If you imagine Mark Zuckerberg, then the image of a billionaire appears before your eyes in a hoodie sweatshirt or an ordinary T-shirt with jeans. This is how the entrepreneur dressed when he was a student at Harvard when he founded Facebook (the company that owns Meta is considered an extremist organisation)*. As time went on, Facebook* was renamed Meta (considered an extremist organization)*, Zuckerberg made billions of dollars, but he still looks like a poor student.
The billionaire almost always wears a dark gray T-shirt and jeans. He just changes shoes – he changes sneakers, moccasins and slates. At first glance, its looks may seem mundane and even cheap, but don’t be fooled—many of these tees are available from Zuckerberg’s favorite Italian brand, Brunello Cucinelli, for anywhere from $300 to $400.
Mark Zuckerberg, 2011
Paul Sakuma/AP
“This image of Mark is a gorgeous and coordinated choice of his team,” said Ribera Delavares, an image designer and politicians image maker. According to him, a team of all professionals is working on the style of Mark Zuckerberg, who calculated everything to the smallest detail. The classic image of a successful person in a strict suit will not distinguish him from the rest. “And such a calm gray T-shirt and gray pants accentuate your look, pay attention to how you talk, not what you say,” says the fashion expert.
Zuckerberg has remained loyal to himself since 2004, when Facebook* was formed in alliance with his fellow countrymen. In the famous student housing photo, the 19-year-old billionaire-to-be was photographed wearing a Gap sweatshirt, Adidas rubber sneakers, and gray stretch sweatpants. Student Zuckerberg didn’t so casually raise questions, but when Mark became the world’s youngest billionaire in 2007, it seemed to many that status now had to dress differently. But Zuckerberg decided to go his own way.
Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard
Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook (Owner of Meta identified as an extremist organization)
With the development of the company, Zuckerberg was increasingly forced to speak at presentations, business meetings and official visits, where he still appeared in “student” clothes. That’s when they started comparing him to Steve Jobs, who took the stage in blue jeans, white sneakers, and a black turtleneck. Image maker Ribera Delavares admits that there is certainly a similarity in the styles of Jobs and Zuckerberg, as Apple’s creator “laid the foundation for the kind of image story of an idea man.”
On the contrary, Daria Kunilovskaya, a stylist and fashion expert, believes that the suitability of representatives of a particular business cannot be called copying Steve Jobs. “There is an evolution in Zuckerberg’s current appearance and appearance associated with publicity, nothing more,” explains Daria Kunilovskaya. “Otherwise, he’d probably still walk in rubber slippers, like he did in college.”
Steve Jobs (1955-2011) during one of the Apple presentations
Kimberly White/Reuters
In May 2012, Mark Zuckerberg took Facebook* public for the first time with a majority stake. He also interviewed in a sweatshirt, t-shirt and jeans as he wrote. Wall Street Magazine. “Mr. Zuckerberg seemed unimpressed when some Wall Street analysts scolded him for his mundane Silicon Valley aesthetic,” the business publication recalls.
Ribera Delavares explains that Mark Zuckerberg’s relaxed style allows him to approach youth, whose ideas are primarily supported by his company. “Such an image suits him more as a plus than a minus, it fills him with asceticism, relief. Moreover, you’ve seen him in a suit – and he looks pretty weird, ”says the image maker.
According to Ribera Delavares, Zuckerberg has a simple appearance and is dressed in business-style clothes, making him look like “a schoolboy wearing his father’s suit.” “This is why most of their stylists prefer loose, sporty, casual outfits,” she explains.
Mark Zuckerberg with his wife Priscilla
Global Outlook Press
Zuckerberg’s costumes are indeed criticized by many. For example, in a navy blue Savile Row suit after the Capitol billionaire’s speech to the US Congress. New York Times an article was published about fashion failures – the main fashion critic of the publication, Vanessa Friedman, thought that Mark did not fit her business style at all.
It seems like Zuckerberg is wary of formal wear, so as an entrepreneur in a suit for 18 years of his career, exits can be counted on the fingers. He wore a suit to the G8 summit in France in 2011, to the state dinner in honor of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and to a Facebook* meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 during his 2016 visit to the Vatican. Speaking at Harvard in 2017, meeting with Donald Trump in 2019.
Mark Zuckerberg meeting with the Pope (2016) and Donald Trump (2019)
Global Outlook Press
During a meeting with Zuckerberg at a Facebook City Hall event in 2011, President Barack Obama joked that he was “the guy who made Mark wear a jacket and tie.”
According to Daria Kunilovskaya, Mark Zuckerberg’s appearance in a suit was appropriate, because he and the “PR team understand that it is absolutely unacceptable to come to the Capitol or go on a date with the Pope in a T-shirt and jeans.” “The suits of the owner of the Meta company are perfectly sewn and thought out in colors. Ideologically, as a PR move, they are almost always chosen in the company’s colors (blue suits, white shirts and ties in shades of blue), symbolically always appearing in the protocol of events that Zuckerberg came to. suit,” says the stylist.
Mark Zuckerberg has admitted repeatedly that he is very deliberate when choosing things. Wearing the same clothes year after year doesn’t mean she doesn’t think about fashion or how people interpret what she’s wearing. As he wrote in the Life Events section on his Facebook page New York Times, there are lines like: “I wore a tie for a year” in 2009, “Got a vegetarian” in 2011, and “Married Priscilla Chan” in 2012. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg wore a suit at the wedding.
“I wanted everyone on Facebook to know it’s been a big year for us,” the businessman said in a post about wearing a tie. My tie was a symbol of how serious and important this year is, and I wore it every day to show it.
Then in 2014, he was asked about gray t-shirts during Facebook Town Hall, and answered: “I really want to set my life so free that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything other than how best to serve this community. And there’s a theory in psychology that even making small decisions about what to wear, what to eat for breakfast, or whatever, can tire you out and drain your energy.”
Wardrobe with Mark Zuckerberg t-shirt
Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook (Owner of Meta identified as an extremist organization)
Judging by the photos of Zuckerberg’s t-shirt closet on Facebook*, he really cares about keeping his energy, so he only chooses gray t-shirts. Daria Kunilovskaya says that gray is appropriate always and everywhere, and is also one of the recognizable main colors of the luxurious, classic and basic wardrobe. “Among other things, it is also protocol, neutral, does not cause offensive or substitute feelings in society,” the stylist continues. In 2016, Zuckerberg released a collaboration with the H&M brand where you can buy a “billionaire kit” – seven gray T-shirts and straight blue jeans.
Collaboration between clothing brand H&M and Mark Zuckerberg
markforhm.com
In 2018, the businessman decided to slightly rethink his typical casual look and wear blue long sleeves in addition to gray T-shirts. A similar one can be purchased from Brunello Cucinelli for $725. Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg held meetings with prominent people from the Italian fashion industry in early May. In particular, he met the son of Miuccia Prada and designer Brunello Cucinelli.
Mark Zuckerberg and Leonardo Del Vecchio in Milan, 2022
zuck/Instagram (Owner of Meta identified as an extremist organization)
All accusations of the carelessness and excessive simplicity of the Mark Zuckerberg image can be lifted after the words of Silicon Valley venture capitalist and billionaire Peter Thiel in his book Zero to One. “It’s a cliché that high-tech workers don’t care what they wear. Everyone, from the lazy to the yuppies, “watches” their appearance carefully, she writes. Therefore, a simple image of Zuckerberg is a well thought out move that draws attention to himself and his company.
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.