Volodymyr Zelensky: A New Ukrainian Masculinity

Summary

By wearing military-style clothes Zelensky tailored his look to highlight Ukraine’s culture and history while also emphasizing that the country is in a state of war and increasingly focused on defense.

Abstract 

Volodymyr Zelensky became president of Ukraine in a landslide election in April 2019. Widely acclaimed for his unusual election strategy and populist rhetoric, Zelensky rebranded himself to disassociate from being a comedian and a trick- ster politician. Using Zelensky’s self-fashioning, I examine several strategies in his fashion choices to convey messages about gender and masculinity. His clothing, body language and behaviour tell a story about an uneasy relationship in Ukraine between the competing narratives of the nation and its military history and present. I argue that Zelensky’s clothing signals a sharp turn away from his previous pre- and post-election rhetoric of civic secularism and peaceful national- ism, as well as his emphasis on belonging. His use of military fatigues and traditional Ukrainian clothing demonstrates that he adapted his message to underscore Ukraine’s culture and history, while also drawing attention to the country’s militarization. At the same time, the casual style of dress he adopted, his open emotional expressions and his body language show a more contemporary and non-hegemonic version of masculinity.

Main research question

1. How did Zelensky’s self-presentation through clothing and style affect his popularity, especially during the early period of the full-scale invasion (2022–2024)?

2. How did Zelensky’s clothing choices change from before February 2022 to after? 

3. What are the implications for how we understand clothing as a form of political communication for leaders—particularly in relation to Eastern European masculinity?

What the research adds to the discussion

Outlines a new understanding of masculinity in the post-Soviet space and examines how military and tactical clothing is interpreted in Ukraine during the war.

Novel methodology 

It combines fashion semiology and gender (masculinity) studies by treating clothing as a system of signs that communicates meaning, and then analyzing how those meanings shape ideas about manhood. In Zelensky’s case, items like military-style sweatshirts, boots, and muted colors function as visual messages—signaling duty, restraint, solidarity, and wartime leadership. Reading those signs through masculinity studies helps explain how his appearance contributes to a distinct model of Ukrainian masculinity that differs from post-Soviet “strongman” styles.

Implications for society

Zelensky’s wartime style helps shift what many people read as “strong” leadership—from luxury, dominance, and distance to modesty, endurance, and being visibly “with” the public. It also makes him feel more relatable, which can deepen emotional connection to him as a person and help audiences see Ukraine’s struggle in more human terms. That relatability has contributed to greater empathy for Ukraine worldwide, while also showing how clothing becomes a powerful social language in crisis—uniting people, but sometimes creating pressure to look and act “patriotically” in a narrow way.

Implications for research

Zelensky’s case shows why scholars need to treat self-fashioning (clothing, grooming, visual style, media image) as more than personal branding—it can shape how a nation is perceived, how legitimacy is built, and how international support and empathy are mobilized. Studying this systematically could create a new field of inquiry on Ukrainian masculinities and reveal how leadership appearance influences a country’s symbolic power, geopolitical positioning, and public affect both at home and globally.