Someone hated this so much he or she went through and gave everyone who liked it a "not useful." Nothing should inspire that much hate - nothing nonhuman, anyway.
"The Collection" from Amazon is a series starring Richard Coyle, Tom Riley, Mamie Gummer, and Frances de la Tour. Set in post-war Paris, Paul Sabine runs a fashion house with the goal of bringing glamour back to Paris and to bring the fashion center of the world back there as well.
His brother, Claude, is the actual designer of the fashions, and the arrangement is that to the public, Paul is the designer and his brother stays in the background. They both barely tolerate their overbearing mother, Yvette, a conniving and manipulative woman.
There are several subplots, the main one being Claude's dalliance with a sailor that leaves him badly beaten and leads to all sorts of trouble for the fashion house. There is also a reporter (Stanley Townsend) digging around for information on what Paul Sabine did during the war. A worker turned model, Nina (Jenna Thiam) has a secret, as does the right hand of the house, Charlotte (Alix Poisson). Meanwhile, Paul's wife (Mamie Gummer) attempts to hold onto her husband and mollify Claude.
For some reason, when a series involving fashion is done - The Time in Between, Velvet, as two examples - the era chosen is post-war. The clothing is dazzling in this, and there's mystery, family dynamics, and intrigue present as well. The first season ends on a real cliffhanger.
There's nothing not to love.
I do have one quibble regarding another review on the site. People who live in France and who are French are speaking French. They are not speaking English with a French accent, which is a reason why many of these actors, who are British, speak with British accents. It doesn't matter. They're speaking French.
I read this complaint that the actors don't have the proper accents time and time again about old films, where so many of the '30s and '40s films are set in other countries. In Chekov's plays, the characters are speaking Russian, but outside of Russia, the plays are performed in other languages. Should those people be speaking with Russian accents?
The acting is uniformly good in "The Collection," with Frances de la Tour a standout, though the two brothers, played by Coyle and Riley, are wonderful. Another actress, Poppy Corby-Tuech, who plays Dominique, is exquisitely beautiful. Mamie Gummer rocks her elegant outfits and is excellent as Paul's unhappy wife. And as the desperate model Nina, Jenna Thiam gives a sympathetic performance.
Highly recommended. Can't wait for season 2.
