The suits are sending the message
The leaders in this historic race leave little to chance in crafting campaign wardrobes
PARIS— Do voters judge a book by its cover? France’s presidential candidates certainly think they do, and more than ever are trying to get their political message across through their wardrobes. With unemployment and economic woes topping voter concerns ahead of France’s two-round presidential vote, taking place Sunday and May 7, candidates have vied for the most on-message branding.
Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron wears suits that cost about € 350 ($500) from a small Parisian retailer. Whether political calculation or lucky coincidence, the move nicely contrasts with scandal-hit conservative candidate François Fillon, accused of elitism for exorbitantlypriced suits paid for by donors, including $18,000 for two recent suits.
Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen favours sombre suits as she evokes threats against France and takes a hard line on security and immigration.
On the other end of the political spectrum, far-left firebrand JeanLuc Mélenchon cultivates a tie-free image in an election shaped by antiestablishment sentiment — and jackets that evoke communist leaders.
And car factory worker Philippe Poutou, a far-left candidate who took just five weeks off work to run for president, stole the show at the last presidential debate with his messy hair, baggy sweater and sharp tongue that made him look like an average Joe speaking truth to power.
Striking the right visual tone is especially crucial in France, capital of the cosmetic and fashion industries, and whose Parisian salons have set global style trends for centuries. Twitter, Instagram and other social media make a good presidential image more important than ever.
Fillon, 63, took a major blow in the polls over accusations of corruption. The accusations were aggravated by a report that he allegedly accepted gifts of designer suits worth more than $69,500. That fuelled perceptions he was out of touch with ordinary French voters, many of whom are struggling. The website of Paris suit maker Berluti — formerly known as Arnys — calls those who wear its bespoke tailoring “an exclusive club of insiders.”
Fillon denies the corruption charges, but his image has suffered anyway.
“Fillon’s problems can be all summed up by his suits. He built a campaign around honesty and keeping scandals out of politics. . . . He became exactly the image of the thing he was fighting,” said political image consultant Frank Tapiro.
Style consultant Emery Doligé agreed, calling the impact of Fillon’s extravagant suits “catastrophic in the countryside and poorer areas.”
Socialist candidate Benoît Hamon has also suffered image problems. The 49-year-old provoked online jabs for saying he often misplaces his spectacles, then appeared to forget to remove his reading glasses after reading a text during the first presidential debate.
His glasses have spawned their own Twitter account.
Commentators speculated that Hamon utilized his glasses to project a down-to-earth image like an endearing, absent-minded teacher — but it backfired.
“He’s always forgetting his glasses on his face. It’s subliminal, but people read this as meaning he’s not prepared to be president. You get the impression he’s lost,” Tapiro said. “We invented style in France. If you don’t have a look of a president, you can’t be president.”
The telegenic Macron — at 39 the youngest of the candidates — has made much of his presentational style. Jean-Claude Touboul, co-owner of Jonas et Cie tailors, said the centrist front-runner has been a client for three years and regularly buys suits from the store in a dusty, multicultural area of Paris.
“We’re not (luxury-lined) Avenue Montaigne. Our suits cost between € 340 to € 380 ($490-$550). Is it a political calculation? I don’t know,” Touboul said. “Macron appreciates our cuts, which are a little fitted but not excessively and emphasize his youth.”
Le Pen has dramatically softened her party’s image since taking over from her hard-line father in 2011. But for this race, in which she is the only female candidate among the 11 running, she cut her blond hair and donned dark menswear-style suits. That contrasts with the only other woman to be a top presidential contender in France, Ségolène Royal, who wore bright feminine colours in her 2007 campaign.
“(Le Pen) has a conservative, masculine style to align with the attributes of authority and firmness.” VALERIA DOUSTALY IMAGE CONSULTANT
Le Pen “has a conservative, masculine style to align with the attributes of authority and firmness,” said image consultant Valeria Doustaly.
Le Pen favours navy blue, which is called “bleu marine” in French — the name of her political movement, a wordplay on her first name and the colour long associated with conservatives in France.
Far-leftist Mélenchon, 65, is especially crafty with branding.
“The jacket he wears in all media opportunities is a worker’s jacket that he bought from a shop that sells professional uniforms,” said Dolige, referring to Mélenchon’s jacket with large collar, big buttons and pockets on the outside. The outfit has drawn comparisons to Communist leaders Josef Stalin and Mao Zedong.
Mélenchon recently rallied against inequality in the southern city of Marseille against the backdrop of the glistening Mediterranean Sea on the same that day Fillon, hundreds of miles away in Paris, sweated uncomfortably during his indoor political rally at a convention centre.
Mélenchon, the oldest candidate, is also famously adept at tweeting and plans to use holograms to project a political rally across six French cities simultaneously. One commentator has branded him “Melen-show.”