The French have long been known for their chic style and fashion trendsetting, and President Emmanuel Macron is no exception, with a wardrobe full of sharply tailored suits and leather bomber jackets.
So his official photographer set social media ablaze when she posted photos of the president hard at work at the Élysée Palace wearing a baggy black hoodie emblazoned with a French special forces insignia in 2022. Not only that, but the ordinarily clean-shaven Macron was sporting stubble, along with rakishly ruffled hair and jeans.
The cool factor was offset somewhat by the clearly staged nature of the pics. And yet, somehow, Macron pulled it off. As POLITICO Europe’s editor-in-chief observed, the French president is a fan of hoodies, changing out of a suit and into one, then back into a suit, on a three-hour flight in China. That’s commitment.
Iconic: Volodymyr Zelenskyy
If there’s one leader who has single-handedly popularized the hoodie in political circles as a symbol of getting down to business, it’s Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The leader has worn only plain black and olive-green sweatshirts, T-shirts and hoodies since Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion of his country in early 2022.
Foregoing customary formal attire in favor of a more rugged, army-toned wardrobe, complete with scruffy facial hair, is a deliberate statement by the Ukrainian president, reflecting his country’s grim fight for survival and placing him in solidarity with the armed forces. According to the Financial Times’ Kyiv correspondent, Zelenskyy vowed that he won’t go back to wearing a suit and tie and shaving his beard until Ukrainian victory in the war.
As a result, Zelenskyy is easily the leader most associated with casual wear. In fact, when Macron wore a hoodie, The Times said he was emulating “the Zelenskyy look.”