The Glory

“The Glory has a propulsive energy that swiftly moves through what might otherwise be rote, obvious bullet points in the early lives of both of these figures, filling every scene with a tonally consistent, wry, even sarcastic humor that never grates.”

–The Black List

Synopsis

THE GLORY is a dramatic television series inspired by the​ complicated friendship / rivalry between Yves Saint Laurent​ and Karl Lagerfeld as they each rise to the pinnacle of​ global fashion success. Set against the backdrop of France’s​ tumultuous, decadent, bloody — and heretofore rarely depicted​ in the English language — post-war decades, the series uses​ these fashion visionaries as windows into the social,​ political and economic issues with which the Western world​ continues struggles with today.

Season One (or limited series) takes place between 1955​fand 1972.​ Set in Paris and Algeria, it follows the young designers early friendship as 20-something gay men from provincial backwaters, come to Paris to live their big city dreams. For Yves, it is​ a​ supersonic rise to fame and fortune when Christian Dior dies​ suddenly from a heart attack (a result of his eating​ disorder) and is crowned as head of the most famous couture​ house in the world. However, his charmed life comes to an​ abrupt end when his homeland of Algeria descends into a​ bloody, intractable war of independence from France. Saint​ Laurent, at age 23 is the most famous French-Algerian since​ Camus, and is drafted into the French army to fight for the​ remnants of a broken and deeply racist empire.

Meanwhile, Lagerfeld struggles with the more relatable​challenges of being smarter and harder-working than his​superiors and constantly coming to odds with people who​cannot, or will not see any writing on any wall,​ specifically, the fashion industry’s inevitable turn from​ couture to ready-to-wear. He is also hopeless with​ relationships,​constantly allowing pretty young things to use​ him for his money, intelligence, and growing influence in the​ bel monde. This is due in part to his severe and abusive childhood in Germany. A loving, but VERY difficult mother​ looms LARGE.​ 

After Yves has a nervous breakdown in army boot camp and is​ committed to a mental asylum, he emerges with his “loyal”​ partner, Pierre Berge, who is able to nurse him back to​ health and also help him start his own fashion house, YSL,​ which quickly becomes a huge success. Karl, too, while not​ famous outside of the fashion world, is becoming extremely​ wealthy as a “stylist” and a force in European fashion.​ The revolution of Mai ‘68 topples an entire government, but​ socialism and free love quickly give way to decadence, drugs,​ sex, glamour and a nightlife that puts the NYC disco era to​ shame. As Season 1 ends in the early 1970s, Yves and Karl​ have become notorious frenemies, each ruling over their own​ fashion fiefdoms. Rare are the people who are allowed to​ travel between camps. But there would be one man, a beautiful​ young aristocrat named Jacques de Bascher, who would come​ between the great men like nothing had before.​

Narrated by the 20th century’s most visionary fashion editor,​ Diana Vreeland, THE GLORY is a fresh swim through the alchemy​ of art and commerce, the complicated and violent struggles of​ class and race, and the joys and traumas of following your​ dreams.

P.S. I wrote this 2020-2022. The opening historical vignette is Marie Antoinette’s execution, set to a jaunty anachronistic tune, which “coincidentally” was the opening scene in Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, which also used similar anachronistic music. I use scare quotes because Ridley’s assistant, who was working on Napoleon at the time, read my script in 2021 and commented on how much he liked my opening. Just saying!

Word on the Street

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The whole script has a lovely, lively pop energy, from its Diana Vreeland narration to its always-moving soundtrack. It's a great, knowing way into telling a story about this era of fashion and it covers up the need for the cliches of biopic-structure such as famous historical figures announcing who they are by full name to one another. It has a propulsive energy that swiftly moves through what might otherwise be rote, obvious bullet points in the early lives of both of these figures, filling every scene with a tonally consistent, wry, even sarcastic humor that never grates. It introduces a broad ensemble of historical figures and new creations and enlivens each of them with singular voices. But it also does so cleanly and clearly and doesn't overwhelm the story at hand, allowing the drama to consistently float back to young Yves' coming-of-age. There's a strong biopic hiding within this television pilot.