This week's Radio Times cover features special fashion illustration for Apple TV+'s The New Look
Corsets, couture and Nazi collaboration – the real story behind fashion's fiercest rivalry between Christian Dior and Coco Chanel.
When Christian Dior shocked the fashion world in 1947 with his New Look collection, he was expressing a desire for beauty after the horror of war. He was also giving France a chance to look to the future while triggering memories of the belle epoque. It was for many a massive relief after the privations they had so recently endured.
But two years on from the Nazi occupation of Paris, French fashion was not in the mood to reflect on its more recent past, some of which was far from glorious. Many of the leading figures of mid-20th century haute couture had kept open their ateliers and carried on designing rarefied creations for new clients, plenty of whom were German.
A new drama on Apple TV+ this week tells the story of Dior as seen through the prism of wartime Paris and Dior’s rivalry with that other towering figure of French fashion, Coco Chanel. To say Chanel’s wartime record was more chequered is an understatement.
Dior carried on designing for German clients, but he also sheltered his sister, who was a member of the French Resistance. Chanel, on the other hand, took a room at the Ritz and moved in with her Nazi lover.
All this makes for a gripping drama that’s stunning to look at, although many of the moral questions are shades of grey. As Juliette Binoche, who plays Coco Chanel, tells us in this week's issue of Radio Times magazine: “It’s easy to call her a collaborator but it’s way more complex than that.”
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This week we also celebrate the TV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office – with two pages devoted to the former sub postmistress Jo Hamilton and the actor who played her, Monica Dolan. Both women were among the famous faces who attended our covers party at Claridge’s. Needless to say, all present agreed there was only one real star in our midst. And that was Jo.
Also in this week's Radio Times:
- Andi Oliver on being host of BBC’s Great British Menu, her daughter Miquita Oliver and Lily Allen being best friends, and growing up as a Black girl in 1970s Suffolk
- Lorraine Kelly chats about her proudest moments, working on her first novel, and flirting with Hollywood A-lister George Clooney on daytime TV
- Speaking to The Radio Times Podcast: Sophie Rundle discusses her experience working on Peaky Blinders and Gentleman Jack, intimacy coordinators and changing roles for women
The New Look premieres on Apple TV+ on Wednesday 14th February 2024. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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