This is a planned disinformation campaign: there is no «stylist» who goes by that name, and the website that published the news is directly sponsored by the Kremlin.
Information is rapidly spreading online that Olena Zelenska allegedly spent over a million euros on a «red carpet look». With the help of a Parisian stylist, who allegedly spoke about the First Lady’s expensive purchases in an interview, Zelenska purchased numerous designer items, including a Nile crocodile leather bag and two pieces of jewelry worth $175,000 each. The stylist said that the Ukrainian president’s wife is an extremely demanding client, and that it was not easy to satisfy her.
But in reality, this is another Russian disinformation campaign aimed primarily at a non-Ukrainian audience, engineered to tarnish the Ukrainian leadership. We were unable to find any confirmation that a stylist named Amina El Mansouri really exists: she is not mentioned in the media in any other context besides this «interview», even despite claiming to be connected with French A-list celebrities — Tina Kunaaki and Marion Cotillard. Moreover, Cotillard has been working with stylist Elliot Bliss since at least 2017, and in her Instagram photos she usually tags the team who worked on her look — hair, makeup, choice of clothes, etc. — and the actress never mentioned a woman named Amina El Mansouri. Face search tools FaceCheck and PimEyes revealed that propagandists found a stock photo and, using deepfake technology, superimposed the model’s face onto another person’s facial expressions. Previously, propagandists have already created a similar fake about Olena Zelenska buying an exclusive Bugatti car. We also failed to find evidence of the existence of a fashion journalist named Ali Shehabi, who allegedly interviewed the woman, and there are no other videos on the YouTube channel where this footage was posted.
The story itself and the media outlets that spread it are not credible. The videos were initially published as part of an article purporting to be about the success story of a stylist born in a small Moroccan village, who went on to graduate from a prestigious educational institution and work with celebrities. But a disproportionately large percentage of the conversation is devoted not to the woman’s story, but to her collaboration with Olena Zelenska — or rather, to the cost of the things the first lady chose. At one point, the woman in the video even takes out a folder with printed photos of luxurious items of clothing and jewelry that she allegedly bought for Olena Zelenska, with prices written on them. It should be noted that all the photos are taken from the net — «Amina» never shows the first lady in the outfit she chose for her. In general, from the content and tone of the interview, it is clear that its goal is precisely to tarnish Olena Zelenska’s image and accuse her of spending too much, and not to discuss fashion or the stylist’s experience.
Usually, to spread such fakes, Russians launch one-day sites and retroactively fill them with content. However, this time, the story appeared in three real African media at once — the Tunisian Le Quotidien, the Algerian Shihab Presse, and the Malian MaliActu. At least the latter resource has confirmed ties to the Russian authorities, according to the Swedish Institute for Defense Studies. In 2021, the website even published an exclusive interview with the representative of the Wagner group, Alexander Ivanov, where it presented the activities of the military company in a positive light. Moreover, just a few days after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the management of RT — the mouthpiece of Kremlin propaganda — offered the owner of MaliActu a partnership to exchange content and buy a stake in the site’s capital, which he gladly accepted. So it is absolutely natural that it was on this site, which had never published content about fashion and style before and receives funding from the Russian government, where the story about the so-called «personal stylist of Olena Zelenska» appeared.
For a more detailed investigation of the disinformation campaign about the allegedly sky-high expenses of Zelensky and his circle and the spread of these narratives around the world, read Zelensky and his wife spending Western money on luxury goods or squandering war resources: the cross-border disinformation campaigns circulating from Georgia to Argentina.
