The New Look: Haute-Couture and Nazism do not mix (review)

The embarrassment of the small world of Parisian fashion during the occupation, told in a hyper-careful but lackluster historical painting, a glossy but vain biopic.

All in elegance. Apple offers French luxury with The New Lookhis new costume series set in the 1940s and which begins today on the platform (also in France on Canal +).

In busy Paris, Christian Dior works in the workshop of famous designer Lucien Lelong. His creations, much appreciated by the wives of Nazi dignitaries, put him face to face with an insoluble moral dilemma, while his sister, Catherine, was very involved in the Resistance. At the other end of the capital, in her chic room at the Ritz, the world icon Coco Chanel asks herself fewer questions. She does not hesitate to sleep (literally) with the enemy, when she finds it in her interest… So was it necessary to continue sewing during the War?

With great style, the showrunner and director Todd Kessler films contrite France under the yoke of Nazism. Filmed entirely in the streets of Paris, in real locations, The New Look is a pure prestige series, like its luxurious international casting. Ben Mendelsohn is still as charismatic in the face of a Juliet Binoche very comfortable. The exceptional Claes Bang (The Square) shines once again as a poisonous bastard and Maisie Williams proves that she is not just an ex-Game Of Thrones. The 26-year-old young actress (recently seen in New Mutants or the series Pistol) finally finds a role that suits him, five years after the end of the HBO series. Little Arya Stak has grown up and plays Catherine, younger sister of Christian Dior, but a true heroine of the Second World War, engaged in the resistance and muse of her brother’s creator, who adored her to the point of dedicating his famous perfume to her. : “Miss Dior”, it was her!

Style ! Yes, but apart from the stars who take turns on the catwalk, it’s hard to get excited about this collection. Certainly, the little story within the big one is fascinating. But the narration is too didactic to be totally exciting.

The drama struggles to take precedence over the reconstruction, falling into the pitfalls of the biopic poor in emotion, which presents its story without panache. Especially since Coco Chanel’s compromises are already known – and already widely explored on TV – while the fate of Christian Dior would have deserved more grandiloquence. The undeniable beauty of the series does not compensate for writing crushed by the weight of History and which is too often content with name-dropping: Jean Marais, Pierre Balmain, Cristóbal Balenciaga… Many of them attended this parade looking like a showoff.

Ultimately, The New Look looks like an Apple showcase on the Champs-Elysées, aimed at the international market. This is evidenced by this terrible creative decision seen from France: making all these French icons speak, in English, with a French accent, it just doesn’t work.

The New Look, 10 episodes to watch on Apple TV+ since February 14, 2024 and also and France on Canal +.