Mark Zuckerberg's old signature look was a faded, well-worn cotton hoodie paired with flip-flops. He's still wearing hoodies today—except now they're cashmere, courtesy of Loro Piana. Silicon Valley stylist Stephanie Venita Stimmler calls the shift "a complete 180," admitting she's curious where the pivot came from: "Maybe it's his wife Priscilla Chan's influence, or maybe once you have that kind of wealth, you just want to treat yourself to something nice."
This isn't an isolated case—it's a full-blown business model taking shape. Stimmler and fellow stylist Veronica Hitchcock both cater exclusively to tech executives. Hitchcock's clients must first pass a vetting process, with annual retainers starting at $20,000 and going as high as $400,000. Stimmler's Palo Alto clientele, meanwhile, spend an average of $20,000 for a full wardrobe overhaul, plus another $8,000 to $20,000 per season for ongoing styling services. What they're after: Loro Piana, Brunello Cucinelli, Max Mara, Hermès, Ralph Lauren, Dior, Zegna, Tom Ford, Brioni, and Jenni Kayne—all sharing one trait, understated design with minimal logo presence. Stimmler says two phrases come up constantly from clients: "I don't want to look like a lawyer in a tie," and "I don't want to be a walking billboard."
From Tom Ford Leather to Jobs' Turtleneck
For some, understated has become its own kind of signature. Andrew Weitz, a former William Morris Endeavor talent agent turned styling strategy consultant, points to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's black Tom Ford leather jacket: "He probably should retire it by now, but the second you see it, you know it's him—just like Steve Jobs and the turtleneck." Weitz sees OpenAI's Sam Altman differently. Altman also leans low-key, but "he could honestly do so much more—if he actually put effort into how he dressed, people would perceive him differently."
Not everyone is playing it safe. Biohacker Bryan Johnson walked straight down the runway for Matières Fécales in Paris this past February, a show explicitly built around anti-capitalist commentary. Backstage, he described coming from a world in tech that's "very focused, structured, methodology-driven," making the runway walk feel like "a burst of chaos" and, at the same time, "an expression of beauty."
Wives on the Red Carpet and Runway
Tech titans' partners are pushing this trend further into the spotlight. Karlie Kloss stepped out last month in a tech-inspired iridescent hard-shell corset and lace skirt designed by Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli; Miranda Kerr wore a flowing pale pink gown to Dior's May show in support of Jonathan Anderson; Lauren Sánchez Bezos turned up at the French Open dressed head-to-toe in Louis Vuitton, carrying a Loewe bag. Bezos and Sánchez Bezos also sponsored this year's Met Gala, while their Bezos Earth Fund has committed $34 million toward researching "breakthrough" textile materials for fashion.
In the eyes of stylists, what these clients care about most is still restraint. Hitchcock, who's been in the industry for over 26 years, says she's never seen this level of obsession with looking "effortlessly understated." As she puts it: "If someone in a meeting immediately clocks the Brioni shoes on your feet—while you're supposedly discussing how to help solve world hunger—that's not a good look." Stimmler adds a telling detail of her own: when she first started out, high-end Palo Alto shoppers had to make a special trip to San Francisco. Now Chanel, Loro Piana, Brunello Cucinelli, Ralph's Coffee, and Veronica Beard have all opened shop right in the neighborhood.
