? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
(all times CLT)

The New Look tells the story of how Parisian haute couture icons survived in Nazi-occupied France towards the last few years of WWII. The show looks at WWII from the perspective of the French fashion moguls Christian Dior and Coco Chanel, and touches on the experiences of Cristóbal Balenciaga, Pierre Balmain, and Pierre Cardin during that period in Nazi-occupied France.

It’s not all pretty dresses — there is plenty of horror on the screen.It delves into the complexities of life during the occupation: From being forced to design dresses for Nazi wives, torture, concentration camps, curfews, and dining with the Nazi top brass — the series keeps viewers on their toes wondering what the protagonists will do next.

Living under the premise of “you did what you could to survive,” Chanel and Dior navigate the war to protect loved ones and themselves. Paying off bribes to save a relative, getting information to the resistance, and being used to deliver a message to the Allied forces were some of the grueling tasks that both designers were forced to do to ensure that they don’t end up at the wrong end of a Nazi or French Resistance gun.

The series of events is narrated with dark humor, illustrating the moral ambiguity faced by these fashion icons during a difficult period. The visuals and compelling storytelling are appealing and can even pique the interest of that friend who hates history.

With all the razzle-dazzle of fashion and melancholy war scenes, the series has prevailed with comments from news outlets such as “ it is cheese of a rich, ripe variety, powered by a fine cast ” and “ this is history worth knowing.”

You can watch The New Look onAppleTV+.

Tags: