Behind the SEAMS

How a starry historical drama explores the launch of modern fashion

- REBECCA MAHONEY

THE NEW LOOK
FROM WED 14 FEB, APPLE TV+ DRAMA (FIRST THREE EPS FROM 14 FEB, THEN WEEKLY)

The sumptuous, sartorial stories of Christian Dior and Coco Chanel are sewn together in highly anticipated period biopic The New Look, which delves into the lives and legacies of the legendary fashion designers in 1940s Paris.

Launching on Apple TV+, the 10-part series is inspired by true events and follows French couturiers Christian (played by Captain Marvel star Ben Mendelsohn) and Coco (The English Patient’s Juliette Binoche) during the Nazi occupation of Paris in World War Two, as well as the post-war years when Christian’s emerging popularity began to threaten Coco’s reign as the queen of couture.

The story unfolds in 1943, with Christian fighting to keep the fashion industry alive in the French capital along with his peers, including Pierre Balmain (Thomas Poitevin) and Spanish innovator Cristóbal Balenciaga (Nuno Lopes).

While working for couturier Lucien Lelong (Burn After Reading’s John Malkovich), he’s reluctantly designing dresses for the wives of Nazi officers. But behind closed doors, he’s terrified for his dear sister and lifelong muse, Catherine (Game of Thrones favourite Maisie Williams), a French resistance fighter.