Giorgia Meloni walked into the premier’s office in October 2022 in a dark suit and clunky black boots. The look said outsider, and it fit her origins on the fringes of Italy’s right wing. Today she favors pastel suits and wide-legged trousers that hide her high heels. Experts in fashion and politics told the AP the effect is softer: authority without confrontation.
The change tracks her politics. She leads a party with post-fascist roots and was expected to be hostile toward Europe and extreme on foreign policy. She was not. At home she pursues conservative, anti-migrant policies, but she took a pragmatic line with the European Union and became one of Ukraine’s strongest backers against Russia. She has also stood up to criticism from President Donald Trump, which led European allies to rally around her.
From black to pastel
The contrast with her younger self is sharp. In 1996, when Meloni was 19, a French television station followed her, dressed almost entirely in black, as she organized members of a right-wing youth movement. In the interview she defended Mussolini, remarks that have shadowed her career. In Italy black has long been tied to fascism, and as premier she has rarely been seen in all-black suits and boots.
The shift started early. When Silvio Berlusconi made her youth minister in 2008, she moved to darker suits with white shirts. By the 2022 campaign she was widening her appeal, describing herself in a speech as “a woman, a mother, a Christian,” words that became the basis of a viral remix and helped win conservative centrists. Soon after taking office she adopted tailored suits and muted colors, and she lightened her hair.
Political analyst Riccardo Alcaro of Italy’s Institute for International Affairs said the image follows the electorate. “When she was a party leader of a small right-wing party, she had a small electorate that she had to relate to,” he said. “Now she is the leader of a major EU country and has to provide an image of herself as a credible leader of a government who has ideas worth debating.” Her Brothers of Italy party rose from 4% of the vote in 2018 to close to 26% in 2022.
What the clothes say
“She understands how important clothing is in nonverbal communication in politics,” said Antonio Mancinelli, who teaches at Rome’s Costume and Fashion Academy. Michela Bonafoni, who teaches fashion at Unicollege in Florence, read the pale shades this way: “With light colors, you’re more welcoming.” Designer Stella Jean said that for a woman representing a country famous for fashion, and one where it is a pillar of the economy, “the issue becomes much more serious.”
Observers point to the 2024 G7 summit in Puglia as a turning point. After a strong showing in European Parliament elections, Meloni greeted world leaders in a flowing pastel pink tailored suit and palazzo pants. This year, at the G7 in Evian-les-Bains, France, she turned up in a beige suit with a matching necktie. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was caught on an open microphone saying, “You’re wearing a tie today.” Meloni answered: “Yeah, so you can consider me a fighter.”
Her office declined to comment on her wardrobe or who advises her. She is heading into the final year of her mandate and is on the cusp of becoming Italy’s longest-serving postwar leader, with a rival now rising on the right.
