Much has been said about the way Succession’s characters dress. From Shiv’s relaxed power suits to the faux pas of the nouveau riche (á la Bridget, Cousin Greg’s date from the season four premiere), the show’s set design and costumes signpost character development, foreshadow events and even underscore certain characters’ relationships with the rest of the Roy family.
In episode three, all three elements were on full display. Titled Connor’s Wedding, much of the episode takes place on board the boat that Connor Roy has chartered for his wedding to escort Willa.
It’s supposed to be a day of celebration that ends up being anything but, and the show’s set design and costumes reflect this. Long live the ‘depressing wedding’ aesthetic: surely the new trend for America’s 1 per cent.
The outfits
Who wears black to a wedding? Sure, in New York it’s perhaps more common than elsewhere (understatedly chic) but in this quantity it still screams ‘funeral’. Shiv, Kendall and Roman show up to Connor’s big day wearing the colour, which seems a bit insulting on a day of celebration - though of course, their choice proves to be remarkably prescient.
While most of the main characters go for rather pared-down, ultra-casual looks (neither Kendall nor Roman wear a tie, for instance, and both sport rather scruffy stubble) the one outlier has to be Gerri, whose all-grey ensemble reflects the unstable situation she finds herself in when the episode begins. Her massive fascinator, heavy necklace and jewelled belt mark her out from the start as an outsider – a position that only becomes more apparent as the episode progresses.
With such an abundance of monochrome, the overall feeling of the day (gloomy, as per the weather) seems set from the start. Even the groom is wearing black, with a boutonniere that looks like it had been bought from a fancy dress shop. Though the day was ostensibly all about his wedding, we only get one glimpse of Willa’s (rather lovely) wedding dress towards the end. Depressing? Just a bit.
The venue
Connor’s dream of getting married by the Statue of Liberty seems almost within reach – until, of course, his father ruins his big day by dying (so inconsiderate, so Logan).
That said, the boat Connor hires for the big day seemed more suited to a corporate event than a celebration. Most of the rooms aren’t decorated, and the interior where the Roy siblings ultimately gather to process the news of their father’s death is decked out in wood-and-leathe, strongly reminiscent of a boardroom.
Not for Connor the Instagram aesthetic of artfully arranged hanging plants and rustic wedding cakes: this is minimalism for the 1 per cent.
The corridors are starkly white, the corners are dark and even the tables arranged around the boat are covered in huge white cloths that seem more reminiscent of dust coverings or (whisper it) shrouds. Everything else (the guests’ clothes, the walls, the hangings) is decked out in shades of tasteful but soulless beige.
That’s not to say there aren’t any decorations, but sporadically-placed floral arrangements, a few random wall hangings and some rosettes in the colours of the American flag (surely a half-arsed and misplaced attempt to nod to Connor’s political hopes; as we find out, he has invited the press to his big day in an attempt to whip up a bit more publicity) does not a wedding make.
When the camera zooms out, the overall effect is one of greyness. The sepia filter doesn’t help either, making everything seem that little bit more washed out. The perfect setting, in other words, for the Roy siblings’ cataclysmic day.
