The New Look

During the hard years of World War II, The New Look follows a cohort of fashion icons as they wrestle with occupation, resource limits, and shifting power. Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, Pierre Balmain, and Cristóbal Balenciaga are drawn into a web of alliances and rivalries as they struggle to keep their houses alive while a continent convulses around them. The show focuses on late nights in studios, secret salons, and the delicate balance between survival and artistry. It shows how designers adapt silhouettes, fabrics, and business strategies to a world that demands conformity, yet still yearns for beauty, rebellion, and renewal. Style becomes a quiet act of defiance in a time of crisis.

The New Look premiered in 2024, created by Todd A. Kessler, Matthew Fantaci, and Ashlin Halfnight. Ben Mendelsohn stars as Christian Dior, with Juliette Binoche as Coco Chanel and Maisie Williams, John Malkovich, and Emily Mortimer among the leads.

Critics praise the lush production design and the strong ensemble performances while the show engages with themes of power, censorship, and art under pressure. It asks how fashion can be both a refuge and a statement when ordinary life turns perilous.