Seeing Fashion Today – WWD

HBO’s new series “The Gilded Age” delves deeper into 1882 New York City at a time of increasing prosperity, industrial growth, and internal clashes within society as “new money” figures rose ranks among “old money.” equipment.

The HBO show, which comes from “Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes, focuses on a variety of characters played by Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Louisa Jacobson, Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector, and others. The show follows Marian, played by Jacobson (who is Meryl Streep’s daughter) who recently lost her father and moved from rural Pennsylvania to live with her “old money” aunts Ada (played by Nixon) and Agnes (played by Baranski) in New York. York City.

Costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone was tasked with depicting the differences between “new money” and “old money” characters through their period costumes. The costume designer and his team of about 65 patrons scrutinized the Golden Age era—and the time period before and after—to understand the 1882 style to create some 5,000 costumes for the show’s first season.

“There is a strong Parisian influence on women’s fashion in New York and designers like [Charles Frederick] Worth greatly influences what happens on the streets of New York,” said Walicka-Maimone. “So the ladies of the ‘new money’ and royalty quickly brought Parisian fashion and European fashion to the streets of New York.”

Walicka-Maimone states that most of the fabrics are sourced from Rome, Paris or London or made in show costume houses. Some antique materials were used — Walicka-Maimone used some antique lace and antique jewelry — because they were too fragile to form into a tight bodice dress.

The difference between the “old money” and “new money” characters can be seen from the types of fabrics, colors and ornaments on the costumes. The character of Bertha Russell (played by Coon) is the most prominent “new money” character.

Russell is the wife of a railroad tycoon and recently moved her family to an “old money” neighborhood that didn’t accept her. Her costume clashed with her neighbours, with Russell favoring heavy ornamentation, prominent headdresses, and bright colors.

“He tried to be the grand dame of all the grand dames,” said Walicka-Maimone. “He’s not trying to break away from society, he’s just trying to be a better version of the old society. I try to make a subtle distinction between the costume and the ‘old money’. The silhouette is the same — no one dared to break the silhouette — but with Bertha, she’s more into fashion these days.”

Walicka-Maimone explains that, through historical research, his team saw that “new money” figures often embrace the current fashions of European homes, while “old money” families will buy the same clothes, but keep them until one day. these trends and styles will eventually reach the US This reflects the desire of “new money” figures to set trends and be bolder, while also reinforcing the practice of “old money” figures to stick to what is traditional.

Russell’s costume is in stark contrast to the “old money” main characters Agnes and Ada, who both sport monochromatic gem colors, with the former regularly wearing shades of purple and blue while the latter sporting gold, orange and red. Walicka-Maimone described her aunt’s dress as “heavy ornate fabric that is at the same time very elegant, discreet and never too harsh,” but which also evokes “a richness of history in every element” such as embroidery or depth of color.

While the show’s main character, Marian, comes from an “old money” family, her costumes don’t always match that style, nor do they fit into the “new money” style. Since Marian is new to the city, her style reflects how she absorbs new people and experiences around her.

“She had this wonderfully beautiful sense of a girl who came from a small town and then she landed in New York among the world’s superpowers who were very established with very classic values,” explains Walicka-Maimone. “And then he caught a glimpse of Bertha, who was across the street. [Marian] exposed to all of it and at the same time he absorbs it all and he creates his own vocabulary.”

Walicka-Maimone describes the character’s style as a mix of “old money” and “new money”, with Marian liking pastel yellows and blues, light fabrics, lace and florals. Her style is also meant to reflect her newfound independence and how she tries to carve a place for herself between these two worlds.

For all the characters, color plays a huge role in advancing everyone’s story and narrative. Walicka-Maimone explains that there are certain colors reserved for certain characters, such as gem colors for aunts and pastel colors for Marian, and these colors are used strategically.

“We are all coded for color response,” he explains. “We know that color carries a lot more information than just what you might call color. It carries a lot of information. I wouldn’t put Marian in a gem tone. That’s not the character. He was young and innocent and he was a breath of fresh air that appeared in the house. Bertha, we treat those colors symbolically. Her husband is in charge of the railroads, so the idea of ​​steel and things shining, all of that is coded into the character.

Overall, Walicka-Maimone said the costumes served as a representation of the world at the time and continued the narrative and divisions between the characters.

“[The costumes] improve storytelling,” he said. “It was always our job as a design team to represent the underlying story of each character. I think you feel it just by looking at people and recognizing each character.”

READ MORE HERE:

Best Fashion Moment in ‘And Just Like That’

‘Euphoria’ Season Two Leans on Fantastic Fashion

Donni Davy Talks About ‘Emotional Glam’ Makeup in ‘Euphoria’ Season Two