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How a Ukrainian designer helped Zelenskyy dress for Trump diplomacy

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How a Ukrainian designer helped Zelenskyy dress for Trump diplomacy


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Reuters

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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.

Zelenskyy at a previous meeting – AFP

“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.



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Top Vietnamese, Chinese leaders hold talks on advancing cooperation

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Top Vietnamese, Chinese leaders hold talks on advancing cooperation



China and Vietnam are accelerating efforts to navigate bilateral trade towards a more balanced and sustainable course.

China will step up building a higher-level China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, Chinese President Xi Jinping said while holding talks with visiting Vietnamese President To Lam.

China and Vietnam are accelerating efforts to navigate bilateral trade towards a more balanced and sustainable course.
President Xi Jinping recently held talks with visiting Vietnamese President To Lam.
During the visit, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Le Manh Hung called for a restructuring of production, trade and supply chains alongside stronger investment cooperation.

Xi said both countries should work together in their modernisation drive, accelerate the alignment of development strategies and prioritise infrastructure connectivity.

While meeting Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao during the state visit, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Le Manh Hung called for a restructuring of production, trade and supply chains alongside stronger investment cooperation.

Wang said both sides should focus on implementing the high-level common perceptions, including raising bilateral trade turnover to $500 billion in future.

Hung urged China to expand imports of Vietnamese goods, broaden the list of products eligible for tariff preferences and further open its market. He also called for the mutual recognition of quarantine results for agro-forestry-fishery products, facilitation of Vietnamese exports via cross-border e-commerce, and expansion of Vietnam’s trade promotion offices across Chinese localities, according to a Vietnamese news agency.

China will continue to support Vietnam in setting up additional trade promotion offices, following those already established in Chongqing, Hangzhou and Haikou, Wang responded.

China also expressed readiness to support Vietnam’s stronger exports through cross-border e-commerce, encouraging greater visibility of the Vietnam National Pavilion on Chinese e-commerce platforms beyond JD.com to better promote Vietnamese products to Chinese consumers.

China has consistently been Vietnam’s largest trading partner and second-largest export market, while Vietnam continues to be China’s biggest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)



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Hong Kong apparel imports stabilise after sharp dip last year

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Hong Kong apparel imports stabilise after sharp dip last year












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Burberry unveils High Summer 2026 lido-inspired campaign

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Burberry unveils High Summer 2026 lido-inspired campaign



Burberry presents the High Summer 2026 campaign: a film and portfolio of images capturing life at the lido, celebrating Britain’s culture of open-air pools that come alive with families, friends and neighbours every summer.

British actors Simone Ashley and Tom Blyth star alongside models Alva Claire, Babacar N’Doye and Sacha Quenby and a cast of synchronised swimmers and divers.

Burberry’s High Summer 2026 campaign captures Britain’s nostalgic lido culture through a sunlit film featuring Simone Ashley and Tom Blyth.
Blending heritage check with pastel tones, the collection spans swimwear, relaxed tailoring, raffia bags and lightweight layers, evoking effortless, poolside summer style.
Directed by Francis Plummer, the campaign reflects a warm, communal British summer mood.

The campaign film is directed by Francis Plummer and shot by photographer Ryan McGinley. The cameras move from loungers to diving boards, catching mid-air dives and friends stretched out in the hazy afternoon light. Before long, the best spots by the pool are claimed with a Burberry towel. Summer has begun. The film is underscored by the TONE remix of ‘Beating’ by Tirzah.

‘A lido holds a particular kind of nostalgia for the British. The moment the sun comes out, we make the most of the weather. We wanted to bring to life a warm summer’s day spent in and around the water’s edge with friends.’ said Daniel Lee Chief Creative Officer, Burberry.

Key styles

The High Summer 2026 collection features the Burberry Check in heritage-inspired sand beige and pastel shades of aubergine purple and cornflower blue.

The iconic Burberry Check bikini is the beach essential, alongside matching swimsuits and men’s swim shorts trimmed with check.

Poolside separates include tops, skirts and shirts cut from cotton voile, plus cover-up dresses woven with a tonal Burberry Check and deckchair-inspired stripes. Ruffled trims and ties at the neckline capture the floaty, effortless feel of the collection. Festival

tank tops in ribbed cotton jersey are trimmed with check straps, while looks are wrapped in lightweight wool silk scarves.

For men, collared shirts and shorts are tailored to relaxed lines and finished with fresh interpretations of the Burberry Check, from textural weaves to intricate embroidered designs. The co-ord set is crafted from lightweight cotton poplin printed with a playful seahorse pattern in honeysuckle pink.

The classic cotton piqué polo shirt comes in a spectrum of vivid and neutral colours. Burberry Check is subtly placed at the placket and trims the collar of T-shirts in soft cotton jersey.

Lightweight hooded jackets are ideal for cooler evenings and unexpected showers, the new-season designs woven in aubergine purple and cornflower blue check.

In shoes, the new Knight Runner sneakers offer a streamlined, low-profile shape for summer. Sandals are elevated in the form of the whipstitched leather Baez and check-trimmed suede Urchin styles, while Burberry Check slides and Pavilion sandals are made for the beach.

Lightweight Margate bags are handcrafted in Madagascar from locally sourced raffia palm leaves, dyed in signature sand beige Burberry Check. Accessories include crocheted bucket hats and wraparound sunglasses, designed to shield from the sun.

Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (JP)



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