\n<\/p>\n
Vogue World is coming to San Francisco next year \u2014 perhaps another indication that tech billionaires have become leaders in the fashion zeitgeist. <\/p>\n
Of course, the announcement of the enormous fashion\/art\/music event doesn\u2019t say that.<\/a> Instead, Anna Wintour wrote that Vogue believes in celebrating cities and \u201cSan Francisco is a city like none other.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a place of diverse communities living side by side, a place that loves the arts, loves creativity, and isn\u2019t afraid of change.\u201d She also noted the city\u2019s history of rebelliousness and innovation.<\/p>\n \u201cI love that San Francisco has always stood up for values and the things it believes in,\u201d Wintour wrote. \u201cVogue World will support San Francisco\u2019s creative minds and strengthen the entire ecosystem \u2014 and it will offer another opportunity to show San Francisco is on the rise.\u201d <\/p>\n There were rumors that Vogue World would head to San Francisco after Winter was seen having meetings with the city\u2019s mayor, Daniel Lurie. <\/p>\n Plus, in the past year, Wintour has cozied up to the most powerful names in tech, culminating in this year\u2019s Met Gala, which saw Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez, serve as lead sponsors for the event. Google\u2019s Sergey Brin and Mark Zuckerberg were also spotted at the event<\/a> (the latter\u2019s first, that is)<\/a>. In fact, OpenAI bought a table, as did Meta and Snap (for $350,000 a pop). It\u2019s true that TikTok, Apple, and Instagram previously sponsored the event, but the presence of the tech crowd this year was so much that the Met Gala this year was dubbed the \u201ctech gala\u201d in some places. <\/p>\n Last year, Vogue put Lauren Sanchez\u00a0on the cover of the magazine after\u00a0her wedding to the Amazon founder. To the fashion world, this was Wintour\u2019s stamp of approval \u2014 not just for Sanchez\u2019s ascent into the fashion world, but that tech and its leaders were worthy of cultural recognition.<\/p>\n Though Bezos and Sanchez reportedly live in Florida (and Amazon is, of course, headquartered in the Seattle area), there is no city more associated with tech than San Francisco. By locating Vogue World there, this is another indication of Wintour\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n Vogue, as a media publication, is always following the money, and as a cultural bible, is always looking for ways to stay relevant. Turning toward the worldwide headquarters of AI, good or bad, is brilliant for business (and Wintour is nothing if not brilliant).\u00a0<\/p>\n But Vogue World was previously held <\/a>in New York, London, Paris, and this year, Milan. Maybe because I live in an East Coast bubble, but I\u2019ve not heard anyone in recent years refer to San Francisco as a beacon of style to rank alongside these other cities. \u00a0<\/p>\n While the city has a reputation as the land of the free-spirited bohemian, tech and its workers have a reputation for hoodies, Patagonia vests, and expensive athletic shoes, if they even dress up that much. <\/p>\n For instance, billionaire Alexandr Wang, who is now running Meta\u2019s all-important Superintelligence Labs, just did an interview<\/a> with Y Combinator\u2019s Garry Tan in front of a packed stadium wearing a faded Nintendo T-shirt and what looked like a pair of Crocs. Comfy? Yes. High fashion? Decidedly no.<\/p>\n But maybe that\u2019s changing. Wang\u2019s boss, Mark Zuckerberg, who once always appeared in a plain gray T-shirt and jeans, has made efforts in recent years to become more fashionable. Zuck and his wife Priscilla Chan were spotted front row at a Prada show<\/a> this season. The new campaign for Meta Glasses has a slew of celeb ambassadors <\/a>and looks like it could be a Saint Laurent or Balenciaga ad.<\/p>\n OpenAI<\/a> and Palantir<\/a> have recently released merch collabs, playing on the minimalist style of tech workers (the merch line of the latter, I would argue, looks inspired by Virgil Abloh\u2019s Off-White).<\/p>\n I concede that creatively there is much to be done with the understated, Northern California style. Surrounded by beautiful nature and cooler temperatures, plenty of fashion designers could be motivated by San Francisco\u2019s tech industry. I look forward to seeing Claude-inspired terra cotta-colored gowns and Vogue-emblazoned quarter-zips soon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n