Putin's puffy coat, Zelenskyy's T-shirts and the power of fashion in war

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The blue coat underscores how Putin is out of touch with ordinary Russians and is yet another example of the information war he's engaged in, fashion experts and historians contend.

The coat, which was reportedly fabricated in Italy and cost approximately $14,000, is part of the carefully curated way Putin attempts to present himself to the world, said Marlen Komar, a fashion history journalist.

The coat is a strategic part of Putin's propaganda machine which operates day and night to combat reports portraying Russia "as a poor, suffering country that is on the brink of collapse behind its exterior image," Komar told NPR over email.

Zelenskyy, on the other hand, knows exactly what he's doing in his simple green T-shirts and other military garbs, said Dr. Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, a fashion historian and author of "Red, White, and Blue on the Runway: The 1968 White House Fashion Show and the Politics of American Style."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures as he speaks during a press conference in Kyiv on March 3, 2022.

All clothing choices are a form of communication and both leaders are "extremely conscious of the political power of image, even if they use that power in very different ways," Chrisman-Campbell told NPR over email.

"By wearing T-shirts and hoodies, the youthful, egalitarian uniform of Silicon Valley, rather than suits, Zelenskyy is projecting confidence and competence in a modern way, to a younger, global audience that recognizes it as such," Chrisman-Campbell said. "He is probably more comfortable than Putin on camera, too, both as an actor and as a digital native. ... I believe both of them want to come across as relatable, not aloof or untouchable, although Zelenskyy is definitely doing a better job balancing authority with accessibility."...