How top politicians dress for winter: Parkas, tradition and power statements
Political leaders’ choice of winter wear can signal their priorities and reveal something of their world views. We take a look at five leaders, from Alexander Stubb to Kim Jong-un.
As winter descends, it’s easy to abandon any ambition of cutting a sartorial dash. When the days are colder, darker and damper, the temptation is to swaddle oneself in a warm coat, a hat, gloves and a scarf, and wait for the sun to return.
National leaders, however, do not have this option. They are remorselessly scrutinised by their peers, the public and the media, whatever the season. Accordingly, what they choose to wear in the winter months says no less about them than how they dress in summer.
Leaders of generally chilly places have the advantage of practice. Here are five – from Denmark, Finland, Greenland, North Korea and Russia – who have found one means or another of standing out as they bundle up.
1.
Mette Frederiksen
Prime minister of Denmark
Visiting Greenland in 2025, the Danish prime minister chose – possibly to the chagrin of her own country’s many fine manufacturers of winter wear – a parka by Swedish brand Fjällräven. She has also been seen in a parka by Didriksons, also Swedish, and one by Norway’s Helly Hansen. This seems to be a matter of practicality rather than treachery.
2.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen
Prime minister of Greenland
Nielsen, who was 33 when he became Greenland’s prime minister in April, had previously worn one ceremonial outfit – a badminton tracksuit in which he won gold at the 2023 Island Games. As prime minister, he has addressed international forums in a svelte modern take on the Inuit anorak – annoraaq is originally a Greenlandic word.
3.
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia
During Russia’s long winters, Vladimir Putin favours upmarket parkas, including one by Loro Piana. The white rollneck beneath it is not, as he might wish onlookers to assume, Russian Navy surplus but the work of another Italian brand, Kiton, that is likely to have set him back €2,500.
4.
Alexander Stubb
President of Finland
Though one of the more dandyish leaders, Stubb knows that there’s little point in rebelling against practicality in colder months and wraps up in parkas. He has also donned camouflage when visiting Finland’s soldiers. Uniform often comes across as cosplay for politicians but Stubb completed military service and holds the rank of lance-corporal.
5.
Kim Jong-un
Supreme leader of North Korea
The hot item in Pyongyang is the “marshal’s coat”, modelled on one worn by the rolypoly despot. Potential purchasers should be mindful that when an earlier favourite caught on with the proletariat – a black leather trenchcoat – an edict was issued cautioning that “wearing clothes designed to look like the highest dignity is an impure trend”.
Illustrations: Cornelia Li
