Following Holmes’ conviction of defrauding investors on January 3, here’s a closer look at the one-time billionaire’s wardrobe transformation …
The start of Theranos
In the hit ABC podcast The Dropout, former Theranos employee Ana Arriola claimed Holmes used to wear “frumpy Christmas” jumpers when she first started Theranos. Arriola was the chief design architect at the company and said the outfits worn by Holmes were the kind you would only see during the holiday season.
Arriola added that Holmes’ voice was also “normal” and not the deep timbre the world has come to know her for. “It was maybe at one of the company parties, and maybe she had too much to drink or what not, but she fell out of character and exposed that that was not necessarily her true voice,” Arriola said on the podcast.
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The Steve Jobs style inspiration
Arriola also worked at Apple and helped design the iPhone before joining Theranos. The former Theranos employee said Holmes asked about Jobs’ clothing style, and when Arriola explained Jobs had been inspired by Sony’s heritage of having Japanese designer Issey Miyake create the Sony line manager apparel, Holmes immediately changed her look. Suddenly, she was sporting black turtlenecks, black pants and bright red lipstick with her hair ironed straight or pulled into a chignon.
The former CEO also became known for her deep voice. When she spoke, she had a noticeable baritone that caught the attention of many and became the subject of speculation, as netizens wondered whether it was real or fake.
What’s the significance of a uniform anyway?
According to The New York Times, Holmes created the look so she could fit into the Silicon Valley idea that having a set uniform means you don’t waste time thinking about what to wear, but rather focus on more important things.
Esquire notes that the black turtleneck has a long history, with the look being associated with being a “tech genius” and “freedom from sartorial convention demanded by deep thought or pure creation”. The black turtleneck has also been viewed as a statement of rebellion during some stages in fashion history.
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During her trial, she was often seen wearing light blue or green face masks, carefully chosen to match her outfits. She was also often seen with a family member or her husband, with someone always holding her hand.
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But why the drastic change?
The New York Times described her trial makeover as “code-switching of the most skilful kind”, while Financial Times said the transformation was an attempt to “project a different persona during a trial by altering [their] appearance”. More specifically, it seems the diaper bag served to remind the jury that she was a new mother, and therefore had family values.
On The Dropout podcast, former employees said they had bumped into Holmes ahead of the trial, and it was like meeting a new person. They said she was sporting athleisure outfits and a baseball cap. They also remarked on how her voice was not as deep any more.
