The series "The New Look" that will air next week (14/2) on Apple TV sheds light on one of the darkest moments in the history of fashion.
The 10-episode drama takes place under the Nazi occupation of Paris during World War II and tells the story of the rise to prominence of designer Christian Dior, played by Ben Mendelsohn, who managed to launch modern fashion collections despite the horrors of the war.
Of course, this story could not be told without Coco Chanel, played by Juliette Binoche, who was one of the dominant fashion designers of the time and whose name was associated with the Nazi regime.
Chanel, whose status as the world's most famous fashion designer is under threat as Dior and his contemporaries take a new approach to couture fashion, has largely escaped criticism for its clear ties to the Nazi occupation.
Throughout World War II, Chanel worked as an intelligence operative for the Nazis and was in a romantic relationship with a senior German officer.
Juliette Binoche as Coco Chanel, photo: Apple TV
"Her involvement with the Nazis is a fact," Binoche said at a panel held before the series premiere.
"But you have to know that she didn't kill anyone. She didn't give names. She acted in other ways. It's a difficult and complex story. It's easiest to say that Chanel was a collaborator. But it's much more complex than that."
Chanel is considered one of the queens of good taste of the 20th century, feminine style, now, and also the name of one of the most respected fashion and cosmetics brands in the world.
Various testimonies, starting from books, docu-films and also testimonies from the Nuremberg trials, cast a great shadow on her life's work.
Coco Chanel / Photo: GettyImages
According to the same evidence, Chanel had the code name "Westminister" there, she used her connections to the Nazi party to appropriate a perfume business from a Jewish family with the intention of taking over the field.
In the book by the historian Hal Wogen, Chanel is presented as an anti-Semite who helped the Nazi regime during the years of the German occupation of France.
"Chanel's connections with the Nazis were only one facet of her fascinating life," says Binoche.
"I didn't know much about her and that's why I wanted to take part in the series. I was interested in digging into her life, reading about her, her childhood in a poor family, her relationships with artists, and yes, also her relationship with the Nazis."
Still one of the most prestigious and leading fashion brands in the world.
Chanel fashion show during Paris Fashion Week, photo: AFP
Ben Mendelsohn, who plays Dior, said that the series "isn't trying to paint a moral story. We're just trying to look at the circumstances of life and people trying to find their way and how they get from where they come from," he said.
Creator Todd Kessler also referred to Chanel's relationship with the Nazi regime and the lack of criticism of its connections.
"I don't know why it is not in the minds of some people. The history was proven in the testimony given at the Nuremberg trials and it was opened only 40 years later. Many people have died since then and it is likely that part of this story has been hidden."
Kessler hopes to tell part of the story for the first time in The New Look.
"I can't say why it's not on the radar of specific people," Kessler said of Chanel's past.
"But the history is that there was a testimony given at the Nuremberg trials by Walter Schellenberg, and his testimony was sealed because he provided so much information that they agreed to seal his testimony. This testimony was only opened 40 years later... by then many people he spoke about had passed away."
He reasoned that it is likely that "much of this story has been hidden," adding that he hopes to tell some of it for the first time in "The New Look."
"Some people say that Chanel was the worst person in the world, others say that later she worked for the resistance in France. It is very difficult to see things only in black and white."
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