Why Did Zelenskyy Not Wear A Suit to the White House?

The meaning behind Volodymyr Zelenskyy's clothing choice, and what message he is trying to convey.

It’s been a couple of days since the shocking showdown between the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the American President, Donald Trump over the latter’s refusal to truly understand the massive threat Russia poses to Ukraine today.

Harsh and inappropriate words were said by Trump and his Vice President, JD Vance and constant demands for “respect” were being made from Zelenskyy. Amidst the argument where everyone was talking over each other, one journalist questioned Zelenskyy on his choice of clothing, asking why wasn’t he wearing a suit to the “highest office” and whether he even owned a suit.

President Zelenskyy replied: "I will wear costume after this war will finish." The word costume translates from 'kostyum' - the Ukrainian word for suit. The simple answer to why Zelenskyy’s attire was more on the casual side is because it is serving as a symbol of solidarity with the Ukrainian military forces.

But the sheer absurdist nature of asking such a vain and irrelevant question to a war-time President could not be ignored by anyone, as that line of questioning was heavily criticized by international media. Having said that, if one still chose to take a closer look at Zelenskyy’s clothing choice, they’ll find a wealth of symbolic motifs that tend to connect with people on a more sub-conscious level.

Zelenskyy arrived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue dressed in a three-button knitted long-sleeve polo shirt from Elvira Gasanova’s menswear brand, Damirli, paired with matching pants from the same collection. For this occasion, Gasanova crafted a unique version of the shirt, featuring the emblem of the tryzub—Ukraine's national coat of arms, a trident-shaped shield officially adopted in February 1991.

Sales of the knitted Damirli polo shirt that Zelensky wore picked up this weekend, Gasanova said. “Now a lot of people have been buying the shirt, which retails for 215 euros. Today we had a lot of orders from America. Maybe they want something that a Ukrainian president wore for a historical moment,” she told WWD.

But Zelenskyy is not the first world leader to don military attire in support of his country's war effort. Famously, Winston Churchill visited the White House in a siren suit, a one-piece outfit originally designed for use in air raids shelters. Pictures from the period show the Churchill wearing jumpsuit-like clothes to a meeting with then-US President Franklin Roosevelt, and he also wore military uniforms and suits during conflabs with world leaders.

If you’re a regular reader of this newsletter, you’ve probably heard me say this many times before, but what we wear, contributes greatly to how people perceive us and when one lives in a society, this form of communication becomes very important. Hence, clothing is much more than a simple vanity project. It’s a form of self-expression.

Now, bring that information to politics and clothing becomes even more important. For a politician, one of the best ways to communicate to the public is through their attire. Since chances are that the majority of people won’t hear the politician in question speak, a singular still image would have to do the heavy-lifting of conveying to the public what the ethics and values of that politician are, or at least what they are trying to say.

Mirroring the reality of present-day Ukraine

So, when Zelenskyy showed up at the White House, even without speaking any words, his clothing was doing a lot of talking about the present-day reality of his country.

"This is the reality that we’re living in. Obviously, our president is going to reflect that," says Agatha Gorski, co-founder of the Shadows Project, an NGO and creative consultancy aimed at preserving and popularising Ukrainian culture to Euronews Culture. "If you’re walking around Kyiv then you see that people look like this. It shapes a narrative. A very important narrative that we are at war and that this is our reality."

The interesting point here is that Zelenskyy has made his clothing a key element of his public persona, opting against formal attire for diplomatic occasions and making sure that his choice of dress continues to reinforce the message he aims to send about the state of his country.

The military uniform has long been a symbol of power, worn not just by leaders in times of war, but also by those seeking to project authority, strength, and achievement. Worn by generals, seasoned veterans, and statesmen alike, it carries with it an aura of legitimacy and experience.

However, Zelenskyy's usual attire is not quite a traditional uniform. He doesn't wear the same gear as the Ukrainian soldiers on the frontlines, nor does he sport medals signifying military accomplishments. Instead, his style evokes the image of a soldier off duty—the relatable everyman of his country.

"Our president is the very specific representation of who we are, what message we want to give to the rest of the world, and his clothing is part of this message and they’re part of the personal brand which doesn’t just represent him but represents us as a country," Gorski tells Euronews Culture.

Gorski suggests that the criticism he faced for his style of dress was not only felt in the Oval Office. Instead, she believes that the questioning sounded "like it’s a mockery of the soldiers that are fighting for their country’s survival and the fact that their leader chooses to act in solidarity with them".

In Zelenskyy's case, she argues, the intention of his choices carry special weight. "I think that Zelenskyy knows this more than anybody else because he has a background as a comedian, as an actor," she says, "he knows first-hand what dressing up and pretending to be somebody looks like."

"I think he’s a really great representation also of new leadership, of leadership that is young, that is charismatic," says Gorski, "I think what we’re realising today is that more and more leadership is not and does not have to be defined by a suit."

If there’s any silver lining to this all, Zelenskyy's style has drawn admiration from many Ukrainians, who see it as a show of solidarity and a marked shift in political norms. Hence, message successfully conveyed.