Ep. 46 - Costumes That Bring History to Life: A Conversation with Costume Maker Eric Winterling
Eric Winterling with actor Kelly Curran for her fitting for her role as Enid Winterton in THE GILDED AGE (HBO) with costumes designed by Kasia Walicka-Maimone. Rachel Brosnahan as Midge Maisel in the final season of THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (Amazon Studios) with costumes by Emmy award-winning designer Donna Zakowska.
In episode 46 we talk with ERIC WINTERLING about making costumes for two popular series set in New York City in widely different time periods. THE GILDED AGE (HBO) and THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (Amazon Studios) have dazzled historical drama watchers and series fans with their show-stopper fashions. Eric’s New York City costume studio, Eric Winterling, Inc. is where the period garments are constructed from designs by Kasia Walicka-Maimone for THE GILDED AGE; and Donna Zakowska, Emmy award winning designer for THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL.
THE GILDED AGE accentuates elegant “old money” details in the 1880s day dresses of the Van Rhijn women, as well as the elaborate ball gowns paraded inside the ostentatious “new money” home of Bertha Russell. And in the New York of the 1950s and 60s, Midge Maisel’s day and evening wear signal her transition from a stylish homemaker and mother to a glamorous rising stand-up comic star.
Guest: ERIC WINTERLING - Founder and Creative Director, Eric Winterling, Inc.
Eric Winterling received a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater from Temple University and after graduation was the resident costume designer for the Houston Grand Opera.
During his tenure at Houston Grand Opera, Eric realized that his greatest interest was in the interpretation of design renderings, leading him to focus on the construction of costumes.
After a move to New York City, and a stint in a costume shop there, Eric was able to realize his dream of opening his own studio, Eric Winterling, Inc. in 1990.
Eric believes, first and foremost, that costumes stay true to and support the story being told, and his shop provides the resources, feedback, and space to bring the designer’s vision to life.
Eric Winterling directs a talented team of master drapers, dressmakers and stitchers who construct each costume by hand with unwavering attention to detail and quality. In addition to custom dressmaking, Eric Winterling’s in-house team are experts in beading and embroidery, fabric dyeing, costume aging, tailoring and sourcing.
Eric Winterling, Inc.’s work encompasses theater, musicals and dance, opera, ballet, films, television and streaming, and commercial advertising.
Eric’s custom costumes for the screen include
THE POST featuring Meryl Streep as Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham; and the Netflix film adaptation of August Wilson’s play MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (Podcast Episode 7). Costumes designed by Ann Roth
HARRIET, a biopic about Harriet Tubman with costumes designed by Paul Tazewell
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (Amazon Prime), which won an Emmy for costume designer Donna Zakowska in 2019 and THE GILDED AGE (HBO) from the creator of DOWNTON ABBEY, Julian Fellowes, with costumes by Kasia Walicka-Maimone
Source: Eric Winterling, Inc.
You can see many more custom costumes made by Eric Winterling Inc. on their website | Instagram
Program Note:
Bumpers also joins us on the podcast for the conversation.
See Eric Winterling, Inc.’s work in trailers for season 2 of THE GILDED AGE and the final season of THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL
THE GILDED AGE Season 2
HBO’s THE GILDED AGE Season 2 trailer
Created and written by Julian Fellowes (DOWNTON ABBEY), THE GILDED AGE is set in the year 1882 in New York City. The series dramatizes the tensions between old money New York Society and the new money of the industrial barons who rose to power after the Civil War. Season 1 premiered in January 2022.
In Season 2 of THE GILDED AGE, Bertha Russell inches toward a leading role in society, Marian Brook starts teaching, Ada Brook begins a new courtship, and Peggy Scott taps into her activist spirit. (Source: Warner Media)
Streaming on MAX
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (Season 5)
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL from renowned creator Amy Sherman-Palladino (GILMORE GIRLS) and Executive Producer Daniel Palladino (FAMILY GUY), written and directed by Sherman-Palladino and Palladino, stars Golden Globe winner Rachel Brosnahan as Miriam “Midge” Maisel, a 1958 New York City woman who has everything she’s ever wanted—the perfect husband, two kids, and an elegant Upper West Side apartment perfect for hosting Yom Kippur dinner. But her perfect life suddenly takes an unexpected turn and Midge discovers a previously unknown talent—one that changes her life forever. In the fifth and final season, Midge finds herself closer than ever to the success she's dreamed of, only to discover that closer than ever is still so far away.
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL also stars Golden Globe winner and three-time Emmy winner Tony Shalhoub as Midge’s father Abe Weissman, Alex Borstein as Susie Myerson, Michael Zegen as Midge’s husband Joel Maisel and Marin Hinkle as Midge’s mother Rose Weissman. (Source: Amazon Studios)
Streaming on Amazon Prime