When Elizabeth Holmes got dressed for her court appearance on Monday, she stared at her closet full of black turtlenecks and thought to herself, I'll show them (probably).
Holmes' detractors have picked apart the fallen Silicon Valley CEO, criticizing everything from her natural hair colour to her voice to what happened to her wolf, er, dog. And, over here at Refinery29, we were curious what message she was sending with her carefully calculated corporate fashion, specifically, her steady supply of black turtlenecks. Well now it appears, this Empress has a few new clothes after all.
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Holmes appeared in court to face charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud wearing a light blue button-down shirt, grey slacks, and a grey blazer — and no turtleneck in sight. This is the first time she has appeared in court since the release of the HBO documentary The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley which followed the rise and follow of her tech company, Theranos, as well as her love of black turtlenecks.
Reportedly, Holmes was so obsessed with owning the exact Issey Miyake black turtleneck Steve Jobs wore in his iconic keynote presentations (and every other day of his working life) that she tracked down and stocked up on the pieces, which were reissued in 2017 for $270 [£208]. Perhaps with this courtroom outfit, Holmes is signalling that she's finally changed her ways - or at least her wardrobe.
At the hearing, the judge postponed her trial date until 8th July to offer up more time to review additional documents. According to ABC7, an estimated 20 million pages of documents are involved in this case, and the number could grow because of the judge allowing more time for review.
ABC7 is reporting Holmes and former Theranos president Ramesh Sunny Bulwani are facing 11 criminal counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Holmes and her attorneys were silent as they left the courthouse, ignoring questions. They are due back in court on 10th June for procedural matters.