The New Look Series Review: Apple TV+’s Series Which Led To A Revolution In Style And Culture In The Post-War Period
Cast: Ben Mendelsohn, Glenn Close, Juliette Binoche, Maisie Williams, John Malkovich
Created By: Todd A. Kessler
Streaming Platform: Apple TV+
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3.5/5 (four stars)
“Creation was survival”. Christian Dior said this in the series The New Look in front of an audience of students at the Sorbonne in 1955 in response to the question of a girl who asked him why he had continued to produce clothes for the wives of the Nazis during the German occupation in Paris, unlike Coco Chanel who decided to close her atelier. The answer is the beginning of an emotional, painful story, important for understanding the choices, compromises, and suffering of men and women in the face of great history. The series, created by Todd A. Kessler (Bloodline), is inspired by true events and tells the life and career of Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, and other designers such as Cristóbal Balenciaga and Pierre Balmain, who faced the horrors of the Second World War and launched modern fashion. The New Look, available February 14 on Apple TV+, stars Emmy winner Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline) as Christian Dior, Oscar winner Juliette Binoche as Coco Chanel, Glenn Close as Carmel Snow, Maisie Williams, John Malkovich and Emily Mortimer (The Newsroom).
After the exploit of the Halston created by Ryan Murphy on Netflix a couple of years ago and the very recent Cristòbal Balenciaga on Disney+, the narrative universe of the great high fashion characters of yesterday and today is expanding with a great project caliber, and all centered on the rise to success in the field of haute couture of one of the King Midas of the sector: the French Christian Dior. In our review of The New Look we will tell you how this project conceived and directed by Todd A. Kessler is very different from its outdated television relatives, certainly not sacrificing the psychological and exquisitely biographical depth of the story narrated, but instead placing attention and emphasis also on the great historical and political changes in Europe at the time, from the dangers of Nazi domination in the 1940s to the lights and shadows of the post-war period. All told through the lens of great fashion.
The New Look Series Review: The Story Plot
The Apple TV+ miniseries takes place against the backdrop of the Nazi invasion of Paris in 1940 and is based on true events involving future big names in fashion who intertwined their lives with members of Nazism and the French Resistance. Dior (Ben Mendelsohn), Balmain, and others worked for the designer Lelong (John Malkovich), who agreed to dress the wives of Nazi officers who were guests at balls and dinners organized in the Parisian capital. Catherine Dior (Maisie Williams), Christian’s sister whom he protects with all his might, now a venerated heroine of the French resistance during World War II, is the link between the fashion designer and the rebels. In an even more complicated situation is an already respected name in the fashion world, Coco Chanel (Juliette Binoche), who claims to despise collaborationists but is accused of having important connections.
Already from the premise The New Look seems to distance itself from the pretensions and artistic objectives of its television cousins with which it shares settings and even real characters. Compared to the Spanish miniseries on Disney+ and the Netflix product with an exuberant Ewan McGregor, Todd A. Kessler’s show starts from a double assumption: that of celebrating the genius behind one of the stylistic minds who have profoundly changed the world of fashion, but also to convey to television viewers the internal and external conflicts of a double war at the center of the narrative of The New Look.
The New Look Series Review and Analysis
Dior’s stories alternate with those of Coco Chanel, the true protagonist of the series, played by Juliette Binoche who fully embodies her biting spirit, and strength, and many fragilities. The story of the French designer is dotted with successes and shadows which in The New Look are told without absolving or judging her, but simply showing how war leads to making the most unthinkable choices for survival, for the good of loved ones, out of fear, turning off reason, canceling oneself. Chanel also fights for her affections, her nephew André and her daughter Gabrielle, but her circumstances and choices led her to be considered a traitor to France for a long time.
A series of the highest level, accurate in its historical reconstructions, environments, costumes (Coco Chanel’s outfits are splendid, like the iconic dresses from Dior’s New Look collection) and with superb writing, that of Todd A. Kessler, together to Dani Vetere, Jason Rabe and Ning Zhou, also creator, director and executive producer, which makes you think of the writing of The Crown, capable of convincingly and excitingly mixing the historical tale with that of the lives of the protagonists, partly fictionalized, in a narration that offers several touching moments, as in the scene in which Christian Dior together with other relatives of deportees go, white flowers in hand, to welcome their loved ones who have survived the concentration camps by singing the French national anthem with emotion, pain and pride. That French pride emerges forcefully in this series, from the resistance against the Nazis to the joy of liberation, up to the vengeful ferocity towards the collaborationist French.
Knowing that behind the history of a fashion house, its most famous clothes and products there is a story, there are people who have put their soul into their creations, and seeing how this happened is one of the strengths of The New Look. Christian Dior is inspired not only by the desire for rebirth through beauty, by the desire ” to create the most beautiful women’s clothes “, but also by his affections, by his family: the iconic Bar Suit dress, consisting of a white satin cinched at the waist and a black skirt, symbol of The New Look, was inspired by a conversation with one of his brothers, locked up in a mental hospital, who explained how man is made up of two separate parts, light, and shadow; the Miss Dior perfume, still today the flagship fragrance of the House of Dior, is a tribute to her beloved sister Catherine who, after the immense suffering experienced in the Ravensbrück concentration camp, managed to return to life, and was born to reproduce the perfumes emanating from the splendid the mother’s rose garden, evoked in some suggestive flashbacks in which we see Christian and Catherine as children playing among the flowers.
