On HBO's 'Industry,' your vest says more about you than your résumé

• The vests make the men on HBO's "Industry."
• The show's costume designer explained the differences between old-money vests and those of the financial services class.
• For the old-money set, quiet luxury is about pieces that last forever, not shiny new things.

Bankers love a good vest, and the people behind HBO's hit show "Industry" know it.

The series, which follows a group of cutthroat bankers in London as they rise through the ranks of the finance world, has earned acclaim over four seasons for its lavish yet accurate portrayal of what it's like to work in banking. And it's not just the spot-on depictions of the grueling hours and the characters' use of financial jargon that real-life bankers relate to — it's the vests.

Whether they're fleece or padded, display a company logo or are quietly designer, the vests on "Industry" underscore each character's status.

Quiet luxury means something different to old money

"This season I went further into gilet styles," "Industry" costume designer Laura Smith told Business Insider, using the European word for vest.

For example, the aristocrats, like Henry Muck (Kit Harington) and his uncle Lord Norton (Andrew Havill) wear a different, "more classically old money" style of vest than some of the less pedigreed players. In Henry's country house, his uncle Lord Norton sports a $320 vest from the luxury outdoor brand Schöffel.

This style is not to be confused with the padded technical vests favored by the white-collar professional class. Kwabena (Toheeb Jimoh), a new hire at the fictional short-only fun SternTao and Pierpoint alum Kenny (Conor MacNeill) both sport styles specific to the London neighborhoods they work in — and there is a conscious distinction between the hedge fund vest and the investment bank vest.

"Kwabena wears a gilet that is very specific to the private wealth firms located in and around Mayfair," Smith said. "Kenny wears a gilet that's a callback to his time at Pierpoint and locates him in the worlds of Bishopsgate and Canary Wharf, the location that 'Industry' started at."

The show's key aspirants to wealth and power this season, Whitney (Max Minghella) and Harper (My'hala), both confidently embrace the "quiet luxury" trend in their wardrobe choices. But for the generationally wealthy set, true luxury is about well-made garments that have endured decades of wear rather than something understated but brand new.

When Whitney arrives dressed for an English country house weekend, his wardrobe "is appropriate, but it is all new: waxed jacket, cords, tattersall check shirt, good boots," Smith said. By contrast, "Henry's wax jacket is ancient — well worn and loved, and has seen all seasons."

Who wears company merch can be revealing

Whitney, who is not generationally wealthy but moves between the banking and political spheres as part of his role at the fictional payments processor Tender, also takes a different approach to wearing branded company merch than characters like Jonah (Kal Penn) and Henry do.

"Helping Whitney's character move easily between spheres influence was really important," Smith said. "He never wears Tender branded merchandise and only wears the Tender company colors once, for example."

Whitney's focus and vision for Tender is different than that of his ill-fated cofounder, Jonah — he wants the payments processor to become a "bank killer," not just a Paypal for OnlyFans.

"Jonah is fully engaged with Tender on a fundamental level — he wears all of the iterations of the Tender merchandise in his tenure," Smith said. Like his successor Henry, Jonah is the public face of Tender, which means Tender merch is incorporated into his clothing more than it is for the other staff.

"At Tender, the staff are a contrast to the directors. The figureheads like Jonah and Henry are invested in ways that make Tender merchandise a key part of their looks when they are in the office," Smith said. "There is a divide in the show between who wears the company merch and who doesn't, and this is a form of power flex with some characters."

While company merch is sometimes used to pull rank, there's another accessory that often functions deferentially: ties.

In season four, when a character wears a tie, "it's usually in a scenario when someone is asking for something they really need," Smith said.

Whitney wears one when he goes to ask Henry to be Tender's CEO; Eric (Ken Leung) wears one while seeking capital for SternTao. In both instances, the character gets what they're asking for.

Might be something to keep in mind next time you're up for a promotion.