In brown loafers, Luigi Mangione is once again causing a stir on social networks

This Friday, February 21, Brian Thompson’s alleged killer triggered a new fashion frenzy on social networks. The reason? His brown loafers. This Friday, February 21, Brian Thompson’s alleged killer triggered a new fashion frenzy on social networks. The reason? His brown loafers. 

On Friday, February 21, the defendant made his first public appearance of the year at the Manhattan courthouse, charged with the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of the insurance company United Healthcare on December 4, 2024. It didn’t take long for photos of the alleged culprit to make the rounds online, not for legal updates, but for his choice of clothing. Far from the orange prison jumpsuits, the 26-year-old played on the “old money” trend, wearing a dark green knit sweater, a white shirt and beige pants. What caught the attention of Internet users? His choice of footwear: brown loafers accompanied by a pair of handcuffs on his bare ankles. His shoes quickly went viral, especially on Google. Searches for “Luigi Mangione outfits” increased by 350% and those for “Luigi Mangione loafers” increased by 1,400%. On the social network X, some are wondering, others have wasted no time in showing how to adopt his look and praising his outfit: “He’s a real fashion hero.”

A style that still gets people talking  

This isn’t the first time Luigi Mangione has made headlines for his outfit. In early December 2024, a photo of the main suspect taken just before the murder and shared by the FBI went viral. It shows the young man wearing a khaki green utility jacket, identified as a Levi’s model, the “Men’s Sherpa Lined Two Pocket Hooded Trucker Jacket,” which quickly went viral. A few weeks later, it was the turn of his orange jumpsuit, typical of American prisons, to make headlines, compared to a silhouette from Saint Laurent’s spring/summer 2025 show. Then, during his appearance in Manhattan court on December 23, the suspect wore a burgundy sweater that sparked a new wave on social media, compared to models spotted at Nordstrom and Maison Margiela. No matter the outfit chosen, the craze for Luigi Mangione’s clothing style shows no sign of stopping.