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Was The New Look the most groundbreaking show in television history? Of course not, and that’s the point. It was never meant to break new ground; it was meant to make viewers like me feel comfortable and cozy while maybe, possibly, learning a little something. Like The Crown, The New Look provided stunning sets, costumes, and an overall visual feast with historical drama you can mostly look up on Wikipedia. The series finale (we’ll see about that) functions as a clip show-slash- wrap-up of the buildup made in the first moments of the series premiere. Years after his first collection debuted and changed couture forever, Christian Dior is speaking at a university about his accomplishments and is asked about designing dresses for Nazi girlfriends and wives during the occupation of France. Meanwhile, actual Nazi collaborator Coco Chanel essentially tells reporters that Dior is nonsense. The series finale doesn’t exactly stick the landing, but it proves its point by presenting Dior’s and Chanel’s lives in parallel: Dior good, Chanel Nazi.
All Christian Dior ever wanted to do was make the most beautiful women’s clothing that ever existed. But that takes stress and audacity. The finale opens with Christian in yet another pickle: To get his collection ready on time, he has to snatch up seamstresses from other couture houses, which interferes with the production of their collections. A livid Pierre Balmain barges into the house of Dior with a warning. The Couture Council will be doing something about Christian’s scheme. “Prepare your defense,” he says. The stolen Dior seamstresses must leave, forcing Dior, Madame Zehnacker, and Pierre Cardin to work fast to meet their deadline.
Thankfully, this is Christian’s first betrayal (he’s no Coco Chanel). His friends in fashion, including Cristóbal Balenciaga and Lucien Lelong (welcome back, John Malkovich!), are angry but willing to negotiate. They believe in Christian’s vision and know he didn’t do this with malicious intent. Couture Council president Lelong, who gets a visit from Carmel Snow inquiring about the new face of French couture, opts not to sanction Christian, who he sees as a son. Lelong describes himself as a “father of sorts” to his former employee, and The New Look fulfills its BBC-to-PBS-to-box-set-at-grandma’s-house pipeline aesthetic with flashbacks to moments of camaraderie and love between them. Clip show! Lelong visits Christian and they come to a compromise: He must give some of the seamstresses back to the houses he screwed over, and he won’t get in trouble. Christian’s overall kindness and social game (forgive the Survivor reference) works in his favor. By the end of the episode, Balenciaga, Lelong, and even the bitter Balmain (who isn’t chosen as the new face of French couture by Snow) are in awe at Dior’s first show.
While Christian prepares to debut his collection, he’s trying to convince Catherine to attend and is all worked up about her absence. Given her history there, Catherine is uncomfortable in Paris and especially uncomfortable with receiving the Croix de Guerre. She thinks it is “shameful” to celebrate and feels that Paris is “haunted.” Christian gives her a bottle of his perfume, which she hesitantly accepts, adding that fragrance and clothes won’t fix her, somewhat mirroring their older brother’s dismissal of Christian’s endeavor. But Catherine turns things around: She buries the photo of her friend Talia that’s haunted her since she was freed from the Nazi camp, and she shows up to Christian’s show at the perfect moment — when he is brooding in the workroom as a negative dialogue about his career path from their father, Maurice, plays. Clip show! Catherine — who later learns the perfume is named after her, producing her first smile all season — tells Christian that the fragrance took her back to a place she never thought she’d experience again, demonstrating the power of perfume and the power of smell. “I didn’t want you to be alone,” she tells him.
Meanwhile, Coco Chanel is left all alone. Not even Spatz wants her. He only wants her money. At the beginning of the episode, Coco weeps next to Elsa’s casket. “She shouldn’t have died alone,” she says, unaware of her own fate. Spatz hastily approaches her, demanding her money or else he will tell Andre about her Nazi ties. Spatz knows she’s vulnerable and will crack, and he also takes pleasure in making her squirm. Coco negotiates with the Wertheimers and comes with absurd demands (“It’s all or nothing”), which Pierre will meet if she simply acknowledges what she did and apologizes. Coco, however, is blinded by her internalized victimhood. In her business with the Wertheimers, she sees herself as a victim of the boys’ club, as she calls it. She may be right in some ways, but she still has an advantage due to her wealth and fame. In a brutal, stirring scene performed brilliantly by Claes Bang, Spatz — still waiting for his money — beats Andre while threatening Coco to come clean about her Nazi ties. Eventually, Coco has to give in, and Spatz forces her to tell her nephew the truth, including her betrayal of the Baron (remember him? I didn’t). For some reason I can probably only explain in therapy, I am both terrified and aroused by Spatz in this episode. Bang!
It turns out Elsa was wrong. Andre’s love for his aunt does not surpass her Nazi ties. He immediately rejects her. “You don’t love anything, you have your money,” he says, indicating that he saw through her this whole time and was just waiting for the proof to abandon her. He leaves for Paris with Gabrielle and spills to the French police, who come for her by the episode’s end. And yet, the student at Christian’s appearance at the university years in the future believes Coco to be innocent of Nazi ties, while Christian is guilty since Coco’s house was shut down during the war and he continued to work. The rich and the sexy might have their strife, but they always come out on top, even if they’re alone.
The episode and series wrap with Dior’s debut show (the costumes, by Karen Serreau, are stunning re-creations, and I only wish we got to see more of the fashion in the show) and, unfortunately for me, a Bleachers cover. Then the episode circles back to its beginning with Christian’s university appearance, and then a montage featuring Dior throughout the decades — from Marilyn and Jackie to Diana and Natalie — officially wraps it up. Overall, I enjoyed this series. It indicates that Apple is looking into reviving more traditional television with a little bit of prestige. The first three episodes focusing on the Nazi occupation set a great tone, but ultimately the series didn’t go as in-depth as I expected after that. But the performances were exemplary all around. While Ben Mendelsohn (who deserves at least an Emmy nomination) and Juliette Binoche (who clearly had the toughest job here) were incredible, it’s Claes Bang and Emily Mortimer who were true standouts, which is certainly not something I would have predicted. Overall, The New Look dove more into melodrama than character development, which is evident in its treatment of Catherine. Maisie Williams did what she could with the multi-episode plotline that had been hidden from the audience until last week.
It’s possible that The New Look could continue with the same cast and characters, but it’s unlikely. Not that anyone is asking, but my vision for it is that the series does one season focused on the lives of fashion designers throughout history, eventually leading to a show that contrasts the rise of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano. Good-bye, for now, and sincere thanks to everyone who has tolerated my Claes Bang thirst for nine whole weeks!
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By Carrie Wittmer , 2024-04-03 20:41:05
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