The Big Picture

John Malkovich shares something in common with the man he plays in
The New Look
.
Lucien Lelong played a crucial role in saving the Parisian couture industry during World War II.
The concept of creation as a means of survival and bringing comfort is explored in
The New Look
, which prompted Malkovich to share a brief story about Carrie Fisher.

It is often said that art imitates life and, for John Malkovich, that’s the case with his role in The New Look. At least to some extent. While most people know Malkovich as one of the most versatile actors working today, there is another aspect of his life that is seldom in the spotlight, and that is his work as a fashion designer. In Todd Kessler’s harrowing new Apple TV+ series, which explores Christian Dior (Ben Mendelsohn) and Coco Chanel’s (Juliette Binoche) lives during the Nazi occupation of France, Malkovich brings to life another iconic designer: Lucien Lelong. Unlike Malkovich, who does many of the designs for his brand himself, Lelong was infamously known for not being an actual designer.

With this thread of familiarity between the two men in mind, I was quick to ask him if having first-hand experience with the fashion industry had any impact on the role. “Not really. I mean, besides what is a purely personal interest or fascination with certain aspects of the fashion world,” He replied, with serious consideration for the question. “Lelong was really more of a businessman and a cultivator of designers, because so many very notable designers pass through the fashion house of Lucien Lelong — Dior, Givenchy, Balenciaga, Balmain, Pierre Cardin, and on and on. So that didn’t particularly help me. And the thing that Lelong did well was certainly the thing I did worse, which is I’m terrible at business, and remain so, and have always been so, and will always be so, I guess, unfortunately.”

The New Look Explores the rise of fashion designer Christian Dior, as he dethrones Coco Chanel and helps return spirit and life to the world with his iconic imprint of beauty and influence.Release Date February 14, 2024 Creator Todd A. Kessler Main Genre Drama Seasons 1

‘The New Look’s Lucien Lelong Saved Parisian Couture at Great Personal Cost

Lucien Lelong is often hailed as the man who saved Parisian couture, though few know why this is such an impressive title to carry. As World War II took its tragic toll on Europe, Paris’ vibrant fashion industry nearly came to a halt, in part, because the occupying Nazi forces sought to move the industry as a whole to Berlin. It was Lelong who fought to keep the industry in Paris, and ultimately prevented the cultural loss from occurring. With the other atrocities committed by the Nazis, his impact on the fashion industry is often overlooked by history books, at least outside of the niche field of fashion history. The New Look does an excellent job of navigating this perilous period and telling the stories about these fashion designers who were simply trying to survive — both by nefarious means, like Chanel, or by more gregarious actions. Malkovich touched on this with his answer, adding:

”
But of course, this is at a very difficult time in Lelong’s business and in French and world history, because it takes place near the end of the Second World War, and for a few years after, so this is a very difficult time.
Lelong had to manage both, to not so antagonize the Nazis that they would burn down his business and send to a forced labor camp himself and his employees, but also trying secretly and in any way he could to ensure that the fashion business not only survived the business as a whole, because he was the head of the haute couture syndicate in Paris, but that the business would survive and that fashion would survive
in
Paris and not be forced to move to Berlin, because at the time of the occupation, the idea was that the Reich would last for 1,000 years, which is a rather long time as it happens. So, he had his hands full, I think, and they all did.”

Related ‘The New Look’ Review: Apple TV+ Drama Cuts Into Christian Dior’s War-Torn Life Ben Mendelsohn stars opposite Maisie Williams in the new WWII-era series.

John Malkovich Has an Unexpected Connection to Carrie Fisher’s Witticism

One of the overarching themes that Todd Kessler and The New Look’s writers have threaded throughout the series is the idea that creation is survival, both because it leaves a tangible proof of life and because in the darkest hour, creation can bring comfort. Naturally, I sought to dig into this concept with Malkovich by asking him if he has found that sentiment to be true in his own art. “Completely. Meaning, I think I said earlier…I sound like I’m someone who quotes myself, which is unlikely,” He laughed. “I said earlier that if there was more creation, and more people had that outlet, let’s say, or that focus in their lives, and that in some way enabled someone to live or survive, I think there’d be less mayhem in the world and less violence.”

I mentioned to Malkovich that the quote (which Lelong actually says in the series), reminded me of Carrie Fisher’s oft-quoted piece of advice, “take your broken heart and turn it into art,” to which he shared a piece of witticism she shared with him once. “And I’m glad you quoted Carrie Fisher, who I knew a tiny bit. Once I asked her about a relationship of hers that had ended, and how she dealt with that, and she had a fantastic quote. She said, ‘Oh, you know, it’s not over. It’s over there.’ And I thought that was such a fantastic phrase. Very, very clever person, she was. Very interesting.” I shared that I often think of Fisher’s words whenever times are difficult, particularly with the desire to create, to which Malkovich replied:

“That’s a good impulse, I think. I don’t know much else we can do with heartbreak and heartache and tragedy. I mean, buy a gun, but apart from that, I think it might be better not to. And I think that’s something that all artists and all creative people use and have to use.”

Catch the first three episodes of The New Look on Apple TV+ now, and stay tuned for more interviews with the cast and creatives, like these conversations with Ben Mendelsohn and Maisie Williams, who stars as Catherine Dior. Check out a clip from the premiere below:

Watch on Apple TV+