By Marisa Laudadio
6:24am PST, Jan 25, 2022
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On Jan. 24, 2022, HBO debuted "The Gilded Age," a new period drama from "Downton Abbey" creator Julian Fellowes. Join Wonderwall.com as we look at some of the incredible costumes on the new series and learn a little about the characters who find themselves in the midst of a new money vs. old money society war in 1880s New York City. Let's start with these characters… "Poldark" actor Harry Richardson plays recent Harvard graduate Larry Russell, Louisa Jacobson (Meryl Streep's youngest daughter in her television debut!) plays the lead — penniless but connected Marian Brook — and "American Horror Story" actress Taissa Farmiga plays wealthy young heiress Gladys Russell, Larry's little sister, on season 1 of the 2022 HBO drama "The Gilded Age."
Keep reading to see more costumes and find out who's playing whom…
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Cynthia Nixon plays Ada Brook, the unmarried sister of Christine Baranski's Agnes van Rhijn, on season 1 of the 2022 HBO drama "The Gilded Age." Polish costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone, who trained at the Fashion Institute of Technology, designed the looks on "The Golden Age." She's previously worked on "Moonrise Kingdom," "The Goldfinch," "Bridge of Spies," "Moneyball," "The Adjustment Bureau," "Capote" and more.
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Carrie Coon plays wealthy Bertha Russell, whose millionaire new money husband, George Russell, is played by Morgan Spector on season 1 of the 2022 HBO period drama "The Gilded Age." The show's costume designer, Kasia Walicka-Maimone, told Tatler she took a "modern approach to the period" in which the show — which kicks off in 1882 — is set. "I'm always absolutely faithful to the silhouette of a period and the social consequences of every choice made. But at the same time, I felt I needed to filter our modern perception of that period into the outfits, to inject our understanding of what is truly exciting," she explained. She prepared by studying the "structures, colors and art of the time, but it was a matter of reconfiguring the colors and geometry of the shapes and taking what was powerful from that period, which was organic draping and small waists and intense femininity," she said, adding, "I wanted to take those things and play with them. Each costume is based in historical reality but everything is slightly enhanced to create an exciting dimension."
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Louisa Jacobson plays Marian Brook, a penniless young woman from an old Pennsylvania family who goes to New York City to live with her wealthy aunts when her father dies, and Denée Benton plays Peggy Scott, an ambitious young writer raised in Brooklyn and educated at the prestigious Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia — who soon finds herself working for Marian's family — on episode 1 of season 1 of HBO's 2022 drama series "The Gilded Age." Costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone told Tatler that during the real Gilded Age period, which covered the last few decades of the 1800s, "there was this incredibly powerful influx of money and wealth, there was exploration of fashion at that time with which ladies presented themselves on the street and into society; it was a spectacular fashion extravaganza." She added that "there was incredible excitement at the time but, also, there was a very complex social structure with a huge discrepancy between the wealthy and the poor and it was my job to project that."
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Taissa Farmiga plays Gladys Russell, the daughter of Carrie Coon's new money social climber Bertha Russell, on season 1 of the 2022 HBO period drama "The Gilded Age."
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Christine Baranski plays Agnes van Rhijn, a proud and stubborn old money aristocrat who refuses to accept that the world is changing, on episode 1 of season 1 of the 2022 HBO period drama "The Gilded Age."
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Cynthia Nixon plays Ada Brook, Agnes van Rhijn's spinster sister who must rely on her widowed sibling's charity, on episode 1 of season 1 of HBO's 2022 period drama "The Gilded Age."
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Audra McDonald plays Dorothy Scott, an accomplished pianist who's estranged from daughter Peggy, on episode 1 of season 1 of HBO's 2022 drama series "The Gilded Age."
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Kelli O'Hara plays Aurora Fane, Agnes van Rhijn's niece by marriage who takes Marian Brook under her wing and helps her make her entrance into New York society on episode 2 of season 1 of HBO's 2022 drama series "The Gilded Age."
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Donna Murphy plays Mrs. Astor, the most prominent American socialite of the time, on episode 2 of season 1 of HBO's 2022 drama series "The Gilded Age."
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Carrie Coon plays wealthy New York City socialite Bertha Russell on episode 1 of season 1 of the 2022 HBO drama "The Gilded Age."
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Morgan Spector plays George Russell, a ruthless-in-business millionaire on episode 1 of season 1 of the 2022 HBO period drama "The Gilded Age."
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Amy Forsyth plays Caroline "Carrie" Astor, the daughter of one of the most powerful women in New York City, alongside Ashlie Atkinson, who plays socialite Mamie Fish, and and Harry Richardson, who plays Larry Russell, a recent Harvard graduate form a new money family, on episode 1 of season 1 of the 2022 HBO period drama series "The Gilded Age."
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Jeanne Tripplehorn plays Sylvia Chamberlain, an enigmatic art collector who's excluded from high society until Marian shows her kindness on season 1 of the 2022 HBO period drama "The Gilded Age."
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Louisa Jacobson plays Marian Brook, a penniless but lovely young woman from an old Pennsylvania family who goes to New York City to live with her aunts, Agnes van Rhijn and Ada Brook, on episode 1 of season 1 of the 2022 HBO period drama "The Gilded Age."
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Taylor Richardson plays Irish maid, Bridget; Debra Monk plays Mrs. van Rhijn's maid, Armstrong; Simon Jones plays Bannister, the van Rhijn's butler; and Ben Ahlers plays Jack Treacher, a footman, hall boy and jack of all trades in the van Rhijn home on episode 1 of season 1 of the 2022 HBO period drama "The Gilded Age."
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Christine Baranski plays old money aristocrat Agnes van Rhijn, Louisa Jacobson plays her penniless niece, Marian Brook, Cynthia Nixon plays Agnes's unmarried sister, Ada Brook and Denée Benton plays ambitious young writer Peggy Scott on episode 1 of season 1 of HBO's 2022 period drama "The Gilded Age."
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Louisa Jacobson plays Marian Brook, a penniless young woman from an old Pennsylvania family who goes to New York City to live with a wealthy aunt, and Denée Benton plays Peggy Scott, a young, ambitious writer who was raised in New York and educated at the prestigious Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia, on episode 1 of season 1 of HBO's 2022 drama series "The Gilded Age."
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Denée Benton plays Peggy Scott, a young, ambitious writer who was raised in New York and educated at the prestigious Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia, on episode 1 of season 1 of HBO's 2022 drama series "The Gilded Age."
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Blake Ritson plays Oscar van Rhijn, Agnes's charismatic son who's looking to marry an heiress — and harboring a secret — on season 1 of the 2022 HBO period drama "The Gilded Age."
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Claybourne Elder plays John Adams, Oscar van Rhijn's very close friend, on season 1 of the 2022 HBO period drama "The Gilded Age."
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Harry Richardson plays recent Harvard graduate Larry Russell and Louisa Jacobson plays penniless but connected Marian Brook on episode 1 of season 1 of the 2022 HBO drama "The Gilded Age."
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Christine Baranski plays old money socialite Agnes van Rhijn and Carrie Coon plays new money social climber Bertha Russell on season 1 of the 2022 HBO period drama "The Gilded Age."
