Like his game-changing 1947 debut collection, Christian Dior’s (Ben Mendelsohn) classic pinstripe suits express multitudes about the world-weary designer and greater society in 1943 German-occupied Paris. Along with his cohorts and rival Coco Chanel (Juliette Binoche), Dior endeavors to survive World War II while grappling with grief and guilt after the Nazis capture his younger sister, resistance fighter Catherine (Maisie Williams). “All these personal tragedies were going on in his life,” explains costume designer Karen Muller Serreau, who visited the Dior Heritage archives for immersive research.
Reflecting the austere war years and his limited financial means as a mid-level designer under couturier Lucien Lelong (John Malkovich), Dior still wears his late ’30s suits by Italian and English tailors. “It was actually slightly frowned upon for people to be wearing brand-new things,” says Muller Serreau, adding that Dior’s suspenders, in place of a belt, signal the period’s leather shortage. “I really wanted to get this feeling of vulnerability during wartime.
” To depict Dior bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders, Muller Serreau sourced a heavy vintage wool from England and carefully aged and dyed the custom pieces “to make everything look a little bit worn,” she adds. At Lelong’s atelier, Dior resignedly sketches and drapes a ball gown for a Nazi gala. He toils overnight, sans jacket, with the top buttons of his shirt open and his sleeves .