Despite distracting fake French accents, "The New Look" is a gripping miniseries with good writing, stunning cinematography and a well-acted story about fashion icons.
The Good
- Stunning visuals and costume designs
- Engaging plot
- Strong performances
The Bad
- Distracting fake accents
The New Look is a historical drama about the rise of fashion designer Christian Dior in the aftermath of WW2. Todd A. Kessler, known for his work on Netflix’s Bloodlines, created the 10-episode miniseries. Apple TV+ premiered the first three episodes last week, with each subsequent installment scheduled for weekly release.
The show’s first scenes find Coco Chanel (played by Juliette Binoche) in 1955 trying to promote her new fashion line by making scathing remarks against her competitor, Christian Dior. He is about to launch a brand new collection, followed by a Q&E session with attending students.
The story goes back in time during the final months of Nazi occupation in Paris. Dior has spent the occupation working under fashion designer Lucien Lelong (John Malkovich) and begrudgingly creating gowns for Nazi wives and girlfriends.
His sister, Catherine (Maisie Williams), is heavily involved in the illegal and dangerous French resistance movement with her boyfriend, Herve (Hugo Becker). While Dior is beyond worried for his sister’s safety, he does help fund her acts of rebellion against the occupants.
Meanwhile, famed designer Coco Chanel closed her boutique at the start of the war, but she’s still living in style at the Nazi-run Ritz Hotel. While Channel takes pride in not designing clothes for the Nazis, she becomes a collaborator whenever it suits her needs.
First, she uses Nazi connections to free her nephew from a prisoner-of-war camp. Soon, Chanel starts a love affair with German spy Hans von Dincklage (Claes Bang) and shows little hesitation when invited to dine with the infamous Heinrich Himmler (Thure Lindhardt).
Good writing and stunning cinematography
The New Look is a very well-written and gripping series. While each episode sits at the one-hour mark, this show could easily keep you in front of the screen for the entire runtime.
It takes a look at a lesser-known piece of history and adds visual drama while treating it with the respect it deserves. The series isn’t just about fashion but offers an in-depth look at the people behind two of the most well-known brands in the world.
Like most dramatizations of real-life events, the show takes some creative liberties with the historical facts. However, it does a fantastic job of capturing the intricacies and visuals of life in Paris during its era. The costumes look spectacular and as authentic as possible, which is to be expected in a series centered on the creation of modern fashion.
On the flip side, the omnipresent fake French accents are distracting and get close to being annoying. Casting French and European actors to play French people in a show in France and having them speak English is bad enough. But when the likes of Paul Mendelsohn, John Malkovich, and Maisie Williams started uttering their lines with a fake French accent, I was almost ready to give up. It’s a grating creative choice that takes away from what’s otherwise a brilliant series.
Despite the slightly accented hurdle, the cast offers competent performances. Juliette Binoche is fabulous as the iconic Coco Channel. She does a fantastic job at bringing the essence of the complicated woman to the small screen. The slightly miscast Ben Mendelsohn is great as the soft-spoken and often misunderstood Dior.
While far from perfect, Apple TV’s newest historical drama is beautifully shot and the type of series worth tuning in for every Wednesday. It’s a worthwhile story about two polar opposite yet very talented icons who changed the world of fashion after WW2.
Where can you watch The New Look in the UAE and Saudi Arabia?
The New Look is now streaming on Apple TV Plus in the UAE. There is no free trial currently available for Apple TV in the UAE, but if you buy an Apple device such as an Apple TV or an iPhone, you also get free access to the platform for a limited time.