Are there any mitigating circumstances for the actions of the collaborators of a murderous regime?

In the graveyards of empires, the tombstones of collaborators invite scorn instead of awe or hatred. Collaborators do not start cults. Unless they are couturiers. A new series on Apple TV has attempted to expose the glamorous world, literally to its seams, by telling the tale of how some of the biggest names in luxury fashion today dealt with their biggest challenge: survival. The New Look transports the viewers to the world of haute couture legends-Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Pierre Balmain, Cristobal Balenciaga-names that today mean little beyond the labels on clothes, accessories, cosmetics et al in countless influencer videos.

The companies bearing the names of these designers today are behemoths that bear little to no resemblance with their founders. Their customers care for the brand logo more than the creator. But when some of the leaders of the global fashion industry were struggling to keep afloat during the Nazi occupation of France in WWII, survival had a bloodier meaning than quarterly profits or year-on-year growth. This is the premise of the show-how the world of high fashion survived World War II.

However, when, and for whom, can survival become a defence plea in the court of moral judgment? Not many in the fashion world are aware that Elsa Schiaparelli, Christian Dior, Pierre Balmain, Cristobal Balenciaga and many other couturiers were dressing up the........

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