Ahead of Meta's first-quarter earnings report this week, a video image of Mark Zuckerberg suddenly started going viral.
It wasn't because of the artificial intelligence assistant he was touting or the promise of increased advertising revenue, but because of the silver chain he wore around his neck.
“Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta was doing something with AI, and I couldn't hear or hold it for even a second. Because he… Because when I watch the reel where she's talking, all I see is a necklace,” Amy O'Dell wrote on Substack. , seat in the back.
People were then even more excited when a doctored version of the same photo was released showing Zuckerberg with a beard. An Instagram post by celebrity news account The Shade Room included more than 4,000 mostly drool-worthy comments, including one that called Mr. Zuckerberg her ex-husband, Chris Martin. It also included a comment from Gwyneth Paltrow, who likened it to .
Suddenly, people seem to care a lot about how Mark Zuckerberg, 39, looks. Now, as the solid promises of technology are cast in a darker, more questionable light, the man whose unrelenting loyalty to his gray T-shirt has become synonymous with the geek vow to “move fast and break things” , the kind face of technology that has somehow become kinder.
“Silicon Valley's history has always been a carefully constructed image and narrative to reinforce its mythology,” said Venky Ganesan, a partner at venture capital firm Menlo Ventures. But “strategy is changing,” he continued.
And Mr. Zuckerberg has emerged in Silicon Valley phenomenology as the most salient sign that we are entering a post-jobs era.
Once upon a time, when Steve Jobs was a prophet of a better computing future, the virtues of his approach to life were self-evident, including his embrace of unchanging everyday clothing as the ideal form of clothing. It seemed like. It freed my mind from the trivial worries of everyday choices, such as which socks go with which color shirt. (Very annoying!) Same goes for Mr. Zuckerberg, who said in a Facebook forum in 2014 that he wears the same T-shirt every day because he wants to “really clean up my life so I can best serve this community.” You should make as few decisions as possible other than how to do it.”
(Admittedly, it was a fancy version of Brunello Cucinelli's gray T-shirt, but it was still a T-shirt.)
But after multiple visits by top executives to Washington, D.C., to testify on the controversy over anxiety and depression caused by social media pressure, Elizabeth Holmes (in a Jobs-like black turtleneck) After the conviction of Sam Bankman Freed. After the cesspool of conspiracy theories and anger that emerged in X. After all that, the story, and its heroes' journeys, and their costumes, suddenly don't seem so compelling. Look at the new, looser Mr. Zuckerberg.
He has become “a more democratic person,” said Joseph Rosenfeld, an image consultant and stylist who works with executives in New York and California.
Perhaps the seeds were sown in 2021, when Facebook went meta, with Zuckerberg's first avatar (wearing a T-shirt and jeans, as he usually was IRL) sitting in his closet. It turned out that it has the following alternative costumes. Skeleton unitard and astronaut suit. Zuckerberg's transformation accelerated as he discovered the joys of mixed martial arts and began posting photos of himself shirtless, sweaty and sporting various bumps and bruises. Then we reached a tipping point with the introduction of the Threads platform.
Not long after Zuckerberg announced a “public space for open, friendly conversation,” he also unveiled a new, friendlier look of his own. Zuckerberg is on record as focusing on experimentation (all relative) rather than automated uniforms. My Instagram post. Suddenly, he seemed to be enjoying fashion.
He cheerfully shared a photo of himself ready for “Yellowstone” wearing a chunky shearling coat from Overland. (It looks like a Maverick Rancher coat, the kind of subliminal thing Saturday Night Live might embrace.) Then there's Anant Ambani's three-day wedding in Gujarat. Snaps of himself and wife Priscilla Chan from a previous gala have been released. Rahul Mishra's gold silk Sundarbans Tigres shirt, Alexander McQueen's black suit embroidered with silver dragonflies, pastel floral kurtas and other Indian-inspired ornaments in the form of are available.
Zuckerberg then added a photo titled “Jersey Swap,” in which he and Nvidia's Jensen Huang swapped outerwear, with Zuckerberg wearing Huang's trademark leather jacket and fan He was wearing shearlings. By the time of his final excursion to the capital, he had grown out his tightly controlled Julius Caesar hairstyle into loose curls.
He started sharing shopping tips. When New York magazine's Jen Wiesner wrote an article identifying the sweater Mr. Zuckerberg was wearing as being from stealth wealth brand Loro Piana, he posted an article below the magazine's Instagram post. People jumped into the comments section to point out that the garment was actually a Buck Mason crewneck. It's a Los Angeles brand focused on American classics, rather than the Italian luxury brand owned by LVMH.
Later, one of Zuckerberg's followers complimented the ribbed knit cardigan he wore on his date night on his feed, writing, “This is @johnelliottco. I've been loving their stuff lately. I jumped at it with the tag “Yes!''.
Other brands he currently loves include Blanks by Thirteen Studios (he wore that white T-shirt to an Ultimate Fighting Champion match), Todd Snyder, and Vuori.
“They're kind of a trendy name,” said Derek Guy, who blogs about men's wear at Die, Workwear!. “Every silhouette is different, whether it's a sweatshirt with sleeves that are too long or a T-shirt with dropped shoulder seams.”
Mr. Guy and Mr. Ganesan of Menlo Ventures said they believe Mr. Zuckerberg sought the help of a professional (i.e., a stylist) to get his look. But Mehta's spokesperson said that is not the case, at least not in his daily life. “Mark mainly buys clothes he finds on Instagram,” she says. “However, he does receive input from time to time for formal events and occasions.”
In any case, Mr. Zuckerberg's shift from the luxury brand made famous by his “inheritance” of a morally bankrupt billionaire to a more modern brand means that “he is now accessible to the world and his audience.” “I have acquired a stable supply of clothing that makes me a more comfortable person.'' Rosenfeld said:
His new wardrobe features bulging muscles, leather jackets, and rivals like Jeff Bezos, who has transformed into a real-life version of Iron Man on a yacht, and Elon Musk, who seems to be channeling a kind of “Top Gun.” distinguishing him. -meets- “Goldfinger” atmosphere.
By contrast, Ganesan said Zuckerberg is now like “a buddy you want to call when you're doing construction in your backyard.” Think of him as the engineer next to him. All of this is important, Ganesan continued, because “mainstream America can relate to that, and he's offering a mainstream product.”
And that's just “very good for business,” he said.