The fourth season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel kicks off on Prime Video on February 18. Ahead of the new season, the cast of the beloved show recently held a skate night at The Winter Village at Bryant Park in New York City to talk to the press about the coming season. The cast spoke to me about the costumes designed by the show’s costume designer Donna Zakowska, and how each outfit informs each character.
Rachel Brosnahan, who plays Miriam ‘Midge’ Maisel
“In the first scene of season four, she is stripping away her previous life and starting this brand new chapter. We’re dabbling in the 1960s patterns and colors. It was important to our costume designer Donna Zakowska didn’t do a caricature of 1960s fashion. We acknowledged things didn’t change overnight. We were able to bring the fashion-forward qualities onscreen. There’s a lot of plaid. When I put on these custom-designed dresses, I feel like the luckiest person. I don’t feel like I know who Midge is until I put the costume on. I don’t know where she’s at and the whole look is coming together. Donna is a brilliant storyteller. When I put on her clothing, I have a clearer understanding of what we’re approaching.”
Michael Zegen, who plays Joel Maisel
“This season, I get to wear some really cool suits. I’m the owner of this club now. A lot of the women get most of the attention, and rightly so, they have amazing dresses. Donna Zakowska is our costume designer, she just wrote a book that just came out. They made all these suits for me, fitted, all these colors lined all of which have. I’m a hair actor, it starts with the hair. Actor Lawrence Olivier once said he was a shoe or nose actor, one of those. Yes of course they put you in that era. It already feels like time travel, but when you put those suits on, that’ sit.
Caroline Aaron, who plays Caroline Maisel
“Have you ever seen costumes like that in your life? Everything was selected for each character, the fabrics are all authentic. She draws everything. She told me there are no glove makers, shoe makers or hat makers any longer in Manhattan, they used to be everywhere. She had to outsource them to Europe. She created internships for apprenticeships for Europeans to come to New York for a year. The craftsmanship for fashion on the show makes you appreciate it. How hats and gloves are artefacts from that era. They’re sort of treasures.
Marin Hinkle, who plays Rose Weissman
“Everything on the show is custom made. For Rose, all of her hats and coats, what was really interesting for this season, was diving into color because now its the 1960s. We got to have some ideas on more masculinity and her more fragile, and at times, trying to be the head of the house—we dealt with pants for the first time. When I wore pants on-set, I felt like a new character. For the era, it was unusual. We some of the youth on the show, but not the women of Rose Weissman’s generation.”
