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IN THE FIRST episode of The New Look, the 10-part Christian Dior biopic, we see a golden trio of young designers taking drinks in a Parisian bar during the Nazi occupation of World War II. Dior, played by Ben Mendelsohn (Maisie Williams plays his sister, Catherine) is taking the counsel of a visibly rattled Cristóbal Balenciaga and erratic Pierre Balmain. Dior has been asked to design a ballgown for one of the attendees at a fascist gathering that evening in the city. Miss Coco Chanel will turn out to be in attendance. In the aftermath of the war, all three young designers will threaten to overturn the pre-eminence of their forebears, in a fashion revolution.
One might say TV is having its own fashion revolution in 2024. The New Look comes on the heels of Cristóbal Balenciaga, a brilliantly weighty episodic biopic of the Spanish couturier. Neither of their parent streaming platforms, Apple TV+ (Dior) and Disney+ (Balenciaga), can claim to have broken a mould here. In 2021, Ewan McGregor buzzed Studio 54’s favourite couturier Halston into life, in a radical sex-and-drugs romp typical of its creator, Ryan Murphy. The TV mogul has form, turning out a riveting retelling of the backstory of Gianni Versace’s murder in a season of American Crime Story.
The lives of fashion designers are turning into catnip for TV stor ytellers. Rich in glamour, close to fame, often touched by scandal, they are a way of documenting a historic moment with a colourful cast list and eye-popping wardrobe. What is new about this current wave of fashion TV is the seriousness with which it takes fashion. The New Look itself is shot in dappled light, with a keen eye for fashion detailing. Mendelsohn is a superbly cautious Dior, joined by fellow awards bait John Malkovich and Juliette B
