The New Look Creator & Producer On Collaborating With The House Of Dior

The New Look Creator & Producer On Collaborating With The House Of Dior

The New Look is Apple TV’s latest historical drama, set in post-World War II France and chronicling the professional rise of Christian Dior. The beloved designer is played by Secret Invasion’s Ben Mendelsohn, and the 10-episode season focuses on his attempts to open his own fashion house as well as his close-knit relationship with sister Catherine (Maisie Williams). Todd A. Kessler, known for his work on Bloodline and The Sopranoes, created the show with Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformers franchise) serving as one of its executive producers.

Apple TV+ has been on a winning streak with its programming, and The New Look plans to continue that trend with its stellar casting. Starring alongside Mendelsohn, veteran French actor Juliette Binoche plays Coco Chanel, and the show highlights her Nazi alliances while exploring her personal reasons for maintaining those controversial relationships. Emily Mortimer, John Malkovich, Hugo Becker, and Claes Bang also form part of the ensemble.

The New Look Creator & Producer On Collaborating With The House Of Dior

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The New Look Cast & Real Life Character Comparison Guide

The Apple TV+ series The New Look sees talented actors take on the roles of famous designers Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, and their contemporaries.

Screen Rant interviewed Kessler and di Bonaventura about their approach to The New Look‘s narrative, their collaboration with the House of Dior, and the latter producer’s Transformers update.

Todd A. Kessler & Lorenzo di Bonaventura Talk The New Look & Family Bonds

Screen Rant: Todd, I feel like we see Christian and Coco at their most humanized in their familial relationships with sister and nephew, respectively. Can you talk about landing on that as the lynchpin of the story?

Todd A. Kessler: I think the desire was to portray these people and the things that mattered the most to them in a time of their lives where they were experiencing a four-year-long Nazi occupation of where they lived in Paris during World War II. They didn’t know at the time of the occupation how long it would last, and people’s reliance on family and those relationships is really at the core of one’s identity. So, it’s a very good place to begin to understand people and how they relate to what’s most important to them, which is family, in both of their cases.

Lorenzo, this is such a significant time for The House of Dior, of course, as we’re seeing its creation. How involved was Dior in the process of getting the materials for the dresses and establishing the aesthetic?

Lorenzo Di Bonaventura: Well, it was essential because what’s interesting is so much has been written about Coco that that was easy to find. Very few things have been written about Dior, only one by himself and a biography that’s quite great, so you needed the archives therefore to give a bigger picture of who this man was. But also when you take on a show that’s named the very fashion show that he had – The New Look, as Carmel Snow bestows on it – you better get those dresses right.

It’s helped us so much to have access to all the designs. They were very generous in that way, and they were also very generous creatively, which for us meant they didn’t want to dictate. They didn’t want to push us. They just said, “Do the best work you can do.” The thing we’ve discovered about The House of Dior is they really nurture artists of all sorts. It’s really interesting today how important that is to them, so it was a real pleasure to have that experience and be supported that way.

Woman modeling a yellow Dior gown to a crowd in The New Look

Todd, can you talk about what made Maisie right for the role of Catherine?

Todd A. Kessler: Well, as often happens in my experience, actors who have a deep passion and a desire to explore parts of their personality, parts of their life, parts of what they think of the world that they haven’t had the opportunity to do before are the most exciting actors to work with. Because they’re willing to step off into the unknown.

Maisie, having
grown up on Game of Thrones
, was sensational in that role, but was also taking time to choose her next role where she could really explore another part of who she is as a person and express herself. So, when her interest came onto our radar, it was definitely intriguing to go and speak with her. That then led to a great creative collaboration and was super inspiring. The desire for an actor to want to explore is something that we all are inspired by and feed off of in the process.

Finally, Lorenzo, you have your hands in everything lately, and it is amazing. But I would like to know where your hands are going with Angel Manuel Soto’s Transformers movie. What can you tell us about that?

Lorenzo Di Bonaventura: We’re waiting for the script is where we’re going. Thank you for asking. We don’t know yet, so we have to read a script. We don’t have one yet.

About The New Look

Christian Dior Sitting At A Table With A Group Of Designers In The New Look.jpg

This emotionally thrilling series reveals the shocking story of how fashion icon Christian Dior and his contemporaries, including Coco Chanel, Pierre Balmain, and Cristóbal Balenciaga, navigated the horrors of World War II and launched modern fashion.

Check out our other The New Look interviews here:

  • Ben Mendelsohn
  • Maisie Williams
  • John Malkovich
  • Juliette Binoche
Ben Mendelsohn as Christian Dior Looking Over Fashion Papers in The New Look

The New Look
Biography
History
Drama

The New Look is a biographical drama focusing on the rise of fashion designer Christian Dior as he competes with Coco Chanel. The series was created by Todd A. Kessler and stars Ben Mendelsohn (Christian Dior) and Juliette Binoche (Coco Chanel). The series premiered on AppleTV+ in February 2024.

Release Date
February 14, 2024

Cast
Glenn Close , Ben Mendelsohn , Juliette Binoche , Maisie Williams , John Malkovich , Emily Mortimer , Claes Bang

Seasons
1

Creator(s)
Todd A. Kessler

Writers
Todd A. Kessler

Streaming Service(s)
Apple TV+

Directors
Helen Shaver , Todd A. Kessler , Julia Ducournau , Jeremy Podeswa