2024 - Commentary on Sergei Lavrov's shirt - With Basquiat in Bali

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To counter rumors of heart problems, the Russian foreign minister shows up in a shirt and shorts in Bali. But instead of putting out the fire in the rumor mill, Sergei Lavrov sparked new discussions – about his T-shirt.

Dress rules for those in power are extremely long-lived. To this day, male politicians usually wear suits. Preferably in muted colors. This has been the uniform of seriousness since the 19th century.

Anyone who gets out of this clothing canon does so to set an example. Barack Obama is the approachable buddy in a shirt with his sleeves rolled up. Vladimir Putin poses topless as an unapproachable macho. And Volodymyr Zelenskyj in a khaki-colored T-shirt is the popular doer in bad times.

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Legend:

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s outfit since the beginning of the war in February 2022: his khaki T-shirt.

IMAGO/ZUMA Wire

Leisure look or commitment?

And what is Sergei Lavrov doing with his blue T-shirt with a motif by graffiti artist Basquiat, which he has apparently worn more than once? Does he mark the casual leisure type? The setting suits it: a terrace surrounded by palm trees in Bali. That looks like relaxation.

But back to the t-shirt: does the Russian politician wear the shirt the way metal fans wear Motörhead t-shirts? So: self-confessed? Is the Russian foreign minister a fan of Jean Michel Basquiat – the first African-American artist to break into the white art world in the 1980s? Does Lavrov revere Basquiat for his bold expressive art and anti-imperialist stance? Or even for his openly lived queerness?

The American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat

Or does Lavrov wear his Basquiat T-shirt like other people wear sweaters with the logos of American universities? So rather naive? Is the Russian foreign minister secretly dreaming of the American way of life? And if so, what does he envision? Lying under palm trees eating Big Macs and playing Minecraft on the iPhone?