When Mark Zuckerberg testified in front of US congress back in 2018, he looked every inch the technology tycoon, with his hair close-cropped and sporting a sober navy suit.
Fast forward to 2024, and it seems a Meta makeover is in full swing, with Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, who is usually as conservative a dresser as her husband of 12 years, looking, well, a little bit billionaire bougie.
Earlier this month, the couple, reputed to be worth an extraordinary £138 billion, attended the Ultimate Fighting Championship 300 event in Las Vegas, perhaps not the most obvious date night for a couple whose fortune was built on code.
But Zuckerberg has, it seems, taken a leaf out of the style book of fellow mogul Jeff Bezos and his glamorous squeeze Lauren Sanchez – looking more ‘mob chic’ than ‘geek chic’.
Status update: Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan were barely recognisable at mixed martial arts event UFC 300 in Las Vegas earlier this month, with the couple, known for their sensible attire, looking decidedly bling
Zuckerberg, the original technology nerd, cut a cooler figure in black jeans and a white tee, with a silver chain and his close-cropped hair grown out. Meanwhile Priscilla, his wife of 12 years, went for a short all-black ensemble
Priscilla embodied high fashion in an all-black outfit at the fight meet, wearing a short black dress with a plunging neckline and a gold necklace. The ultimate signifier that Chan is going for a cooler look? She was also wearing designer sunglasses indoors.
The look was a far cry from the casual jeans and t-shirt ensembles – with smart business dresses for work – that Chan has preferred in the past.
Meanwhile the tech entrepreneur, 39, donned a white tee, gold chain and baggy black pants to watch the fights, and later pose in photos with UFC champions.
After the Facebook founder published the photos on his Instagram, many commented on the fashion gear-change.
One wrote: ‘First time I’ve ever seen Zuckerberg wear jewellery… is he trying to be cool or something?’
When they first met, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan were fresh faced and clean cut – in casual, high-street fashion and with untamed hair. Right: Now they both seem to be more experimental in the sartorial stakes, with Mark recently sporting a suit with dragon fly embroidery, and Priscilla opting for more daring dresses
Is a stylist on the Meta payroll? In March, Mark and Priscilla attended an Indian wedding together, and sported the more adventurous ensembles
The couple pictured four years after they wed: Zuckerberg was frequently seen in his tech uniform of an unremarkable jeans and a t-shirt, while Priscilla matched his sensible clothing choices
The couple pictured in 2014 in traditional black tie glamour at the Annual Breakthrough Prize Award Ceremony
The couple famously met when they were in a line for the bathroom at a party hosted by the entrepreneur’s fraternity at Harvard, where they were both students.
When they first began stepping out in 2003, they were the epitome of geek chic; fresh faced and clean cut with a passion for casual, high-street fashion.
Photographs from the period, shortly before Zuckerberg’s social media venture thrust him into the spotlight, show just that – two students in t-shirts, jeans, quarter-zips and sneakers. They were practically indistinguishable from hundreds of their peers.
In March this year, perhaps the first sign that there was a stylist on the payroll became obvious.
Attending an Indian wedding together in stunning all-black ensembles, decorated with intricate gold detailing in the shape of dragonflies (him) and roses (her), they were a vision of on-trend couple co-ordination.
