“The New Look” is the name given by the great fashion journalist from Harper's Bazaar, Carmel Snow, to the silhouette created in 1947 by Christian Dior during his “Corolle” fashion show, and which would change everything at world of fashion.
It is also the title of this new American series from Apple TV +, online this Wednesday, which tells how Dior achieved this result.
Benefiting from a large budget, time (10 one-hour episodes), and a prestigious international cast, the series focuses on the years 1940 to 1947, with the majority of episodes centered on the Occupation period. from Paris.
Dark years during which the big names of haute couture based in Paris behaved in a variety of ways, ranging from frank opposition to the Nazis to collaboration.
And, for most of them - we are talking here about Balmain, Balenciaga, Cardin, Lelong... - an "in-between" attitude, agreeing to work for the occupier while supporting the Resistance.
This was the case of Dior, who helped his sister, Catherine, a great resistance fighter.
While Coco Chanel had a paradoxical journey: refusing to create dresses for the wives of Nazis and closing her workshop in 1940... then settling at the Ritz among German pundits and collaborating with them.
Several annoying factors at the start of the series
We are initially bothered by this series which takes place in Paris and features many French characters… talking in English!
Another concern, which will persist throughout all the episodes: the aesthetic choice of a veiled, outdated, “1940s-style” image, which considerably weighs down the subject.
Finally, the character of Christian Dior, played by the nevertheless excellent Ben Mendelsohn (“Star Wars”, “Misanthrope”…), seems very dull at first.
We will end up understanding that Dior was in reality a humble, discreet, taciturn, almost shy man, and in the end, the actor manages to make him endearing to us.
An incredible cast
The more the series progresses, the more we widen our eyes as we see a parade of actors: in addition to Mendelsohn, it is Juliette Binoche who plays the key role of Coco Chanel, Maisie Williams (“Game of Thrones”) that of Catherine Dior, John Malkovich plays fantastic watch in Lucien Lelong, Glenn Close portrays Carmel Snow, without forgetting Claes Bang (“The Square”), Emily Mortimer, Nuno Lopes, the Frenchman Hugo Becker, and so on.
A poster that wows!
The same goes for the renowned stars who cross the story: a scene shows a meeting where, among others, Dior, Lelong, Balmain, Balenciaga, Schiaparelli and even Jean Cocteau are present.
Christian and Catherine Dior, a moving siblings
The life of Christian Dior turns out to be quite astonishing.
A genius stylist revealed late in life, he invented modern fashion almost against his will, which is clearly shown in the series.
Who insists on his relationship with his beloved sister, Catherine, a great resistance fighter who was deported at the end of the war, an incredible figure who deserves a series of her own.
It was for Catherine that he created the “Miss Dior” perfume, and it was his absolute love for her that shaped his talent and resulted in his most beautiful fashion shows.
Coco Chanel wonderfully played by Juliette Binoche
In contrast, the series chooses to describe Coco Chanel in her worst light, known to historians but less to the public: that of the collaborator with the Nazis.
A character as important as Dior, who has the same screen time, the stylist is shown as an egocentric woman, obsessed with her creations and her image, never shy of betrayal, sometimes haughty and contemptuous, in the total denial regarding her relations with the Occupier, even anti-Semitic... but also as a great lover and someone very protective of her family.
This vitriolic portrait, if it sometimes appears too charged, benefits from the exceptional interpretation of Juliette Binoche, who seems to devote herself completely to her character, for a result that is as accurate as it is highly credible: a striking composition, which dynamizes the series.
Fashion reinvented
This remote opposition between two major figures of the time must be analyzed between the lines.
Because in 1947, when Dior redesigned silhouettes marked at the waist and the chest, therefore very feminine, he was very criticized by Chanel who, years earlier, had created loose, comfortable fashion that hid women's bodies. .
But it was Dior who, with his “Corolle” fashion show in 1947, would have a more than lasting impact on haute couture.
And much more: following a succession of circumstances, the couturier then reinvents the world of fashion with the concept of “fashion house”, derived accessories, giant fashion shows, the notion of “brand”…
The same universe that everyone - Cardin, Balmain, Balenciaga... - have adopted, on a model which remains the one we still know today.
“The New Look”, by detailing the dark years and the facts which led to this style revolution, allows us to discover a very Parisian and French story which has conquered the whole world.
Editor's note:
3.5/5
“The New Look”,
American series by Todd A. Kessler (2024), with Ben Mendelsohn, Juliette Binoche, Maisie Williams, John Malkovich, Glenn Close, Claes Bang, Emily Mortimer... 10 episodes of approximately 60 minutes.
3 episodes on Wednesday February 14, then one per week until April 3.
On Apple TV+.