How a Ukrainian designer helped Zelenskiy dress for Trump diplomacy

By Anastasiia Malenko

KYIV, Aug 19 (Reuters) - When Ukrainian designer Viktor Anisimov showed Volodymyr Zelenskiy a new black suit last Friday, it included a small detail. A back vent on the back inched it closer to a civilian suit, compared to the military outfits the president has favoured throughout the war in Ukraine.

"These are our hopes for peace," Anisimov told Reuters about the tweak. "We think that if we add something subtle to this image, something from civilian clothing to his uniform, then it will be like a lucky charm.”

On Monday, the lucky charm worked to set a warm tone for a White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. Moments after Zelenskiy arrived, Trump complimented him on the suit.

Zelenskiy's dark military-style outfit was one of the things Trump objected to during a disastrous Oval Office meeting in February, when the Ukrainian leader was given a public scolding.

Anisimov, 61, from the northern region of Chernihiv, said he was watching videos of that interaction and felt the jabs. He perceived them as aimed at the Ukrainian citizens, not just at Zelenskiy.

"There was a slight sense of despair because they do not understand how we breathe, how we live," he said.

A reporter at the White House who asked Zelenskiy in February why he was not wearing a suit also praised the Ukrainian on his attire on Monday, saying "You look fabulous in that suit".

Anisimov said he was not watching for criticism or compliments this time but wanted to ensure the Ukrainian president looked dignified.

"They praise, they scold. If we win, and we will win, then whose suit it was doesn't matter," he said.

Zelenskiy has worn military-type outfits, often with collar-less shirts and heavy boots, to show solidarity with Ukraine's troops since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

"In this moment, internally, we all changed, everything changed, life changed. It was a point of no-return," Zelenskiy said in an interview with a Ukrainian media outlet a year later.

URGENT REQUEST

The black suit worn on Monday was originally presented, along with an identical navy option, as an outfit idea for Ukrainian Independence Day on August 24.

While the team was going back and forth on the back vent, Anisimov took it back for alterations on Friday. Before he even got to making the adjustments on sleeves, the phone rang with an urgent request from the administration on Saturday – the president needed the suit for his U.S. trip.

It was not the first time that Anisimov had been charged with changing the president's style.

In the early 2000s, then-comedian Zelenskiy and his team “Kvartal 95” sought to establish their identities on the Ukrainian screens after getting their initial break in comedy competitions.

The process was gradual: black t-shirts gave way to white shirts with ties and then morphed into suits worn by the team during the shows.

Anisimov said he had not heard from Zelenskiy for over five years when a mutual acquaintance from the previous make-over contacted him in January. They floated the idea of creating a capsule collection for the president.

Anisimov said he used the military uniform as an inspiration point to ensure versatility for all items in the capsule.

"I can't say that we sewed (a suit) specifically for the NATO summit or for an important conversation with Trump and European leaders. The suit is just a suit," Anisimov said, adding that Zelenskiy has about five similar-looking jackets with small tweaks.

Since then, the Ukrainian president wore Anisimov's designs to the funeral of Pope Francis in April and a NATO Summit in June, both occasions that helped to bring the U.S. and Ukraine closer together after the public rift in February.