The 10th episode of The New Look brings the show to an end. Considering how I expected the show to be replete with elements of fashion, I have been disappointed with every passing episode. The show has been stuffed with the hustle of Dior and Coco to stand as pillars and set a mark in the French fashion industry. Even though they have taken some wrong decisions in their careers, they have managed to etch a mark on the fashion industry, which has been brought out in The New Look. Will Coco be arrested? Will Christian’s show be successful? Let’s find out!
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did Spatz Blackmail Coco?
While Coco had been mourning Elsa’s death, she approached Spatz, asking about his involvement in her death. Coco blamed him, saying that he was the one to give her the drugs, and he said that it was Coco who had gotten Elsa addicted. When Coco said that she wouldn’t give Spatz a penny, he said that he would let André know about Coco’s association with the Nazis.
How Did Coco Negotiate With The Wertheimers?
Finally, when Coco went to negotiate with the Wertheimers, she said that she would need a new agreement with them to drop the lawsuit. She insisted that she wouldn’t settle for 1% of the profit margin and wanted 10% of it. When the Wertheimers finally agreed to it, she stressed that she didn’t just want a percentage of the profits but also a percentage of the gross income. When the Wertheimers rejected her proposal, she threatened to sue them, which eventually led them to give in to her demands, agreeing to give her 2% of their gross income.
Why Did André Report Coco?
After Coco returned and told André that she had succeeded in negotiating with the Wertheimers, he insisted that they return to Paris to help Baron, as he was to be executed for his collaboration with the Nazis. Coco said that they couldn’t return, while Spatz came to her to ask for money. In an attempt to safeguard his aunt, André tried to take on Spatz but gave in when Spatz started beating him. He also told him the truth about Coco’s collaboration with the Nazis and that they had previously worked for the Reich. He also said that she had betrayed Baron to survive the Nazis. Spatz threatened to kill André if she did not blurt out the truth, and she eventually did so. Coco tried explaining to André that it was all for his future and that to secure his release, she had gotten herself into murky waters. Upon getting to know Coco’s reality, André left for Paris and informed the French police about her deeds. The French police later came to take Coco, saying that she had to testify in Baron’s case and that she also had to give an explanation about her own involvement with the Nazis. She was, however, taken back to Paris to prove her innocence to the French government.
Why Was Christian Blamed?
Balmain blamed Christian for taking seamstresses from different couture houses. He said that Lelong, the president of the couture council, would surely punish him. The other designers were so mad at Christian that they wanted his license with the couture council to be revoked, sending out a petition against him.
Balmain told the others that he had been selected by Carmel Snow as the next face of couture. Meanwhile, Snow approached Lelong and said that Balmain was not fit for the role, stressing her interest in Christian. To this end, Lelong said that he was almost sure that Dior wouldn’t be a part of her collections and that he might be thrown out of fashion couture because he had been taking seamstresses from other houses to complete his collection. Carmel Snow, however, convinced Lelong not to be so harsh on him, as she believed that Christian would someday become one of the most prominent names in the fashion industry.
Did Lelong Punish Christian?
Balmain and Patou came to Christian’s atelier and threatened the seamstresses, forbidding them from working on Christian’s collections. Meanwhile, everyone had been waiting for Lelong’s decision, but when Lelong went to meet Christian, he said that Christian had broken his heart when he left his couture house. He further said that money was now their new master after the Nazis and that he didn’t want to penalize him and wanted to see him grow in his career. He also said that he had decided upon letting him keep some seamstresses and sending back the rest to the house of Patou and paying them as well. He asked him to prepare well for his fashion show, which was to take place in three days.
Did Catherine Stand By Christian As His Support System?
After Catherine was honored for her sacrifices during captivity and bravery, Christian requested that she stay in Paris, but she refused, going back to Callian at her dad’s house. However, she came back to support Christian on his big day. Later, Carmel Snow met Catherine and told her that Christian had named his perfume “Miss Dior” after her. However, Christian’s major source of inspiration for his collection was his mother’s garden of roses.
What Was Christian’s Goal?
In an interview, Christian said that all he wanted was to design the most beautiful women’s clothing in the world. He stressed the fact that after years of Nazi torture, people needed to feel, live, and dream again, and for him, creation was survival. When he was asked about Coco’s choices to withdraw herself from creating clothes for the Nazis, he refrained from commenting about her life choices.
Final Thoughts
The New Look is surprisingly biased towards the house of Christian Dior. It seems as if the show had been designed to glorify Dior and demean the talents of the other contemporary designers. Weren’t all the other designers focused on creating beautiful clothing? If yes, then why were only Christian’s creations glorified? There is a possibility that a second season will be devised to make sure that we get to know about the final outcomes of Coco Chanel and Christian Dior’s lives. Despite having minimal focus on fashion, the show holds a special significance, highlighting some events of political turmoil and its effect on the fashion industry. Todd A. Kessler has, however, done a significant job of showing us the wretched consequences of the war and its effect on contemporary fashion artists.
