"There is a lot of sense in it": fashion expert assesses the images of Olena and Volodymyr Zelensky during a full-scale war

Former Elle fashion editor and fashion expert Roman Timofeev shared his thoughts on the wardrobe of the President and First Lady of Ukraine after the full-scale invasion. He realizes that today every image of Volodymyr and Olena Zelensky is not just clothes, it is a message full of many meanings to both Ukrainians and the entire international community.

For example, Roman noted that the first lady's brooches are one of the diplomatic techniques used by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Queen Elizabeth II. The fashion expert shared his analysis in an interview with Tabloid.

"This technique with 'talking brooches', it appeared in Olena Zelenska's work as well. A brooch is not a mainstream piece of jewelry. It cannot be worn by accident. That is, at some point, in search of meanings and symbols, we came to brooches. They are constantly looking for certain meanings and symbols. Because the first lady's wardrobe cannot be simple, because she is so comfortable and it is beautiful. No. It has to be filled with meanings," Timofeev commented.

The first and foremost thing that Olena Zelenska's images do is popularize Ukrainian brands.

"This is the simplest thing a first lady can do – to become an ambassador of her country's light industry. And then everything gets more complicated – for example, it's a reference to a painting by a Ukrainian artist, it's embroidery from a certain region of Ukraine... It's extremely interesting to look at Olena Zelenska's images," the fashion expert added.

Tymofeev noticed that some haters may criticize Zelenska for her outfit. However, he disagrees with the negative comments.

"Many people do not realize that this is another reason to mention Ukraine. After the start of the full-scale invasion, entire guides were published in Western publications: "What Olena Zelenska wears," "What her images mean"... And if we can fuel the world's interest in our country with a certain fashion statement of the first lady, we should certainly use it... And, again, she demonstrates the Gasanova suit – the brand receives orders for this suit. And they hire seamstresses. And then these women get paid, pay taxes, and can donate. It's a very long chain and it needs to be talked about because not everyone understands it," Roman said.

Timofeev also approves of the decisions of the Ukrainian president's stylists. He likes the fact that Volodymyr Oleksandrovych has abandoned classic suits and ties and instead opted for hoodies or T-shirts, comfortable pants, and sneakers or boots in military or black.

"The president and the first lady are now working with clothes in a very interesting way. I do like the stylists' technique, although they say that Zelenskyy himself came up with it – always in the military, always wearing green, refusing to wear suits, and so on... When his opponents try to hurt him, saying why he didn't come to the White House in a tuxedo, I laugh at this. It's just a very good move, strategically well-constructed. And, in principle, it's logical, because he can't think every day about what tie to wear to address people. With this moment of "I don't think about clothes," he has cut off this topic altogether," Roman said.

The expert noticed that now every appearance of Zelenskyy in an embroidered shirt is a real sensation. However, even here, the president does not depart from the general concept of all his images – he remains in the military. Moreover, the ornaments on the shirts of the Ukrainian guarantor are always unique and atypical.

"It's cool that he didn't just put on an embroidered shirt with some symbols on it. Every time it can be examined and analyzed... There are drones, princely coats of arms – there is a lot of meaning there," Tymofeev summarized.

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