Optics in India-Europe Trade Deal
In geopolitics, actions and image carry more weight than words. The “optics” of a country or its leader matter more than rhetoric because the power is exercised as much through perception as through policy. Words explain, justify, or soften but optics define the reality that everyone reacts to.
In politics, nothing visible is accidental. Attire communicates alignment, authority, humility, nationalism, modernity, or distance. The dress of a politician often speaks louder than words. A photograph of a leader’s attire can travel farther and last longer than a carefully drafted statement.
Sartorial Choices
Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, understands all this better than many other politicians. Ordinarily she prefers to wear Western pantsuits. This time she chose attire designed by Indian designers using fabrics that have roots in history of India.
On 26th January 2026, for the Republic Day Parade she chose richly textured bandhgala jacket made of maroon and gold Banarasi brocade silk, paired with simple off-white trousers. The jacket featured traditional Indian floral motifs and zari (gold thread) woven in fabric. This fabric is used in bridal sari in India from time immemorial.
Rajesh Pratap Singh worked his magic to blend a maroon sari fabric into a prince suit. A sari fabric wants to flow, to announce richness through movement and surface. A bandhgala, by contrast, demands discipline, structure, and containment. Singh managed to retain the dignity and historical weight of the brocade.
A blue bandhgala by Anamika Khanna with intricate embroidery for summit events. Blue being colour of EU flag and embroidery acknowledging traditional Indian craft.
She wore an outfit incorporating Bandhani and Mashru fabric with a turmeric-coloured coat and scarf by Abraham & Thakore, for the state banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Bandhani, a tie-dye technique, is from Gujarat/Rajasthan and Mashru is sattvic silk-cotton from Gujarat.
She also wore an Eri Ahimsa silk stole from Assam. It is made with non-violent technique, a sustainable textile where silkworms are not harmed. It reinforced cultural respect and shared values like sustainability alongside tradition.
Her sartorial decisions showcased Indian handloom traditions spread across India and conveyed respect for host culture, blending European diplomatic formality with Indian textile heritage.
She carefully avoided appearing performative or theatrical by wearing an outright Indian attire like suit or sari and retained her identity as a European institutional leader while still signaling cultural respect. In diplomacy, this balance is difficult but she achieved it.
Under normal circumstances Ursula’s palette is deliberately bland using pastel, grey, beige, muted blue. This typical bureaucratic dressing may appear boring but remains neutral in institutional settings. But in 2026, India visit, she made a complete reversal by choosing vibrant, richer and saturated colours like maroon, deep blue, yellow, and golden. These are colours of celebrations and festivities in India.
Compare this with Justin Trudeau’s 2018 visit, who chose the outfit of Bhangra dancers. Vibrant in colours but completely out of place in social settings. Such choice revealed an absence of preparation, briefing, and civilisational literacy at the level one expects from a visiting head of government. Someone should have told him that Bhangra attire is performance wear, that it is region-specific, that it carries celebratory and theatrical connotations. In geopolitics, failing to do your homework is often interpreted not as innocence, but as arrogance disguised as friendliness.
Preparation Time-Line
Designing or selecting a brocade bandhgala using Indian zari textile is not an off-the-shelf decision. It requires coordination with designers, fittings, approvals, and alignment with protocol advisers. That kind of preparation simply cannot be compressed into a few weeks.
Her presence on 26 January, the symbolism, the wardrobe planning, the protocol choreography — all of this implies that Europe had already chosen India as a strategic axis, not just as a trade partner under negotiation. The deal becomes a mechanism of that choice, not its cause.
The intention to sort out divergences and reach a positive middle way was decided earlier, and by the time she spoke, that intention had worked.
The clothes, the planning, the Republic Day presence, and the exclamation “We Did it”, all fit into one simple reality.
When the political decision is already taken, negotiations become a controlled contest, not a confrontation. Each side pushes its interests hard, signals red lines, creates pressure, and tests limits. But all of that happens within a shared assumption that failure is not the desired outcome.
