Program “Look” – Style

“Kommersant-Style” talks about a new biographical series about the life of Christian Dior, his development as a designer, the emergence of the famous “new look” silhouette and his rivalry with Coco Chanel.

The trend is clear – the year started with designer dramas: Disney+ released series “Cristobal Balenciaga”, filming of “Kaiser Karl” – the story of Karl Lagerfeld’s career rise in the 1970s – is actively underway, and now – a deep dive into the life of Christian Dior.

The series has 10 episodes and is a true historical drama that shows the development of fashion during and immediately after the Nazi occupation of Paris during World War II. This is a direct analogy with the series “Balenciaga” – there is a story about exactly the same time and the characters are the same. Dior (played by Emmy Award winner Ben Mendelsohn) and his colleagues (including Pierre Balmain, Cristobal Balenciaga and Coco Chanel (played by Juliette Binoche) fought for what we now call modern fashion. Dior’s main idea and response to The hyper-feminine “New Look” silhouette, with its rounded shoulders, thin waists and full skirts, became the demand of the times.His first clothing collection in 1946, consisting of 90 items, was a hit.

The cast of the series is perfectly chosen: Glenn Close plays the legendary editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar Carmel Snow, Maisie Williams (best known for her role as Arya Stark in Game of Thrones) plays Dior’s sister Catherine, John Malkovich plays the role of French couturier Lucien Lelong, Emily Mortimer socialite Elsa Lombardi.

If you are expecting a series full of lightness, glamor and beautiful outfits, you will be disappointed. “A New Look” is a tough, serious and fairly accurate historical story. The current house of Dior took an active part in the project, providing the authors with access to the archives. In addition to telling the story of the couturier’s career, the creators of the series also focus on his rivalry with Coco Chanel, whose loose silhouettes were diametrically opposed to Dior’s emphasized waist and his spectacular, structured models. But these two were not only competitors in business; fate also confronted them in other situations. Chanel closed her house at the start of the war and became a Nazi intelligence agent, while Dior’s sister Catherine was arrested, tortured and interned at the Ravensbrück concentration camp for her association with the French resistance. Christian asks Coco for help, but doesn’t get it.

All events take place under a carefully selected soundtrack – it includes covers of popular songs of the early and mid-20th century performed by Bleachers, Florence Welch, Lana Del Rey, Matty Healy (The 1975), Beabadoobee, Nick Cave, Perfume Genius.

Director Todd Kessler said in an interview that by telling Dior’s story, he wanted to shed light on “extraordinary times” and the “extraordinary people” who lived through them. Executive producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura believes it will resonate with audiences now more than ever. “The story of Christian Dior is a story of triumph; at its core, it is a very human story. His drive to succeed reflects what we all want, recognition of what we are capable of and who we truly are,” he says.

Irina Kiriyenko