The performances of the entire cast were then extraordinary, starting with the aforementioned Mendelshon and Binoche, but also the talented young Masie Williams, who had already shown us what she was made of in the eight seasons of Game of Thrones, John Malkovich in the role of Lucien Lelong, Emily Mortimer as Elsa Lombardi, a friend of Coco Chanel, and Gleen Close in a brief but intense performance as the legendary Carmel Snow. After the series on Cristóbal Balenciaga, available on Disney+, The New Look adds a new piece to the series in the history of fashion and the men and women who made it great, a precious piece not to be missed. Yes, because the Apple TV+ show enthralls and never bores thanks to the lively staging of a multiple battle, both individual and broader. In the background, there is the Second World War, Paris besieged by Nazi troops, the resistance, and the perilous sacrifice of the major fashion designers of the time (Coco Chanel, Lucien Lelong, a budding Dior) in creating art in some of the times darkest ever in the history of humanity.
On the other hand, in the first post-war period, another war, this time played head-to-head between the protagonist played by the Australian Ben Mendelsohn, and the queen of world haute couture, with the face and immense talent of the Oscar winner Juliette Binoche. The New Look, whose title is the faithful revival of the label that the severe Carmel Snow (Glenn Close), founder of fashion journalism of the time, gave to Christian Dior’s “new style”, works much better than Halston and Balenciaga because stratified television narration full of sense and meanings, where the rise to success and international fame of the French protagonist becomes, with the passing of the episodes (in total, ten episodes of approximately fifty minutes) a metaphor and allegory of something bigger and more fascinating.
The miniseries conceived and directed by Tood A. Kessler must be read through the watermark of History with a capital H, where high fashion understood as art, creativity, rejection of rules and preconceived socio-cultural dictates, becomes an act of refusal and silent rebellion against the Nazi dictatorship of the 1940s, ferrying Europe in turmoil and fire towards a lively and radiant post-war period full of energy and eccentricity, where the renewed joie de vivre marries perfectly with the desire of the Western world of beauty and self-confidence. A stimulating reflection on the state of the art of yesterday and today what the product designed by Apple does, which is not content to slavishly follow the traditional canons of the pure and hard biographical story but presents itself to its target audience as a luxurious investigation and intelligently glossy of a Europe in constant and very rapid transformation. First and foremost the fashion industry, a reflecting mirror embellished with an excellent cast led by the severe and rigorous Christian Dior played by Ben Mendelsohn.
Without forgetting a revived Maisie Williams in the role of the fierce partisan Catherine Dior after the glories of Game of Thrones, or the super Oscar nominee Glenn Close in the enigmatic and irresistible role of the journalist Carmel Snow. But the one who stands out above the entire interpretive ensemble is the French Juliette Binoche, who in The New Look takes on the role of the influential and unpredictable Coco Chanel, the undisputed queen of international fashion before the “threat” Dior. The biographical miniseries created by Todd A. Kessler and entirely dedicated to the rise to success of Christian Dior from the Paris of the Second World War to the glittering and energetic post-war period, on balance, stand out from other similar television products (here is our review of Cristòbal Balenciaga) in ambition, purpose, staging and historiographical reading that is anything but glossy and superficial. I strongly recommend it.
The idea at the start of The New Look was objectively fascinating: to tell how the creation of contemporary fashion by two of its essential pillars has passed through choices, situations and compromises that are ultimately impossible to judge for those who have not actually experienced them. This potentially hypnotic starting point, however, results in a show that almost in spite of itself aims too high, or rather elevates the main figures too high compared to the upside-down and bloody world in which they lived. In the long run, this lack of emotional depth also informs the narrative, which in some moments becomes frayed or even worse artificial, as in the thin subplot that links the fourth episode to its (hypothetical) poetic completion. Of course, it remains difficult not to admire the beauty of the tapestries in the magnificent Parisian interiors, the fantastic chandeliers or the woven tables. But making the idea that an atrocious and exhausting war was being fought outside those walls believable is a completely different matter. The New Look, and it is worth rewriting, clearly wants to be admired to show the greatness of Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, and the haute couture of those years. And this ultimately becomes his insurmountable problem.
The New Look Series Review: The Last Words
The Apple miniseries dedicated to Christian Dior’s rise to success from the Paris of the Second World War to the glittering and energetic post-war period stands out from other similar television products in ambition, purpose, staging, and historiographical reading that is anything but glossy and superficial. The New Look, the new Apple TV+ series featuring two legendary fashion figures such as Christian Dior and Coco Chanel, has the contradictory singularity of being an admirably constructed show and at the same time a sadly missed opportunity.
The New Look Series Review: Apple TV+’s Series Which Led To A Revolution In Style And Culture In The Post-War Period - Filmyhype
Director: Todd A. Kessler
Date Created: 2024-02-14 18:36
3.5
Pros
- Stellar cast: With actors like Ben Mendelsohn, Juliette Binoche, Maisie Williams, and John Malkovich, the performances are generally praised for their nuance and complexity.
- Beautifully made: The sets, costumes, and overall production design are meticulously crafted and transport viewers to post-war Paris.
- Complex characters: The series delves beyond simple portrayals of fashion icons, exploring their personal struggles and motivations.
- Unique perspective: Instead of a straightforward biopic,
Cons
- Slow pace: Some viewers find the show's deliberate pacing tedious, especially considering the focus on a vibrant industry like fashion.
- Limited focus on fashion: While the setting is the fashion world, the actual designs and their creation take a backseat to the wartime drama.
- Unclear themes: Big questions about art, politics, and societal change are left largely unexplored, leaving viewers wanting more depth.
- Underwhelming execution: Despite its high budget and talent, some find the story poorly constructed and lacking in emotional impact.
