When he’s not busy participating in jiu-jitsu tournaments, it seems that Mark Zuckerberg might be spending his free time shopping online for menswear. And there is evidence to suggest that he might be soliciting his shopping advice from, well… this very website.
The whole thing is also very much in keeping with Zuckerberg’s everyman self-image. While Wieczner’s story does note that he owns some Loro Piana pieces, the idea of Zuckerberg—a guy who proudly rose to prominence in a slovenly zip hoodie and gray T-shirt—suddenly adopting the ritzy uniform of his tech billionaire peers never quite made sense. (Even at the Sun Valley Conference a couple of years ago, where most attendees pair their cloudlike Brunello Cucinelli knits with rare Patek Philippes, Zuckerberg rolled up bare-wristed.) Instead, it appears that Zuck—like so many of us—is out here reading best-of guides trying to level up his style one slick knitted polo at a time.
Yesterday, in a New York Magazine post, writer Jen Wieczner revealed that the Facebook founder had taken to the publication’s Instagram comments section to point out that the sweater he was wearing in a photo she’d written about was not, in fact, from the hyper-luxe Italian cashmere savants at Loro Piana…and was instead from the hyper-regular Californian T-shirt hawkers at Buck Mason. Further inquiry with “a person close to the CEO and his wardrobe” laid bare that in addition to Buck Mason, Zuck favors a number of similarly medium-priced, straight-down-the-middle menswear labels: Todd Snyder and John Elliott for his casualwear; Outerknown and Vuori for his activewear; Nike and Adidas for his sneakers and slides.
So Mark, my man, if you are in fact out there reading this: Welcome! If you could turn the traffic referral hose back on, that would be great.
What you’ll notice about the previous sentence is that each of those brand names has a corresponding link to a story prominently featuring said brand from GQ Recommends. That’s because they’re precisely the type of labels we’re constantly advising you to shop at—all specializing in well-made, tasteful, largely affordable basics that are a slight step up from the staples you already own and will play nice with any riskier fashion moves you might want to try. And while we’re hardly claiming to be the only magazine in town writing about those very well-known clothing lines, the specificity of the mix certainly had us wondering if Zuckerberg has been perusing the Recommends newsletter before his sparring sessions.