The New Look episode 6 recap: Dior haunted by Catherine's torture

Ben Mendelsohn as Christian Dior and Maisie Williams as Catherine Dior in The New Look episode 6.
Ben Mendelsohn as Christian Dior and Maisie Williams as Catherine Dior in The New Look. (Image credit: Apple TV PLus)

The New Look on Apple TV Plus is a remarkable story following the lives of renowned fashion designers Christian Dior (Ben Mendelsohn) and Coco Chanel (Juliette Binoche) against the devastating backdrop of World War II. 

The New Look episode 6 opens with Christian Dior looking after his sister, Catherine, as she is haunted by the horrors she has been through. Christian's initial relief that she is still alive after being captured by the Nazis and held in a concentration camp soon turns to desperate worry as she struggles with amnesia and wakes screaming from her sleep. 

A doctor comes to see Catherine and says she needs time to heal from everything she has been through and that the starvation and dehydration she has suffered have affected her greatly. 

There is also the matter of Christian's work after his big meeting with Marcel Boussac in episode 5 where he convinced the entrepreneur to invest in him and help open his own couture house. 

Dior wants to put off a meeting about the work and focus on Catherine, but Jacques convinces him he should go. Once there he asks for more time to get Catherine better, but Boussac isn't a patient man and wants to find premises for the new business ASAP. 

Meanwhile, Coco Chanel's fall from grace continues as she hides out in Switzerland, struggling to pay her hotel bills after failing to get her hands on her money from the Wertheimers. She has a meeting with some wealthy Swiss women, who will pay her well to dress them, however, the meeting doesn't go well when Elsa Lombardi, who Coco last saw in Madrid after their huge fight, turns up at the restaurant.

Elsa is drunk and talking loudly, which annoys Coco as she is still trying to keep a low profile. The former friends talk and it is clear Elsa hasn't forgiven Coco for double-crossing her in Madrid, and demands her money back, blackmailing Coco that if she doesn't pay up, she will tell everyone about her collaborations with the Nazis. However, unfortunately for Elsa, she is barking up the wrong tree as Coco is currently penniless... and now more desperate for cash than ever.

Emily Mortimer as Elsa Lombardi in The New Look

Elsa Lombardi is back!  (Image credit: Apple TV PLus)

Catherine's boyfriend and fellow Resistance fighter, Henry, hears she has returned from Ravensbrück and turns up at the Dior house. Christian isn't happy about him seeing Catherine, knowing she needs rest, but he barges his way in. However, still suffering from amnesia, Catherine doesn't remember him. 

Back in Switzerland, Coco is annoyed when she discovers there is a party at her hotel being hosted by the Wertheimer brothers, and she is pretty much the only one in the entire hotel who isn't invited after her threat to sue them. She is left red-faced when she's refused entry into the event, and is forced to dine alone. While she is eating, Pierre Wertheimer comes to see her and the pair have a huge fight over their business arrangements and that fact Coco plans to sue the Wertheimer brothers to regain control of Chanel and her perfume, Chanel No.5. 

Later, however, Pierre visits Chanel in her hotel suite and propositions her... and we are left wondering if she is about to get her hands back on her fortune at last. 

Juliette Binoche as Coco Chanel in The New Look

Coco Chanel is struggling to reclaim her fame and fortune.  (Image credit: Apple TV PLus)

Still gravely worried about Catherine and at a loss about how to help her, Christian brings his Clairvoyant to their house where she meets with Catherine. She can see into Catherine's past and talks about the torture she endured, which scares Catherine and she runs away. 

When a new building is found for Maison Dior, Christian fails to go and view it as he promised after getting distracted by looking after Catherine. Boussac isn't happy and Dior is forced to make amends and promises to focus on his business going forward.

We see Catherine haunted by flashbacks of being tortured before she was moved to the concentration camp and, eventually, she admits the only reason she survived was because she kept the belief that her brother was by her side at all times.

Ben Mendelsohn as Christian Dior and Maisie Williams as Catherine Dior in The New Look

Jean’s friend takes Catherine to his grave.  (Image credit: Apple TV PLus)

Later, a young man turns up at Christian's house and it turns out he is one of Jean’s friends. Catherine blames herself for Jean’s death because she sent him away to stay with the rest of the students. The man takes them Jean’s grave and tells Catherine that her amazing resilience and the fact that she didn't give names during her torture is the only reason he is still alive. As he thanks her, we see a breakthrough in Catherine's recovery as she hugs Christian tight.

The New Look is available to stream worldwide on Apple TV Plus.

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Claire Crick
Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch

Claire is Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch and has been a journalist for over 15 years, writing about everything from soaps and TV to beauty, entertainment, and even the Royal Family. After starting her career at a soap magazine, she ended up staying for 13 years, and over that time she’s pulled pints in the Rovers Return, sung karaoke in the Emmerdale village hall, taken a stroll around Albert Square, and visited Summer Bay Surf Club in sunny Australia. 

After learning some tricks of the trade at websites Digital Spy, Entertainment Daily, and Woman & Home, Claire landed a role at What’s On TV and whattowatch.com writing about all things TV and film, with a particular love for Aussie soaps, Strictly Come Dancing and Bake Off

She’s interviewed everyone from June Brown — AKA Dot Cotton — to Michelle Keegan, swapped cooking tips with baking legend Mary Berry backstage at the NTAs, and danced the night away with soap stars at countless awards bashes. There’s not a lot she doesn’t know about soaps and TV and can be very handy when a soapy question comes up in a pub quiz! 

As well as all things soap-related, Claire also loves running, spa breaks, days out with her kids, and getting lost in a good book.