Where the ‘Succession’ stealth wealth style misses the mark

Salesforce chief executive and owner of Time magazine Marc Benioff has a fondness for loud sneakers. Lapo Elkann, part of Italy’s wealthy Agnelli family, which has shares in The Economist, wears flamboyant suits and owns a fashion brand.

Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos mostly sticks to a monochromatic wardrobe worthy of Kendall Roy, but has stepped out in an eye-catching jacquard dinner jacket. Last month Bezos joined his girlfriend Laura Sanchez, in a dress detailed with belts, at the Versace runway show in Los Angeles. The dress does not come in beige.

Even members of the Murdoch family enjoy playing with fashion. Rupert Murdoch’s granddaughter Charlotte Freud is fond of wearing punk-inspired bomber jackets and goth girl dresses from Selkie to promote her music, released under the name Tiarlie.

These unexpected fashion fans with fortunes are closer to the style zeitgeist than the Roys, according to luxury retailer Eva Galambos. At her Sydney boutique Parlour X, Galambos sells creative pieces from Jacquemus, Courrèges and Mugler to wealthy clients who baulk at the idea of a plain oatmeal turtleneck jumper.

“People look at Succession as the return of stealth wealth dressing, but I don’t see that,” Galambos says. “I’ve just returned from Paris and that’s not where fashion is headed, with wide shoulders, baggy pants, colour and prints.”

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“When I look at Succession I see the clothes as just another character in a show filled with unlikeable people. Most of these people aren’t confident, and they’re second-guessing themselves. The women in Succession don’t seem to have power and the clothes reflect that. They’re conservative and it’s a message that’s almost anti-feminist.”

“You can wear a suit and be powerful, and that suit can have wide padded shoulders and come in a bold green.”

The response to last week’s episode of Succession supports Galambos’ trend forecast. When a “ludicrously capacious” Burberry bag in a distinctive plaid was derided by one of the main characters for missing the stealth style mark, the take-down went viral.

Virtual fitting company 3DLook conducted an analysis of Google search interest for “Burberry Tote Bag” showing that it had increased by 310 per cent since the episode. Searches for “Burberry handbag” and “Burberry tote bag” increased by 180 per cent and 25 per cent.

Those are the type of figures that might even satisfy Logan Roy.

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