“Unveiling the Secret: Why Steve Jobs Chose a Simple Black Turtleneck Over High Fashion”

When you imagine Steve Jobs, what springs to mind? Chances are, it’s the image of him donning that iconic black turtleneck, a staple in his wardrobe that became synonymous with his persona. But why did this tech mogul, who could have splurged on a whole fashion line, stick to this singular style? Was it a quirky superstition that powered Apple’s innovations, or maybe he just really liked the way he looked—like a rockstar of the Silicon Valley? Join me as we delve into the fascinating backstory of Jobs’ wardrobe choice that’s sparked many curious conversations over the years. Spoiler alert: it’s more than just a shirt; it’s a piece of branding mastery! LEARN MORE

Google Steve Jobs and the overwhelming majority of photographs of him will feature a familiar black turtleneck jumper, particularly in the businessman’s later years.

But have you ever wondered why a man who could afford to by himself literally any item of clothing that he wanted always opted to wear the same black jumper?

Did Jobs come up with his best creative ideas while wearing the ensemble, or perhaps he was a man of superstition who believed the future of Apple‘s success relied solely on the familiar turtleneck?

You may not be able to see it but the famous jumper is in this photo (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The story behind Steve Jobs’ black turtleneck

Much has been written about Jobs’ clothing choices over the years, with all of his shirts coming from Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake.

Miyake had designed the uniforms for Sony employees in 1981 to celebrate the brand’s 35th anniversary. The sleek and simplistic designs captured the attention of Jobs, who had taken over the development of Macintosh computers that year.

The anecdote was revealed in Walter Isaacson’s 2011 biography Steve Jobs, with the tech mogul believing that having all of his employees in the same uniform would allow for ‘corporate bonding’.

Jobs subsequently opted to have Miyake create something similar for Apple employees. However, the idea didn’t go down well amongst staff at the time, in-fact it was so poorly received that Jobs was allegedly ‘booed off the stage’ during the announcement.

He refused to be put off by disgruntled employees and instead adapted the idea to become his own one man uniform.

It was at this point that a legend was made.

A rare image of Jobs pre-turtleneck (Marilyn K. Yee/New York Times Co./Getty Images)

“I asked Issey to make me some of his black turtlenecks that I liked, and he made me like a hundred of them,” Jobs explained to Isaacson (via Forbes).

According to the biographer, Jobs then opened up his wardrobe to reveal numerous identical copies of the same shirt.

He didn’t stop at wearing the same shirt (well, various copies of same shirt) everyday either, with the businessman also having a soft spot for Levi’s jeans and New Balance trainers.

Which is a pretty straightforward costume idea to utilise next Halloween.

The simplistic clothing decision had benefits beyond making it very easy to pick an outfit in the morning. The look made Jobs instantly recognisable and was even copied by Elizabeth Holmes when she launched her short-lived company Theranos.

Miyake would even retire the design after Jobs’ death in honour as an homage to the former Apple CEO, however, the brand does have a number of similar styles available on their website.

Should you fancy taking a leaf out of Jobs’ book and donning a Issey Miyake shirt you can pick a similar one from the brand’s website – for a small £490.

Hey, we said dressing like a tech CEO was simple, not cheap.