How The New Look depicts the legacy of Christian Dior

The new Apple TV+ series unveils the impact the French designer had on modern fashion.

The Dior brand aimed to redefine femininity after a long period of austerity (Apple TV+/PA)

British actress Maisie Williams said the legacy of designer Christian Dior is rooted in his “special” ability to make women feel both “unbelievably feminine” and “tough” at the same time.

The 26-year-old, who made her acting debut in 2011 as Arya Stark in medieval fantasy series Game Of Thrones, stars in new Apple TV+ biographical series, The New Look.

It tells the story of how “fashion icon of hope” Dior (played by Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn, known for Rogue One and The Dark Knight Rises) and rival Coco Chanel (played by French actress Juliette Binoche, who has appeared in more than 60 films) navigated a Nazi-occupied Paris during the Second World War – and shaped modern fashion alongside contemporaries Pierre Balmain (Thomas Poitevin) and Cristóbal Balenciaga.

“The legacy of the brand is [all about] the way women feel. I think that Dior wanted women to feel wonderful again, [after] such a dark time,” Williams – who plays Dior’s sister Catherine – said during an interview with the PA news agency.

“Wearing Dior clothes, even today, there’s nothing like the structure and the tailoring that these dresses hold and it’s so unbelievably feminine, but it’s tough. And it dares to be both. I think it’s rare to feel that way in clothes and it’s such a special and unique thing to the Dior brand.”

It was no secret that the French fashion designer admired his sister Catherine Dior – a former French farmer and a French Resistance fighter during the Second World War. But when she was one of 26 people arrested in July 1944 and tortured by the Gestapo – the official secret police of Nazi Germany – Dior funnelled some of the values and simple mantras his sister lived by, including “Love life”, which mirrors the extravagance and simplicity of his designs, and still part of the legacy of the brand today.

“I think it’s that connection between family, those bonds run so strong, and it’s kind of beautiful to see how that influence has gone on to shape the brand forever,” said Williams.

“I would say that Catherine was probably one of the only members of Christian’s family who really saw him for who he truly was, and supported him for that. And I think that’s [what also] made their relationship so strong.

“During the war, with everything that happened to Catherine, I think Christian felt a real responsibility to take care of her. And I think when he couldn’t any longer, it was just so painful for him that he had no choice but to push all of that pain into his work.

“She was the most important figure for him, both her and their mother. And so I think when designing women’s clothing and designing the scents, [Miss Dior – which launched in 1947 and was named after Catherine Dior], it felt only right that the woman he had in his mind was his little sister.”

When Dior died in 1957 aged 52, Catherine Dior – who hasn’t said much about her time in the interrogation camps and homes – helped to preserve her brother’s legacy, and became the honorary president of the Christian-Dior Museum from 1999 until she passed away in 2008, aged 90.

Before Dior formally launched his fashion house and debuted his ground-breaking first collection, the “New Look”, post-war in 1947, which celebrated ultra-femininity and opulence in women’s fashion through coats and dresses with full skirts that emphasised women’s curves and accentuated their legs, the French designer worked with Balmain for former friend, mentor, boss and French couturier, Lucien Lelong.

Lelong didn’t exactly design everything with his own hands, but his vision and creativity did not only champion high society elegance but some of the most exceptional designers he worked with.

And just like other fashion houses that tried to keep afloat during the war, such as Jeanne Lanvin and Nina Ricci, the pair reluctantly designed dresses for the wives of Nazi officers and French collaborators.

“I don’t think you can teach talent,” said Death Of A Salesman and Red star John Malkovich, who plays Lucien Lelong in The New Look.

“Christian Dior was hypersensitive. So that’s something you try to ameliorate, you try to protect about his quality. He was so worried and so traumatised by what happened to his little sister, [Catherine Dior]. And in the end, Dior had to go and take his journey into his own hands, and I think Lelong accepted that.”

Todd A. Kessler, one of the executive producers on the show, added: “Their talent is to be able to express themselves, through design, through sketching and through creation, which saved all of their lives and helped to inform and inspire people [during the Second World War and subsequent Nazi occupation of France]. I mean, Dior opened 77 years ago, and still has an impact on all of us today.”

The Dior brand aimed to redefine femininity after a long period of austerity, and thanks to the monumental success of his “New Look” collection, most notably the Bar suit – which featured a notched collar – the House of Dior opened on 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris and continued to expand with iconic innovations, such as the “H-Line” and the “A-Line” silhouettes, eyewear, shoes, bags and perfumes like “J’adore”, which has sustained its legacy over the fashion landscape.

Other coveted shoe and bag designs, which have been spotted on the likes of Princess Diana and Bella Hadid, include the 1994 Lady Dior bag, the 1999 It Girl Saddle bag and the J’Adior slingback pumps.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura, also an executive producer on the show, highlighted how Dior also took inspiration from nature: “It’s luscious but also, in a way, has this earthiness to it that people were desperate for. We have a modern-day equivalent which is Covid-19. You missed going to your favourite restaurant, and all the different things about the joy of life. Dior brought joy.”

Malkovich added: “I believe creation is an antidote to many ills in the world. It’s not a cure, but an antidote to violence, to mayhem, to barbarism, to destruction, and to create and to remind people who don’t create for any catholicity of reasons – including they’re not interested – of the beauty that human beings can make. I think it’s a very potent medicine.”

The New Look comes to Apple TV+ on February 14.