s his skinny belts were selling in SoHo. His handbags debuted at Bergdorf Goodman in 1997, setting the tone for a career defined by architectural elegance and artisanal craftsmanship, and along the way he collected honours including the Fashion Group International’s Rising Star Award, the Accessories Council’s ACE Award, and the Pamana ng Filipino Presidential Award.
His link to The Devil Wears Prada 2 came about when costume designer Molly Rogers reached out to borrow bags for the sequel. Totengco admits he never knows which designs will be chosen, so when a friend sent him images of Ashley carrying the Azura trending online, he was “over the moon.”
The minaudière was inspired by the Casa da Música in Porto, Portugal, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas in collaboration with Ellen van Loon of OMA. Created as part of Porto’s designation as the 2001 European Capital of Culture, the building broke ground in 1999 and was finished in 2005 after a complex six-year construction process marked by engineering challenges and bold experimentation with concrete.
Its irregular polyhedron form, clad in white concrete and intersected with massive, irregularly shaped glass panels, rejects conventional concert hall symmetry in favour of a dynamic, sculptural presence that looks different from every angle. Totengco first encountered it while on holiday, drawn to its raw geometry, unexpected lines, and interplay between solidity and transparency. Translating those qualities into the Azura meant creating a hard-edged silhouette softened by the iridescent shimmer of the mother-of-pearl inlay, turning architectural monumentality into something that fits in the palm of a hand.
Following a flood of DMs and an overwhelming response to the news, Rafe New York will be reissuing a limited run of this deconstructivist design in violet, with interested buyers encouraged to email to secure a spot on the list. Over the years, he has reimagined the silhouette in many shell-inlay variations, each with striking results, but this possible on-screen appearance in one of cinema’s most beloved fashion films is more than an accessory moment; it is a cultural and creative milestone.
