Dress how you want to be addressed? A suited-up Zelenskyy for Trump meet has got people taking

New negotiation, new look. When President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine arrived at the White House on Monday to meet with President Donald Trump, he had swapped the military-style clothing that has been his de facto uniform since the war with Russia began in 2022, for a more statesmanlike ensemble: black field jacket, black shirt and black slacks.

Was it an early sign he was ready to make some concessions?

That may seem a ridiculous question. But Trump is someone who cares deeply about the ceremony and trappings of office — its regalia, gilt, and even souvenir pins — and since the start of the war Zelenskyy has made his look part of his message.

Indeed, during his first, famously acrimonious meeting with Trump in February, Zelenskyy’s chosen attire — a black long-sleeved polo shirt with the Ukrainian trident as a crest and matching fatigue-like trousers — became not only a talking point but, in the view of some Trump officials, a seeming symbol of his refusal to kowtow to the White House.

Trump commented sarcastically on the look as soon as Zelenskyy arrived, and a reporter later implied in a question that the Ukrainian president had been demonstrating disrespect-through-dress — even though there should have been no real mystery about what Zelenskyy was going to wear.

He had, after all, made a point of wearing pretty much the same thing no matter where he was for three years: an olive green or black shirt or sweater, pants and combat boots. The look served as both a visual reminder of his status as a wartime president, and show of solidarity with the men and women fighting for his country.

He had worn olive green, for example, to the Oval Office to meet with President Joe Biden and to address Congress in 2022. He had done the same for a speech to the European Parliament in 2023, and to meet with King Charles III in 2024. Thus, despite the fact the White House had reportedly reached out before the first meeting to inquire about whether Zelenskyy was going to wear a suit (reflecting the fact it clearly mattered to Trump), there was little doubt that he would, as he did, stick to his own program.

Not so much any more.

The new-look black jacket first appeared in April, when Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena Zelenska, attended the funeral of Pope Francis. For that occasion, the Ukrainian president wore a custom-made look by Kiev-based designer Viktor Anisimov (who also designed the opening ceremony looks for the Ukrainian Paralympic team). The clothing was part of a larger capsule collection commissioned by Zelenskyy’s team and designed to combine some of the semiology of the battlefield — patch pockets, a higher neckline — with that of the suit.

At the time, Anisimov told WWD that the goal was to reimagine the military uniform “in order to create a restrained, functional and dignified image that reflects the reality of the time our country is living through.”

The jacket (or a very similar style), as well as the coordinating black trousers and a black button-up, appeared to make a reappearance during Zelenskyy’s meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain in June, as well as just during the NATO summit in The Hague shortly thereafter, when Zelenskyy also met with Trump — who reportedly noticed Zelenskyy’s fashion evolution with approval.

He was not the only one. The Kyiv Post reported on the change, as did Ukrainian Elle. Whether the ensemble was actually a suit or rather a suit-like jacket-and-slacks combination caused some debate in the betting market, but either way, and despite the fact it was still dark, as if to signal the dark days, it was unquestionably more formal than Zelenskyy’s usual attire; a sort of fashion DMZ situated between the two sides of combat and classic. No tie, but no cargo pants either.

That may be the same space Zelenskyy was hoping to occupy at the White House on Monday.

In any case, the new look seemed to once again please Trump — it was specifically mentioned by the reporter who had originally criticized Zelenskyy’s attire — who probably saw it as a “win.” Just as Trump’s first attacks on Zelenskyy (and his clothing) seemed to be a scripted-for-TV scene, Zelenskyy’s willingness to change his costume may have been taken by Trump as a sign that he was running the show.

Whether it actually signals a change in the storyline is a different question.