“I love it,” Trump said.

But as talks with European leaders continue, Zelenskyy’s changing attire has taken centre stage. The Ukrainian president, who vowed in 2022 that he would not go back to wearing a suit and tie until the war is over, is embracing a new sartorial style that reflects the leader’s diplomatic efforts to secure a peace deal for Ukraine.

What happened at the last meeting?

When his clothing choices were pointed out again during the meeting, Zelenskyy told Trump and the media: “I will wear a costume after this war will finish.”

At the time, associate professor Matthew Sussex from the Centre for European Studies at the Australian National University told SBS News the meeting was “the most extraordinary display of attempts at public humiliation I think that we’ve ever seen out of American diplomacy”.

Zelenskyy adopts a ‘suit-style’

The goal was “to create a restrained, functional, and dignified image that reflects the reality of the time our country is living through”, Anisimov told fashion industry website Women’s Wear Daily.

Zelenskyy wore the jacket to the funeral of Pope Francis in April and the NATO summit in the Netherlands in June. It appears that Zelenskyy wore the jacket again to Tuesday’s meeting with Trump.

‘You look fabulous’

Trump responded: “I said the same thing”.