Cover Power women in print: a female corporate leader wearing a suit. (Photo: generated by Google Gemini)
Power women in print: a female corporate leader wearing a suit. (Photo: generated by Google Gemini)
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From quiet luxury to high-contrast tailored armour and power suits, here are our picks of the iconic fashion strategies and commanding looks of female bosses on the small screen
Costume design in television dramas and comedies functions as a visual strategy to communicate authority, negotiate corporate hierarchies, and project professional status. In corporate environments—where executive presence is closely monitored—wardrobe choices serve as a form of non-verbal communication. For women in executive roles, this visual negotiation carries specific stakes; and across boardroom dramas and comedies, these female corporate leaders frequently navigate a narrow margin between authority and approachability, using tailoring as both protection and leverage.
Here are our picks of iconic TV characters who utilise tailoring, colour, and structure to establish credibility and exercise power within their respective industries. Their fashion traces how different corporate archetypes deploy precise tailoring, colour palettes, and calculated silhouettes to navigate the power dynamics of modern organisations.
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1. Jessica Pearson (Suits)
As the managing partner of a top-tier New York corporate law firm, Pearson avoids traditional, boxy tailoring. She utilises architectural designer dresses with asymmetrical necklines, structured capes, and high-contrast pencil skirts to project dominance.
- Notable quote: “I don’t respond to threats. I make them.”
Pearson establishes firm boundaries in Season 3, Episode 1 (“The Arrangement”) against opponents trying to leverage her position. - The look: Pearson confronts her colleague Harvey in a tailored grey suit dress with a defined, asymmetric neckline resembling lapels.
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2. Siobhan “Shiv” Roy (Succession)
The only daughter of media magnate Logan Roy, Roy transitions from political consultant to corporate contender vying for pole position at her family's sprawling conglomerate, Waystar Royco. Re-entering her family's business, she adopts a wardrobe that prioritises premium, logo-free garments (Succession was one of many HBO prestige dramas that catalysed a social media "quiet luxury" trend); her high-waisted trousers, silk button-down shirts, and single-breasted blazers communicate that she is a successor to a multi-billion-dollar media empire.
- Notable quote: "I'm Shiv f***ing Roy. And I'm gonna have two very grateful people, the next president and my father."
Roy explicitly lays out her ambitions in the show's Season 1 finale (“Nobody Is Ever Missing"). - The look: Roy adopts a corporate silhouette of suits, either in dark, muted colours; off-duty, she dresses almost exlucisvely in beige Loro Piana.
Read more: Asia’s Most Stylish female executives lead with power and poise
3. Diane Lockhart (The Good Wife / The Good Fight)
Lockhart commands the courtroom with a wardrobe that is feminine and authoritative. She opts for double-breasted tailored suits, rich brocades, and oversized, sculptural statement jewellery—including her signature antique brooches—transforming accessories into a physical representation of her institutional capital.
- Notable quote: "When the door you've been knocking at finally swings open, you don't ask why. You run through.”
Lockhart advises a younger woman in Season 4, Episode 13 of The Good Wife, titled "The Seven Day Rule," on taking a new partnership opportunity. - The look: Lockhart wears a structural, dark green tweed jacket featuring an oversized gold beaded brooch pinned to her lapel.
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4. Wendy Rhoades (Billions)
Operating as the in-house performance coach at a volatile hedge fund, Rhoades uses a disciplined, minimalist wardrobe to project psychological stability and control. Her fitted, dark sheath dresses and structured leather tailoring serve as a visual anchor, allowing her to command the room and de-escalate the tensions of traders.
- Notable quote: “I am the one who keeps this place from spinning out of control.”
She lays down the law in Season 1, Episode 12 (“The Conversation”) to highlight her role in stabilising the emotional and operational health of the firm. - The look: Rhoades conducts executive coaching sessions wearing all-black outfits, most often fitted sheath dresses or suit sets with conservative crew necklines, paired with black leather heels.
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5. Renata Klein (Big Little Lies)
Klein is a tech executive who navigates the corporate world and the social politics of Monterey with high-fashion, structural designer wear. She uses asymmetry, structured shoulders, and bold primary colours to project an image of financial success and personal sovereignty.
- Notable quote: “I will not be silenced, and I will not be pushed aside.” – Exclaimed in the heat of a personal and professional crisis in Season 2, Episode 5 (“Kill Me”), emphasising her refusal to let external market failures or personal scandals diminish her power.
- The look: Klein stands in her office wearing a blue tweed suit set with structured folds across the shoulder, paired with a matching structured Hermes leather belt.
Read more: Sartorial sovereignty: Women redefining high-tailoring standards
6. Annalise Keating (How to Get Away with Murder)
Operating in highly combative legal and academic environments, Keating uses saturated jewel tones and structural leather outerwear. Her wardrobe is built on protective silhouettes—including structured necklines and heavy leather jackets—visually representing the protective, uncompromising defence she provides for her clients and herself.
- Notable quote: “Never take a learning opportunity for granted.” – Delivered as an instruction to her legal interns during a high-stakes trial in Season 1, Episode 1 (“Pilot”).
- The look: Keating wears tailored dresses often layered under a cropped, dark brown or red leather blazer.
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Cat Wang is an editor at Tatler Asia based in Hong Kong, where she covers business, wealth, innovation, and impact. Previously, she was a Forbes Asia reporter and assistant editor of the Forbes Asia 100 to Watch list, spotlighting startups and small companies on the rise across the Asia-Pacific. She began her career as a trainee reporter at the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong’s newspaper of record. Born in New York City, she graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a B.A. in political science.
