Calling All Fashion History Buffs: Dior and Apple TV+ Hosted a Premiere and After-Party for The New Look

Last night near Central Park, Apple TV+ and Dior hosted an elegant premiere for the streaming platform's new fashion-centric drama The New Look—the limited series follows the story of the art of survival and how fashion icon Christian Dior and his contemporaries, including Coco Chanel, Pierre Balmain, and Cristóbal Balenciaga, navigate the horrors of World War II and launch modern fashion.

“When playing Catherine Dior, everything that I knew about her as being the icon of ‘Miss Dior’ and the original Muse of the fashion house was all the kind of things that I had to pull away from [when getting into character], because it's not like a place that she was operating from," Maisie Williams told Vogue, recounting her portrayal of Christian Dior's younger sister. "Catherine as the muse was how Dior viewed and channeled her essence. I wanted to try and dive into her mind, and I think that what audiences will be delighted to learn is that the woman behind this brand, which is sort of defined by beauty and sculptural silhouettes, was really a woman who fought for her country.”

The cast arrived sporting Christian Dior-approved sculptural looks, appearing as though the sketches of the famed fashion designer came to life. Whether by coincidence or destiny, the evening's festivities fell upon a special night in fashion history: 77 years prior, Christian Dior launched his first eponymous collectsion on February 12, 1947 (an announcement to which actor Ben Mendelsohn cheekily bowed on behalf of the iconic designer he portrayed in the series).

"I felt a big responsibility playing Coco Chanel, and wanted to get as much information as possible in order to capture the woman she was. [My portrayal] is an inspiration of her, and I had to show the human being while showing both the dark realities and the different ways people perceived her," Juliette Binoche told Vogue, on portraying the controversial yet archetypal French designer.

As the credits for the first episode rolled, attendees applauded and cheered, eagerly awaiting the following episodes—but the night's celebrations didn't end there. Partygoers continued the evening with an afterparty at New York's glamorous staple, The Grill. Amidst the beaded, draped floor-to-ceiling windows, friends of the fashion industry and fellow actors toasted to the cast of The New Look. Attendees included Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Jack Antonoff, Jemima Kirke, Charlotte Groeneveld, Hannah Bronfman, Noomi Rapace, Nate Mann, Sophia Roe, and more.