Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos were among dozens of CEOs, celebrities, and billionaires using Sun Valley as their own runway. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Execs and celebs headed to the Sun Valley Conference this week, giving us a look into their style.
The conference, known as ‘summer camp for billionaires,’ typically has a casual dress code.
As well as the requisite vests, attendees wore red accents, gold accessories, and colored glasses.
Every July, executives in tech, media, and finance flock to the small resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho, for the Allen & Co. Sun Valley Forum — aka “summer camp for billionaires.”
Attendees usually adhere to a simple dress code of t-shirts, vests, and athleisure for conference sessions in between the rounds of golf, schmoozing, and dealmaking.
This year, though, the sartorial choices were bolder than usual.
Among the usual muted grays and blues, several attendees were sporting splashes of red. While wearable health tracking devices like Apple Watches and Oura rings are standard fare for the tech class, this year, some opted for flashier accessories: gold chain bracelets, big earrings, and bright glasses.
Here’s what the who’s who of the business world wore at the Sun Valley conference this week.
The first rule of billionaire style — nothing beats a simple t-shirt
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wearing a gray t-shirt and black sunglasses. Bloomberg/Getty Images
While t-shirts in tech are nothing new, they have gotten an upgrade.
T-shirts, like the one worn by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, are now heavier and more fitted, rather than the $20 Hanes worn by coders in their college days.
“Now it’s thick enough, durable, and quality enough that it’s the outer layer,” Victoria Hitchcock, a San Francisco Bay Area fashion and lifestyle brander, told Business Insider.
Red was everywhere this year, from head-to-toe crimson outfits…
Stacey Bendet Eisner, the CEO of fashion brand Alice + Olivia, decked out in red. Bloomberg/Getty
Stacey Bendet Eisner, the CEO of the Alice + Olivia fashion brand, routinely has some of the most eye-catching outfits at Sun Valley.
“Do you think that Mark Zuckerberg gets his makeup done on his way to Sun Valley at 4:30 in the morning, too?” she pondered in a video posted to Instagram.
…to darker pops of the color…
Political analyst Van Jones donning a maroon sweater. Bloomberg/Getty
Political analyst Van Jones arrived in a red sweater — a splash of brightness among the more muted tones typical for the event. The inspiration comes straight from the runway, Hitchcock said, pointing to recent collections from Marni and Valentino.
…to red conference merch
Max Levchin, founder and chief executive of fintech company Affirm, wearing the conference’s branded red zip-up. Bloomberg/Getty Images
When it comes to the Sun Valley Conference, there’s no shame in sporting branded merch. Many attendees could be seen in red Allen & Co. zip-ups or carrying them in case it got chilly.
“You can’t go wrong,” Hitchcock said about choosing the branded gear. “These are the same people who were wearing the logos of their own companies forever and ever.”
Guests weren’t afraid of flashy accessories, with some donning gold chain bracelets
Designer Diane Von Furstenberg and her husband, media exec Barry Diller, personalized their looks with striking accessories. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
“You see it everywhere — that layered, chunky gold,” Hitchcock said.
Other opted for colored glasses
Brian Grazer, cofounder of Imagine Entertainment, sporting bright lenses. Bloomberg / Contributor/Getty Images
Brian Grazer, cofouner of Imagine Entertainment, and media exec Barry Diller were seen sporting yellow lenses, while CBS news anchor Gayle King made a splash with her bright green frames.
Meanwhile, wearable health-tracking devices weren’t as popular as in past years
Shari Redstone, chairwoman of Paramount Global, was one of the few people spotted sporting an Apple Watch. Bloomberg/Getty Images
While Shari Redstone, Bob Iger, and Tim Cook, of course, were spotted wearing Apple Watches, and a few Whoops were to be seen, many attendees wore old-fashioned wristpieces and ditched the computerized ones or tracking devices.
“They are super functional, and everyone I interact with owns them,” Hitchcock said of Apple Watches. “But it doesn’t keep them from purchasing some of those kind of pieces that are precious and have emotional attachment.”
Oprah Winfrey ditched color, opting for an all-white outfit
Oprah Winfrey was in all-white at the conference. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Fashion rules don’t discriminate. Regular people and media moguls alike only have three months to wear white. So, Sun Valley is a prime time for attendees to don their best classic colorless looks — like this Phoebe Philo one on Oprah.
In mixed knits, Lauren Sanchez eschewed typical tech style
Lauren Sanchez chose a miniskirt, while Jeff Bezos sported more traditional gear. Bloomberg/Getty Images
Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sanchez wore an quilted miniskirt for the conference, though she did pair it with sneakers for a more informal look.
And Bezos himself kept it classic Sun Valley in a t-shirt and vest. Turns out, despite some snazzier recent looks from Bezos, you can take the tech bro out of the basement — but you can’t take the basement out of the tech bro.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/roundup-writereditor-loved-deals-tout-f5de51f85de145b2b1eb99cdb7b6cb84.jpg "I’m a Travel Writer, and Out of the 5 Million Prime Day Deals on Site, These Are the 12 I’m Shopping")
