Premiered on February 14, “The New Look” is Apple TV+’s new series that portrays the rise of the titan of French fashion, Christian Dior. The series centers around the time when swastika-patterned flags lined the streets of Paris toward the end of World War II, exploring how Christian Dior and his great rivals navigated the horrors of war, eventually succeeding to launch modern fashion.
The show starts in 1943 when Chanel lives as a star of French fashion. The world’s most famous fashion designer who hailed to the top of the European elite from childhood poverty through her creativity and business wit, Chanel sees her reign jeopardized as Christian Dior slowly rises to prominence.
With his groundbreaking imprint of beauty and influence, Dior rises to fame as he works for the French couturier Lucien Lelong and creates night gowns for the Nazis. Further following the stories of Dior’s contemporaries and other rivals from Pierre Balmain to Cristóbal Balenciaga, the show altogether documents the journey of how high fashion revived the French spirit.
After Dior broke from Lelong, he established his own house Dior, and released his postwar collection known as “The New Look.” This moment brought Paris back to the center of the fashion map, after losing its power against London and New York, who dominated the couture world during the period of the occupation in Paris. Dior’s collection contrasted largely with that of Chanel. Centering the looks on corseted, hyperfeminine silhouette, Dior released designs that reminded of France’s prewar glories, largely inspired by the flowers of his mother’s garden.
Directed by Todd A. Kessler, “The New Look” features Emmy Award winner Ben Mendelssohn as Christian Dior, and French actress Juliette Binoche as Coco Chanel, as well as joined Maisie Williams as Catherine Dior, John Malkovich as Lucien Lelong, Emily Mortimer as Elsa Lombardi, Claes Bang as Spatz and Glenn Close as Carmel Snow.
