Logan Roy’s power cardigans are the star of Succession – every man should have one in their wardrobe
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“I’m a hundred feet tall,” the fictional media magnate Logan Roy tells Kerry, his “friend, assistant, and advisor” (wink wink), in the first episode of Succession season four. “And everyone else is pygmies.”
How to dress such a figure, you may wonder, both high on ego and yet – reality check – more of a stereotypically shorter, older, and plumper billionaire profile?
For Logan (played by Brian Cox) the solution lies in the shawl-collar cardigan, a style popularised by Steve McQueen and Paul Newman, which Esquire magazine once dubbed, suitably, “the Kingliest Sweater”.
Four seasons in, Logan is now synonymous with the knit. During the opening titles of the show, we see an image of Mr Roy from the back. We know immediately that it is him, owing to the cord on his glasses and the high-collar cable knit resting on his hunched shoulders.
It is his preference over a traditional suit – an alpha move that sends a clear message to those who work for him: “I have no need to dress up in tailoring to impress, like you *insert expletives here*.” He’s approaching retirement (and already has the clothes for it) yet this is a business leader who could wield more power than the rest of his family, even from a rocking chair.
Notably Logan’s style of cardie is far from slobby. The ones in his repertoire have many of the features of a smart blazer (some are double-breasted, all have collars) and he usually wears them over a shirt and tie. But they are soft – cashmere, in fact. So he must be… relaxed, right?
Logan Roy is a wolf, in (quadruple ply, merino) sheep’s clothing. But his cut of choice is a classic and flattering one, a style that fans watching on the sofa at home can and should emulate for a fraction of the cost. Whether you choose to deploy the power cardie in the same ruthless manner as he has over the years, of course, is up to you.
Logan's power cardie moves
The captain’s cardie
Season four, episode one
Logan kicks off the new series in a classic all-American look – Ralph Lauren’s cashmere blazer cardigan (£565) worn over a checked shirt by New York designer Paul Stuart. The gold buttons give it a nautical tinge – does he see himself as captain of the ship? He glazes over as he stares out of the penthouse window, rather than engage with a birthday party full of sycophants.
The cuddly wrap
Season one, episode 10
The events in the season one finale will have been difficult for Logan, as a father. He needs to talk sensitively to his son, Kendall, about the waiter who went missing after Shiv and Tom’s wedding. For the occasion he is dressed as a rich teddy bear. But, Kendall, he does know about the manslaughter, so he will blackmail you accordingly now.
The ‘nothing to see here’ knit
Season two, episode three
Logan locks his top team in a Hungarian castle for a psychologically-torturing team-building dinner party – Google his game “Boar on the Floor”, if you need to recap. The morning after, it’s business as usual in a soft beige Loro Piana knit. Did his second wife, Marcia, buy it for him on her (now permanent) shopping trip to Milan?
The not-so-casual attire
Season three, episode four
This episode was named Lion in the Meadow, but fans online also refer lovingly to it as “blood on the beach”. Despite being at war with Kendall, Logan heads to meet a potential investor with him on a private island. Despite being dressed for a walk on the dunes in a pale-blue shirt and navy waffle cardigan, he thrashes through ruthless negotiations and tells his son plainly, “You lost.”
