We’re talking about giants of Western industry here. Tech moguls. Media executives. People who turn money into more money. They’re immune to the temptations of fashion, preferring to dress in ways that may be utterly boring or even a little sloppy, but that reflect an unwavering focus on their work.
They don’t have the time to slung a Louis Vuitton Speedy over their shoulders with Rihanna-esque nonchalance, nor the patience to appreciate the painfully precise lines of an Hermès calfskin jacket or the odd shade of a Chanel ballet flat. They wear James Perse T-shirts, Fidelity Denim trousers, and Allbirds sneakers, all easily found on Nordstrom’s most bland floor; quilted vests with company logos stitched on; hoodies (who made them? who cares?) and pants so comfortable you don’t have to worry about them working 15-hour shifts.
But something seemed to change last week at investment firm Allen & Company’s annual Sun Valley conference, which brings together the rich and powerful from the technology, finance and media industries: Somehow, the billionaires stopped worrying and learned to love vicuñas (the mouth-wateringly expensive cashmere fur used by Loro Piana in its top-of-the-line products).
David Zaslav wore a Brunello Cucinelli jacket. Sheryl Sandberg wore a Thom Browne cardigan. Wendi Murdoch wore a Dior T-shirt. Plus, there were plenty of logo-free fashion moments. XN founder and CEO Gaurav Kapadia wore a funky striped white shirt. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff wore a medallion-encrusted cowboy hat. And Clear chairman and CEO Caryn Seidman Becker looked like Gwyneth Paltrow flaunting an understated yet extravagant outfit at the ski trials last spring.
Even Oprah Winfrey has been spotted wearing head-to-toe Phoebe Philo, the enigmatic designer who launched her eponymous brand last year with an inexplicable sense of cool that speaks to women who have accumulated power through art, music, and other aesthetic pursuits. Between meetings, Winfrey was photographed wearing Philo’s $1,700 chalk-white jeans, strapped at the knees, and a loose, $1,700 white turtleneck. It was the same look as anyone who pairs a white blouse with white trousers: neat but ordinary. But Winfrey (and the die-hard fashion fans who follow the Philo brand like a cult rulebook) was making a big fashion boast, a quiet assertion of the game she’s playing: “If you know — and very few of you know — those who know, know.”
“Finally, more people are embracing the idea of, ‘I have this much money, and I want to be comfortable and fashionable,'” says Victoria Hitchcock, a San Francisco stylist who works with businessmen looking to tweak their style. Her clients and leaders of Fortune 500 companies gravitate toward Dior, Valentino, Hermes, Marni, Gucci loafers, Yves Saint Laurent, a little Chanel, Loro Piana, Brunello Cucinelli and Berluti. “Berluti is that.”
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wasn’t in attendance this year, but he may have been the one to spark the luxury craze: Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal reported that Zuckerberg, once known for his exclusive colorways of hoodies and T-shirts, is now an avid fan of Cucinelli T-shirts and wears fashionable little cardigans and statement shearling coats by Los Angeles sportswear designer John Elliott.
Over the past five years, Zuckerberg and Salesforce.com’s Benioff have increasingly worn Cucinelli’s clothes, suggesting a kind of philosophical, emotional and spiritual affinity between the Italian designer’s products and their own. It’s a nod to the late Steve Jobs’ penchant for black Issey Miyake turtlenecks. It’s a way of creating iconography but also suggesting a symbiosis between the work of two innovators. Tech people tend to regard their companies with god-like reverence, even if they make everyday errands more efficient or provide a quicker way to get from point A to point B. Yes, many people (cynics and worshippers alike) see fashion as capitalism run wild. So if designers peddling expensive sweaters can feel good about themselves, why not monetize airport security?
But this isn’t just a fashion awakening at eMan’s iHeart: To attract these customers, fashion houses like Cucinelli and Loro Piana in particular have been putting them in high-profile events over the past five years, such as one-off fashion shows and galas, usually geared towards media and influencers.
In some cases, fashion companies will host events exclusively for tech titans. In 2019, for example, tech executives including Reid Hoffman, Jeff Bezos, and Dick Costolo gathered in the designer’s hometown at Cucinelli’s request for an event they called “A Symposium on Soul and Economy.” According to GQ, participants had lengthy discussions about the future of society, with Cucinelli challenging Bezos to think about what impact he’ll have in 500 years.
And in March 2023, Loro Piana opened a store in Silicon Valley that included a special collection with NFTs. The store also touted a new program that lets customers authenticate Loro Piana products on the blockchain, an appealing feature for tech-savvy consumers but also a way to advertise that a nondescript beige pullover sweater is actually a $5,400 vicuña knit. (Earlier this year, a Bloomberg investigation alleged that Loro Piana was underpaying the workers who harvested vicuña wool.)
The desire to dress well seems to extend beyond bona fide brands like Loro Piana and Cucinelli. Sun Valley types are much more famous than they were five or 10 years ago, vacationing on Lake Como and sailing on yachts with A-listers who dress like them. “They’re starting to live the celebrity lifestyle, and people seem to worship their wealth, whether rightly or wrongly,” Hitchcock says. “They want to be part of a world that wasn’t really inviting them before.”
Meanwhile, some Sun Valley attendees are always well-dressed: Bloomberg LP co-founder and former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg, for example, was photographed in Nantucket red with a bright jacket bearing the Sun Valley 2024 insignia, while media executive Barry Diller and his wife, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, both wore eye-catching, printed outfits.
Maybe their peers are just starting to realize: The world’s 0.001 percent have more money than they’ve ever had, and they need to find places to spend it. A $5,400 sweater would certainly burn a hole in that pile of cash.
