Fashion
How a Ukrainian designer helped Zelenskyy dress for Trump diplomacy
By
Reuters
Published
August 19, 2025
When Ukrainian designer Viktor Anisimov showed Volodymyr Zelenskyy 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 US President Donald Trump. Moments after Zelenskyy arrived, Trump complimented him on the suit.
Zelenskyy’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 Zelenskyy. “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 Zelenskyy 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.
Zelenskyy 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,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with a Ukrainian media outlet a year later.
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 US trip.
It was not the first time that Anisimov had been charged with changing the president’s style. In the early 2000s, then-comedian Zelenskyy 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 Zelenskyy 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 Zelenskyy 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 US and Ukraine closer together after the public rift in February.
© Thomson Reuters 2025 All rights reserved.
NITMA president Sidharth Khanna warned that the current inverted duty structure—where polyester staple fibre (PSF) is taxed at 18 per cent and polyester spun yarn (PSY) at 12 per cent while fabric is at 5 per cent—is unworkable for spinners. He urged a cut in PSF and PSY rates to 5 per cent to align with fabric.
India’s textile sector is under strain as steep US tariffs take effect today.
The Northern India Textile Mills Association (NITMA) has urged the GST Council, meeting on September 3–4, 2025, to address the inverted duty structure in the man-made fibre value chain by reducing GST on polyester staple fibre (18 per cent) and polyester spun yarn (12 per cent) to 5 per cent, aligning with fabric.
According to Khanna, the present system burdens the industry with blocked working capital in GST refunds, unutilised input tax credits, administrative delays, loss of state SGST incentives, and unfair competition from imports.
“This is a critical moment for India’s textile sector. Decisive action to remove the inverted duty structure will not only counteract the impact of US tariffs but also unlock growth and investment across the MMF value chain, thereby making this event a blessing in disguise,” Khanna stressed.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)
Published
August 28, 2025
A Deutsche Bank report this week has sent the share prices of a number of UK retailers down on the back of falling consumer confidence, and it looks like retailer confidence is low too if the latest CBI retail report is a guide.
First, a quick look at that Deutsche Bank report. It showed UK consumer confidence at a post-pandemic low and raised fears that autumn will be tough for discretionary retailers. Big names such as Next, M&S and Primark owner ABF saw their share prices falling with ABF’s price down as much as 6% in recent days.
It coincided with the latest CBI retailer survey that showed retail sales volumes “fell at a strong pace in the year to August, extending the downturn to an 11th consecutive month”.
That said, the business body reported retailers expecting the pace of decline to ease in September. So perhaps those share price falls may be reversed soon?
Regardless, the CBI report wasn’t exactly upbeat. It said weak demand and gloomy sentiment continue to weigh on retailers’ investment and hiring plans. Price pressures remain elevated, with selling prices rising at their fastest rate since November 2023.
Year-on-year retail sales volumes fell at a strong pace in August with a weighted balance of -32% from -34% in July. Sales are expected to decline at a slower rate next month (-16%).
First though, an explanation. Those figures don’t mean that the volume of sales fell by 34%. Instead, the weighted balance showed 34% of retailers saying their sales fell to one degree or another.
Back with the report, retail sales for the time of year were judged to be “poor”, to a somewhat greater extent than in July (-19% from -10% in July). Next month’s sales are set to remain below seasonal norms to a similar degree (-20%).
Sentiment among retailers remained poor, with their business situation expected to deteriorate over the coming quarter, but to a lesser extent than last quarter (-10% from -29% in May).
Retailers also expect to reduce capital expenditure over the next 12 months (compared to the previous 12) to a slightly lesser degree than in May (-42% from -47% in May), but intentions remain poor by historical standards (long-run average of -3%).
Meanwhile retail employment continued to decline at a broadly unchanged rate in the year to August (-14% from -15% in May). Headcount is expected to fall at a slightly quicker pace next month (-19%).
And the survey showed retail selling prices rose in the year to August at the fastest rate since November 2023 (+65% from +35% in May). Retailers anticipate selling prices to increase at a relatively slower pace in September (+43%).
Online retail sales volumes were broadly flat in the year to August (+3% from +4% in July) but are expected to contract at a fast rate in September (-35%).
Martin Sartorius, CBI Principal Economist, said of this: “Retailers endured another tough month in August. Weak demand and higher labour costs continue to put pressure on margins, dampening sentiment across the retail and wider distribution sector. This downbeat outlook is reflected in firms’ plans to scale back investment and hiring.
“The government’s fiscal decisions are continuing to bite, and retailers’ struggles send a clear signal: business cannot be asked to balance the books again at the Autumn Budget. Building business confidence through delivery must be the priority — starting with a rethink of the Employment Rights Bill, which risks piling on unnecessary costs and holding back jobs and investment.”
Copyright © 2025 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
Published
August 28, 2025
Central London’s department stores continue to attract brands for pop-ups and permanent spaces with Selfridges, Harrods and Liberty all adding key names recently.
Luxury lifestyle brand Smythson of Bond Street has opened a new concession in the latter. It’s in Liberty’s homewares department on the third floor. The brand’s signature diaries, notebooks, and stationery, along with a selection of leather accessories and a curated edit of the brand’s bestselling bags are all on offer with personalisation also available.
The brands have developed an exclusive limited-edition range of Smythson x Liberty products with the first collection having just launched. There’s a selection of signature notebooks and diaries in Liberty Purple, Smythson’s Nile Blue, and a seasonal Coral colourway, each lined with a Liberty silk in coordinating colours. The second edit, launching in November, will feature a range of bestselling accessories.
Meanwhile UK-based padel apparel brand Pulco has debuted at Harrods, becoming the store’s first-ever padel clothing label, underlining the sport’s surging popularity.
Products on offer include the key Aircon shirt made from an ultra-lightweight, Italian-engineered fabric “featuring a breakthrough weave that rapidly wicks moisture from the inside out, delivering unrivalled breathability and comfort in play”.
But as well as performance-wear, there’s a full lifestyle offering “blending elevated athletic apparel with understated, off-court elegance”. That means shirts, shorts, hoodies, jackets, T-shirts, sweatpants, caps, socks and more. Retail prices range from £10 up to £165.
And back in the West End, Samsøe Samsøe has moved to a new space within Selfridges that presents the Scandinavian brand’s contemporary womenswear “within the universe of its experiential design”. The pop-up revolves around the AW25 collection that also inspires the space, “which emulates the immersive ‘Radiant Connection’ exhibition” that Samsøe Samsøe introduced the collection with during Copenhagen Fashion Week.
Set against the backdrop of the exhibition’s set design and illustrated by the lookbook imagery of the season, the pop-up “becomes illuminated with the lime green shade that defines the visual identity” of the collection.
The brand said the pop-up is a “next step within Samsøe Samsøe’s ever-increasing focus on the UK market” and should help it reach new consumers.
Copyright © 2025 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
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