Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos were among dozens of CEOs, celebrities and billionaires using Sun Valley as their own runway. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Executives and celebrities attended the Sun Valley conference this week, giving us a glimpse into their style.
The conference, known as “summer camp for billionaires,” typically has a casual dress code.
In addition to the mandatory vests, participants wore red accents, gold accessories and colored glasses.
Every July, executives from the tech, media and financial industries descend on the small resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho, for the Allen & Co. Sun Valley Forum, aka “summer camp for billionaires.”
Participants typically adhere to a simple dress code of T-shirts, vests and sportswear for conference sessions between rounds of golf, discussions and negotiations.
This year, the clothing choices were more daring than usual.
Among the usual muted grays and blues, several attendees sported pops of red. While wearable health-tracking devices like Apple Watches and Oura rings are commonplace in the tech class, this year some opted for more flashy accessories: gold chain bracelets, chunky earrings, and shiny glasses.
Here’s what the business elite wore to the Sun Valley conference this week.
The first rule of billionaire style: nothing beats a simple t-shirt
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wears a gray t-shirt and black sunglasses. Bloomberg/Getty Images
Although tech t-shirts are not new, they have been improved.
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 college.
“It’s now thick enough, durable enough, and quality enough to be the outer layer,” Victoria Hitchcock, a fashion and lifestyle brand in the San Francisco Bay Area, told Business Insider.
Red was everywhere this year, from head-to-toe crimson outfits…
Stacey Bendet Eisner, CEO of fashion brand Alice + Olivia, wearing red. Bloomberg/Getty
Stacey Bendet Eisner, CEO of fashion brand Alice + Olivia, regularly has some of the most eye-catching outfits in Sun Valley.
“Do you think Mark Zuckerberg wears makeup on his way to Sun Valley at 4:30 in the morning?” she asked in a video posted to Instagram.
…with darker touches of color…
Political analyst Van Jones wearing a brown sweater. Bloomberg/Getty
Political analyst Van Jones arrived wearing a red sweater, a touch of brightness among the more muted tones typical of the event. The inspiration came directly from the show, Hitchcock said, referencing recent collections from Marni and Valentino.
…to the derivative products of the red conference
Max Levchin, founder and CEO of fintech company Affirm, wearing the conference’s trademark red zipper. Bloomberg/Getty Images
At the Sun Valley conference, there’s no shame in wearing branded merchandise. Many attendees could be seen wearing red Allen & Co. zip-up jackets or wearing them in case it gets cold.
“You can’t go wrong,” Hitchcock said of choosing designer clothing. “These are the same people who have always worn their own company logo.”
Guests weren’t afraid of flashy accessories, with some wearing gold chain bracelets
Designer Diane Von Furstenberg and her husband, media executive Barry Diller, personalized their looks with striking accessories. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg was among the few attendees wearing gold chain jewelry, a trend that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also recently adopted.
“You see it everywhere: this thick, layered gold,” Hitchcock said.
Others have opted for colored glasses
Brian Grazer, co-founder of Imagine Entertainment, sporting light-up glasses. Bloomberg / Contributor/Getty Images
Imagine Entertainment co-founder Brian Grazer and media executive Barry Diller were spotted wearing yellow lenses, while CBS news anchor Gayle King made a splash with her bright green frames.
Meanwhile, wearable health tracking devices were not as popular as in previous years.
Shari Redstone, president of Paramount Global, was one of the few people spotted wearing an Apple Watch. Bloomberg/Getty Images
While Shari Redstone, Bob Iger, and Tim Cook were of course spotted wearing Apple Watches, and a few “Whoops” were spotted, many attendees wore old-school wristwatches and ditched computerized timepieces or tracking devices.
“They’re very functional and everyone I interact with has one,” Hitchcock said of Apple Watches. “But that doesn’t stop them from buying pieces like that that are valuable and emotionally attached.”
Oprah Winfrey Ditched Color and Opted for an All-White Outfit
Oprah Winfrey wore all white at the conference. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Fashion rules don’t discriminate. Everyday people and media moguls alike only have three months to wear white, so Sun Valley is the perfect time for contestants to don their best classic colorless looks, like Phoebe Philo on Oprah.
In mixed knits, Lauren Sanchez avoided the typical tech style
Lauren Sanchez opted for a miniskirt, while Jeff Bezos wore a more traditional outfit. Bloomberg/Getty Images
Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sanchez wore a quilted miniskirt to the conference, but she paired it with sneakers for a more casual look.
And Bezos himself kept his classic Sun Valley look in a T-shirt and vest. It turns out that despite some of Bezos’s fancier looks of late, you can take the techie out of the basement, but you can’t take the basement out of the techie.
