Fashion and history are a stellar combination in The New Look. The enthralling new Apple TV+ drama about the lives of fashion icons Christian Dior and Coco Chanel during the 1940s and ’50s is one of the best new series of the year. With creator Todd A. Kessler at the helm, that should not be a huge surprise as the man was behind such engaging shows like The Sopranos, Damages, and Bloodline. But it was fellow executive producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura (The Meg, Transformers) who was able to lure John Malkovich (Dangerous Liaisons, Being John Malkovich, Billions) into the star-studded series.

One of Di Bonaventura’s early projects found him doing sound for a documentary about Malkovich, and a strong professional connection grew from there. When The New Look came around, Di Bonaventura immediately thought of Malkovich for the role of Dior colleague/designer Lucien Lelong because of his fine acting but also because the man once launched a men’s fashion line himself more than seven years ago.

“What is extraordinary about John, period, is that he is really one of the great actors of our time,” Di Bonaventura said. “But also, I knew that John had a fashion line, and I also knew how much he cared about the fashion line because I knew he was losing money every year. And it amused me a bit when I would have these conversations with him. It was like, ‘Why do you keep doing this?’ ‘Because I have to,’ [he said].”

The same can be said for Dior and Chanel, two fashion industry trailblazers. The New Look is destined to appeal to anybody who appreciates fashion, history, and great storytelling. Ben Mendelsohn (Secret Invasion, The Outsider, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) plays Christian Dior. Juliette Binoche (The Staircase, The English Patient) is Coco Chanel. The most compelling thing about The New Look is the fashion icons’ shared history of surviving the World War II Nazi occupation of Paris from 1940-1944 and their career and personal highs and lows before, during, and after.

Kessler, who directed the first two episodes, shares executive producer credit with Lorenzo Di Bonaventura (The Meg, Transformers). The duo opened up about launching the series and the show’s relevance in our current era in this exclusive MovieWeb interview.

Knowing Dior in 2024

Floating back and forth through time, The New Look tracks the immense personal and professional challenges Dior and Chanel faced in the 1940s, the compromises they made, and their quest to find a signature look after WWII. The series also stars Maisie Williams as Catherine Dior, Claes Bang as Chanel’s love interest, “Spatz,” Emily Mortimer as Elsa Lombardi, and Emmy/Tony Award-winner Glenn Close as Harper’s Bazaar editor Carmel Snow.

Creator Todd Kessler’s career broadened after writing for the Emmy-winning seriesThe Sopranos and Damages before launching Bloodline back in 2015. His intrigue with Dior sprouted in the late 1990s after learning about the 50th anniversary of the House of Dior’s launch in The New York Times. That would be the celebrated 1947 unveiling of Dior’s “new look,” just two years after the war.

Of course, Kessler was familiar with Dior, but he was also fascinated by the curious synchronicities of the era. Many fashion icons emerged around the same time, and all knew one another—from Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and Cristóbal Balenciaga to Pierre Balmain, Hubert de Givenchy, and Pierre Cardin.

His curiosity gestated for years. Then, seven years ago, he came upon Dior’s memoir, “Dior & I,” and author Marie-France Pochna’s in-depth biography on Dior called “Christian Dior: Destiny.” It was time to create something on film. Kessler explained his impulse to make a larger landscape in which to experience Dior’s life:

“I knew the brand name Dior… but I didn’t know anything about his life. And there are a couple aspects to it. One is that the brand names have been around us for the majority of our lives, or for all of our lives, whether we’re aware of them or not, and that they represent people. And to understand the people behind these brands and the extraordinary circumstances in which they lived—Dior, Chanel, Balenciaga, Balmain, Givenchy, all contemporaries.
“To really explore that was something that felt deeply personal in ways of artistry leading the way of survival. And as someone who responds to other people’s creations and also creates himself, it felt like, ‘What is it about these people in this specific time that led to this true creative explosion that has changed the course of history since that time period?’”

The New Look Launches at a Unique Time

Christian Dior and Coco Chanel have influenced fashion for more than 75 years. Their designs, which generated sea changes within their industry, found prominence during one of the most tumultuous times in history. To that end, Kessler did something truly unique with The New Look. Rather than simply showing off the duo’s fashion achievements—there’s plenty of that— audiences have context about the characters to better understand their lives.

The tale begins in 1955 when Dior is a celebrated fashion designer. Meanwhile, Chanel hopes to rise like a Phoenix out of the ashes of her personal and professional woes. We’re soon back into the past during the Nazi Occupation of Paris, where both of their stories play out, and we see them forced to dwell in a curiously gray moral space, particularly Chanel, who held Nazi ties. Chanel, who was critical of Dior and his debut collection that reinstated Paris as the world’s fashion capital, attempts to launch her own new endeavor here to liberate women after the war.

Related Exclusive: Why John Malkovich Signed on for The New Look Before Reading the Script Acting legend John Malkovich opens up about taking on the role of Christian Dior boss Lucien Lelong in Apple TV+’s stunning fashion drama.

Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, a giant behind several Transformers and G.I. Joe, made an interesting pivot here, leaping from high action to producing a historical drama. He noted the unique timing of the series launch:

“Look, fashion is more powerful today, I think, than anything else. It has permeated everything. I think as a time period, we have a relationship with fashion as our own culture, without necessarily understanding why. This is a great moment to bring this thing forward so that you begin to look at, as we did… the brand in a different way. It stopped being a brand, it started being a personal expression. So, I think that’s going to be really great for people—that transition.”

Creating the Look for The New Look
Apple TV+

Di Bonaventura goes on to compare the era of the 1940s with the early 2020s, noting that these last few years, with COVID, political turmoil, and various wars, it’s been a very challenging time period. He adds that the world was united during COVID and “the world was unified in an experience in World War II.” Those parallels through this inventive series.

“[World War II] impacted nearly everyone who was alive on the planet at that time. COVID, unfortunately, had a similar experience. There was no one actively trying to kill you, but we were all put in contact with our mortality. And so that happened while we were developing the series.”

Related These Are the Best John Malkovich Movies, Ranked The wonderfully weird and renowned acting chameleon John Malkovich masterfully transforms for every role he takes on, entertaining fans for decades.

One tidbit that may intrigue fans of historical dramas and how much time and attention goes into actually making them centers around costume designer Karen Muller Serreau. Many well-known designers of the time are featured throughout the series — from Hervé to Cristóbal Balenciaga — and they surround Dior in several scenes. As such, Muller Serreau created mood boards for every scene and every character.

John Malkovich’s Lucien Lelong was in the mix, of course. Dior was employed by Lelong during the Nazi Occupation before branching out on his own after the war, and the series tracks the connection Dior and Lelong shared as business associates and the challenges each of the men faced. Overall, the series is downright compelling, and the performances, fashion looks of the era, and storylines are truly exceptional. Place this new series in your queue. The New Look premiered with three episodes on Apple TV+ on Feb. 14, with episodes airing weekly thereafter. Stream it below.

Watch The New Look