The intention was always to make the deal happen. Negotiation was not about whether to agree, but about how much each side could extract while still arriving at agreement.
If we keep these facts in mind, it changes the entire equation behind the India-Europe trade deal.
The Media Baggage
For years, much of the Western media ecosystem has spoken about India rather than to it. It was lecturing, moralising, and framing India as a deficient democracy that must be tutored by Europe. That tone accumulated resentment. It created an atmosphere where Europe appeared condescending, even when engaging in partnership.
Ursula von der Leyen’s clothes worked in the opposite direction. Without arguing, without rebutting, without naming the media at all, she sent a silent counter-message: we recognise your civilisation, we stand on your ground with respect, not superiority.
It matters because symbolism bypasses ideological resistance. You can reject an op-ed. You cannot easily reject a gesture made in good faith. By wearing Indian-designed attire, using Indian historical fabrics, and choosing a form of dress associated with Indian statecraft rather than spectacle, she inverted the usual hierarchy.
That single image does more damage to years of patronising commentary than a dozen speeches ever could.
She was wiping away accumulated venom, not by confrontation but by acknowledgement. Clothes allowed her to do what words could not do without sounding defensive or hypocritical. She did not say Europe was wrong. She behaved as if Europe had something to unlearn.
The Nudge by Trump
A treaty is, by definition, a mutual act of loss. Each side leaves something on the table so that a larger objective can be secured. The art of negotiation lies not in victory, but in deciding what you are willing to give up to make the deal inevitable.
The India-Europe trade negotiations were ambivalent for two decades. Both sides were probing, holding positions, trying to extract maximum advantage. That phase can drag on indefinitely unless there is a political instruction from the top.
Trump’s “Greenland” moment acted as that final nudge. It clarified the external environment so starkly that ambiguity was no longer useful. After that signal, the message to negotiators would have been simple and unmistakable: stop testing limits endlessly, find the middle ground, and close it. It changed the role of negotiators from gatekeepers to problem-solvers.
Conclusion
Words are cheap and reversible. Optics are costly and sticky. Once an image is released into the world, it cannot be retracted. This is why serious actors invest so much thought into them. This also makes it so revealing when read carefully.
A mere costume turned out not to be mere at all. It became a compressed text, carrying information about preparation, intent, hierarchy, respect, timing, and even the state of negotiations.
Notes and References:
- Ursula’s tweet: https://x.com/vonderleyen/status/2015726013536473527
- Prince Suit: A shorter version of the long tunic called achkan or sherwani which is popular in Indian royal courts, often linked to Jodhpur’s royal family. The British named it bandhgala (‘closed neck’). Shammi Kapoor’s 1969 Hindi film Prince popularized it, and tailors adopted ‘prince suit’ in mainstream pop culture.
- Ursula Suit: von der Leyen’s fusion of Banarasi bandhgala with European tailoring could spawn the “Ursula suit.” A high-collared Indo-Western formalwear for global diplomacy.
- Diplomacy meets Fashion: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/diplomacy-meets-fashion-eu-chief-steals-the-show-in-stunning-brocade-outfit-at-republic-day-parade-10886883
- Banarasi outfit: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/fashion/luxury/fashion/burgundy-benarasi-outfit-marks-eu-chiefs-republic-day-moment/articleshow/127609232.cms
- Bandhani and Mashru outfit: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/fashion/style-guide/ursula-von-der-leyens-bandhani-mashru-power-look/articleshow/127754905.cms
- Media bias: https://sandeepbhalla.in/western-media-bias-against-india/
- Acceleration of trade deal: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jan/27/european-union-india-trade-deal-ukraine-greenland-holocaust-news-updates-europe-live
- Post-US world: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/29/the-post-us-world-is-already-taking-shape-look-at-the-massive-eu-india-trade-deal
- Mother of all deals: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/27/eu-and-india-sign-free-trade-agreement
- Full Speech “We did it”:
- Joy of self respect: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germanys-merz-calls-stronger-nato-within-europe-wants-maintain-us-ties-2026-01-29/