Ukraine’s first lady shines on Vogue cover

Since Vogue Ukraine published an image of their upcoming issue with a cover story about first lady Olena Zelenska on Nov. 11, their posts on social media became a sensation, attracting thousands of likes in a matter of hours.

The December issue featuring a cover story about Zelenska’s new role will hit stores on Nov. 18.

“The heroine talks about life in a new status, new responsibilities and opportunities, as well as about fashion as an instrument of cultural diplomacy,” Vogue Ukraine writes about the cover story.

The fashion and culture magazine published three covers of Zelenska: Two spotlight the first lady alone, while on the third one she appears with her husband President Volodymyr Zelensky and their two kids.

“We made three covers with the main heroine of the issue to show her in different qualities. On one, there’s a strict official portrait. On the other, Olena is captured with her family and surrounded by the most important people of her life, she is different – touching and serene. On the third digital cover, we just see a woman – beautiful and charming,” Vogue UA writes.

The glossy outlet writes that they planned “an honest and sincere story” about Zelenska, which is why they invited Dutch photographer Paul Bellaart to shoot the images.

“His almost documentary style made it possible to show the first lady as true as she is in life,” the magazine writes.

In the cover shots, Zelenska wears classy outfits by global brands Prada and Celine, as well as striking pieces from the French fashion house Lemaire, which offers “versatile pieces designed for everyday life.”

Zelenska worked as a writer for her husband’s production company Kvartal 95 until Zelensky won the presidential election on April 21. In an interview with BBC Ukraine published after the election, the first lady said she wanted to continue writing scripts for comedy shows by Kvartal 95.

Zelenska hasn’t formally announced which areas she will focus on as the first lady. However, after visiting the Metropolitan Museum in New York in September, she said she would launch an initiative to bring Ukrainian-language audio guides to the world’s museums. She has also been visiting school cafeterias on her foreign trips, indicating she wanted to focus on improving food in Ukraine’s schools.

The first lady and Zelensky went to the same school in Kryvyi Rih in Dnipro Oblast, a city of 630,000 people about 400 kilometers southeast of Kyiv. However, the two only met after graduation.

In an interview with Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Gordon, the president said he “liked her, then fell in love deeply, irrevocably.”

The couple got married after eight years of dating. They now have two children, a 15-year-old daughter Oleksandra and a six-year-old son Kyrylo. The first couple’s children go to school in Kyiv.