Lex just keeps getting better with each viewing, I’m kind of obsessed with him at the moment. Anyway, here’s a costume analysis:

Lex’s look in the film is very casual and modern, which is perfect for a millennial CEO of Synder’s real world setting. His look is also partly inspired by young Lex in Superman Birthright (the stringy hair and trench coats) and overall his costumes serve to distract from his true motives, emphasize his feelings of powerlessness, and differentiate him from the other male characters. Let us begin:

The whole look is a little messy, even when he’s wearing a suit nothing is perfectly fitted or neat (unbuttoned collars, untucked shirts, no tie, etc) which reflects his mental instability, and also gives that messy, genius look. Most of his outfits feature something white, and if I remember correctly, he wears white shoes with every outfit. I think the choice of white on him is a reference to Satan (who Lex is associated with throughout the film), specifically the deceptive nature of Satan, who was a fallen angel who rebelled against God. In the bible he’s referred to as appearing as an “angel of light”, and “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”, fitting for Lex who is deceiving people throughout the movie, hates God, and sees himself as a savior. The white could also be a visual reference to lab coats. Apart from the couple times he wears an actual lab coat, Lex wears a lot of long jackets and trench coats that give the feel of a lab coat and a “mad scientist” vibe, which is also a Dr. Frankenstein reference, who Lex basically becomes when he creates Doomsday, which again goes back to the Satan theme of playing God and wanting power.

The eccentric/ quirky touches (whatever you call it) like the polka dot prints (also notice the t-shirt he wears in his first scene with a monkey setting off a bomb which, being a rather chaotic, godless image, is fitting for Lex), anyway this style serves several purposes. First, it makes people underestimate him. Who would suspect the lanky, young CEO in the polka dot shirt is a power hungry, manipulative mastermind? Batman v Superman’s costume designer Michael Wilkinson said he wanted Lex’s clothes to make him hard to pin down, so you can’t tell if he’s an introvert or an extrovert, you’re not quite sure what to expect from him. In my opinion, he’s an introvert. So along with his charismatic persona, his clothes help in diverting attention from his true motives and hide just how serious he is. An example of this can be seen in Lex’s “Wired” interview when it’s commented that his global defense plans sound like a manifesto, to which he comments, “Guys with manifestos don’t bring bowling shoes to interviews.”

Also, there’s of course something rather immature or adolescent about his look which first, reflects his daddy issues, as he in many ways is still a hurt, angry child. Second, it makes him stand out from the other men. His jeans, loose trousers, t-shirts under loose fitting blazers and jackets emphasize his lanky physique, reflecting his feelings of powerlessness. Next to the senators, or next to a sharply dressed Bruce and Clark, he looks like a skinny teenager, and rather effeminate. This contrast with the other men shows he doesn’t quite fit the typical standards of masculinity.* Note that it’s during the fundraiser scene around all these men in suits that he has a sort of breakdown and his public persona cracks.

This could also be a deliberate choice on Lex’s part to differentiate himself from his father, who no doubt dressed like the classic, serious businessman. He probably knows he can’t physically (or metaphorically) fill out a suit the way his father did, he knows he’s not the type who can intimidate and be powerful in person. Imagine being called in to see the boss and you get this version of Lex with his stringy hair, in a dark suit and tie, sitting at a huge desk with his arms folded. It would look like a joke, you couldn’t take him seriously. His style keeps him in his element and at an advantage of sorts.

To explain, let me compare his meetings with both senators. In the first, he asks Senator Barrows to step into his “office” which is just them sitting on the side of the basketball court. It seems too casual, not like a serious meeting at all but Lex is in absolute control the whole time. In such a setting, with Lex in casual pants & t-shirt, the senator is on Lex’s turf, and he looks out of place wearing a suit and tie on a basketball court. This mirrors how he’s out of his element in dealing with someone as smart and manipulative as Lex, who not only gets everything he wants from the senator, he rubs it in his face by very condescendingly pushing a Jolly Rancher into his mouth, as if rewarding an obedient dog with a treat.

His meeting with Senator Finch is almost the opposite. It’s in his father’s study, a more appropriate setting for a meeting, but here it’s Lex that looks out of place, and he’s unable to exert any control over the meeting. In his little cardigan, and polka dot shirt, he looks small and weak compared to the dramatic, imposing nature of the room. And it’s fitting that in his father’s study (preserved exactly as he left it), he’s rather powerless. Not only does he not get what he wants from Senator Finch, she refuses to play his game for a second (doesn’t even acknowledge his “orphan boy” speech and instead tells him bluntly that she’s blocking the import license, stops his creepy finger tapping when he tries to intimidate her, and let’s him know she’s onto him) and her last line “I’m not going to drink it,” stands in sharp contrast to Senator Barrows who literally just stands there as Lex feeds him a Jolly Rancher. Not that Lex’s clothes are the reason for the different outcomes, rather they serve to visually emphasize these points, and of course Finch is clearly the stronger character and Barrows is a clueless moron but I digress…

Anyway, a great look that perfectly matches the complexity of the character; contemporary costume design is so overlooked/ underrated.

* The masculinity thing is even more apparent when you realize that Jesse Eisenberg is about the same age as Henry Cavill, though he appears much younger. It never says Lex’s age in the film but in the Forbes interview I believe they had him at 31, just a few years younger than Supes. Either way, the significance is that Lex, though a grown man, and Superman’s peer, looks physically weaker and smaller which further illustrates his feelings of powerlessness