‘Stealth Wealth’ and Bare Feet: how power is dressed in ‘Succession’

Table Followers Styles discussions about the clothing worn in “Succession” (as well as a number of social media accounts) know how obsessively fans have tracked down and dissected the character’s cardigans, caps, shoes, watches, and on occasion, character personas. unlucky bags.

On Sunday, the show comes to a close, and thus a final record with Michelle Matland, the Emmy-nominated costume designer responsible for creating a 21st-century version of Machiavellian elegance and inadvertently spurring the “stealth wealth” genre of fashion, it seems in order. In an interview edited below, reached on the set of a new series, Ms. Matland, whose credits include ”The Girl on the Train” and ”Angels in America,” spoke about dressing up some of the most tortured characters. despicable and convincing. television characters.

Looking back, could you have predicted where this show would take you?

you never do. Jesse Armstrong wrote an incredibly brilliant story, but I’m not sure he knew where it was going. I never asked him. The one constant was the trajectory of each character, and over the seasons, they developed plot lines and these inherent qualities that you couldn’t have anticipated.

And it must have been an unusual challenge for a designer, since the setting is contemporary and the wardrobe of the characters doesn’t read like costumes.

We weren’t doing “Wicked,” but it’s costumes. It is the clothes, but also the costumes that create a veneer for the characters. I’m only a small part of the narrative, but the job is to help emphasize the characteristics that these characters have. And the gist of that is starting with where they lived, where they went to college, where they went to high school. Those are questions I ask on every test. I don’t care if you’re playing waiter. We do not draw lines. We help authenticate the actors and that makes them real to an audience.

How is that?

I trained with (five-time Oscar-winning costume designer) Ann Roth, and what she does is help actors find their way into their characters. When we did “Julie & Julia,” Meryl Streep was playing this amazing 6-foot woman, a historical icon. When Meryl showed up for the audition, Ann put seven-inch heels on her and immediately her stance changed. Her chin and her shoulders moved. She became Julia. In “Midnight Cowboy,” Ann removed the heels from Dustin Hoffman’s shoes so she could walk.

But Julia Child was a real person. The Roys are fictional. The dressing room deceives us into thinking otherwise.

I would love to agree, but my humility does not allow me. Between the writer, the actor, the costumes and the prop people, there are so many that make the story happen. It’s not always organic, but essentially you’re there to help the actor develop a profile and inhabit the role.

Where do you start?

Always the shoes. Start at the bottom and grow the character from there. Shoes are the most important item of clothing on a person’s body. They tell you everything. It’s like you ever fall in love with a guy and then you see the shoes and you realize, Oh, this isn’t going to work.

I’m not sure I timed the shoes. But no one missed Lukas Matsson’s bare feet, which are also costumes I guess.

The goal of Matsson’s character was to be the antithesis of everything the Roys emulate. They represent money. They represent wealth. They represent position and posture. He goes shoeless because he sees himself as super cool. He’s trying to stand out as this unique phenomenon. It’s money in sweatpants and no shoes, money in a Sleeveless.

It is a disorienting image. By contrast, Jeremy Strong, in his portrayal of Kendall Roy, changed when he began to inhabit the power he inherited when his father, Logan, died.

The point is to use the costumes in a way that doesn’t disturb the narrative. I don’t expect anyone to pay attention to what the characters are wearing.

Since the show is credited with kickstarting the “quiet luxury” trend, that didn’t work out so well.

I think the “hidden wealth” trend, or whatever, was created by someone’s enthusiasm. I’m not so sure it’s real. In the dressing room, though, the fun is telling the difference between the Nan Pierces of the world and the Roys. Nan (the matriarch and head of a media conglomerate that rivals the Roy family’s Waystar Royco) is old money. She absolutely doesn’t give a (expletive) about clothes. She doesn’t know what Loro Piana is. She wouldn’t walk into a Brunello Cucinelli store even if you paid her. When Cherry Jones as Nan walks in with that striped thing and scarf, she looks like she just came from gardening.

His clothing is a “saying” for his class.

The Pierces are the tallest. The Roys are slightly below that.

Kendall became progressively less casual as the season progressed.

Jeremy has a history of being very polite as to who a character is. He inhabits it. Lots of actors do it, but some know more about the nuances.

The famous $625 cashmere Loro Piana cap?

Our job is always to follow the lead of the actors and figure out what makes sense for the story. I am not there to prevent or dictate. And we didn’t always know where the story line was going to go; I’m usually as surprised as anyone. I didn’t even watch the funeral episode until yesterday.

An example of good wardrobe is when a viewer barely notices that the clergy on the show aren’t real.

It was great to have the opportunity to do all this amazing administrative research, which added so much finesse. And we had to find suppliers. Where do you go for these things? It’s not like we live in Rome.

All you had to do for Kendall was walk down Madison Avenue.

It’s great that Jeremy is so knowledgeable about clothes. And I really trusted him, because Kendall is the last man standing.

Wait. Do we need to issue a spoiler alert?

I don’t mean anything related to the plot or who is taking charge of anything. I say that as an actor who is on set and is always the last one to stand in front of the camera. Actors have to own their character and their presence and their clothes.