What I don't understand is how they're trying to sell Daryl in the spin off. You could see a change starting in S11. His shirts got tighter and somehow, he looked more "styled" than in earlier seasons. They definitely tried to make him the male sex symbol but in the spin off, which was supposed to market him as the lone hero who's getting all the girls like James Bond, he looks rough, dirty and is definitely unflattering clothes. He doesn't look like the same man.
Is this intentional? Because as sad as it is, he lost his appeal. I'm not talking about the coat or the skinny scarf but his whole persona. And it's not the unusual and unassuming sexy look he had in earlier season which was a specific type.
Why did they choose the wardrobe, why the hairstyle? What mightve been their intention? From interviews they clearly wanted him to be the hero and Norman mentioned the hero has a love interest but why did they style him like the drunk uncle Luke?
That's what it looks like when you let the actor decide what the character should wear. Normally, the showrunner and costume designer discuss the vision for a cohesive look for the upcoming season in pre-production. There will be sketches, mood boards, fabric swatches, color palettes, etc. For this type of show, set design would also play a role because the setting (zombie post-apocalyptic horror in France) would affect what kind of clothing the characters wear.
I'd like to sincerely apologize to all French people for what Zabel did, imagining that you haven't progressed beyond the inter-war era and generally proving that he's just as ignorant as the stereotype of the 'stupid American.' It looks like he'll do worse by the Spaniards—how is that even possible?—by turning them into the Wild West. (I'm genuinely scared of S3 looking like settlers vs. Native Americans with all parts played by actors from one of the earlier occupying nations of the American Southwest.) Not all EPs are like Elmer Fudd.
In S1-2, Daryl looked like a dirty old man in his trench coat, which definitely isn't the look anyone strives for in a leading man, but I think Norman's aim could've been casual 60's rive gauche intellectual? It doesn't fit the character, but it also falls short of that mark too. It's just a bad mix of elements which don't work individually or together. The hair is definitely all Norman and I'm pretty sure Louis was cast because he has the texture and length that Norman wishes he had.
The rest of the show was mostly a cohesive WWII look with everything from Genet's menacing pseudo-SS apparel to Anna's lounge singer outfits and Isabelle's sensible 'SOE operative on the run' costumes, along with Carol's take on bomber pilot attire. Apart from the suspenders, Daryl is the odd one out and that's not normal for a show.
I know there was a lot of petulant complaints about wearing the CW soldier getup during S11 of the flagship show and that's why we seldom saw Daryl in uniform. It's possible that the costume designer for DarDix threw up their hands in surrender because Zabel would've sided with Norman and not his head of costuming. I don't think he understands the importance of clothes in storytelling, or that the showrunner is supposed to respect all the people who work for him.
I have another ask (on target audiences) which is relevant to what you're asking here, so once I get another chance to sit down and reply to something, you could check out that post for a more 'big picture' answer to your ask.
The shorter answer is that Norman wanted to look this way and ultimately, it wasn't a fight worth having. I assume he thinks "drunk uncle Luke" looks attractive and/or that's the look that appeals to his fiancée, so Norman has extrapolated from that that all women will find it sexy. The aloof, unkempt persona is a misguided choice and hypothetically, he might be styling it on the action heroes of the 70's, like Clint Eastwood, who played taciturn hard men. A male hero for emotionally repressed men (the uncle Lukes around us) who don't want to worry about personal hygiene.
