The .0001-Percent Glow-up

melinda gates
Looking back at Gates’s wardrobe over the years, she always looked pretty good, but now she looks designer. Photo: Jason Howard/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
Lauren Sherman
August 8, 2024

Yesterday on Instagram, I noticed that Melinda French Gates, the philanthropist and ex-wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, was wearing the Courrèges turtleneck—you know, the slight, ribbed one with the little embroidered monogram that sits right at the center of the clavicle. I’ve been delighted by this turtleneck’s popularity with the Ssense crowd. Courrèges may be owned by the Pinault family office, Groupe Artémis, and it may be a historic brand, but it’s small, and it’s always nice to see attention bestowed upon a label that doesn’t generate billions of dollars a year. But why is Gates, a 59-year-old Seattle mom worth $13 billion, wearing Courrèges, with no less than an Alaïa skirt and belt?