Fashion may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about papal legacies, but Pope Francis, who died Monday, had an individual sense of style — one that didn’t include a cinched Balenciaga-like white puffer jacket (that was AI), but instead, for his unfussy cream-colored cassocks and sensible black leather shoes.
Francis’ choice in footwear was first noted, just 24 hours after he was elected in 2013, by The New York Times, which observed that he had “dramatically changed the tone of the papacy” with his black shoes — reportedly made by a friend in Buenos Aires, his hometown — and ordinary wristwatch.
He quickly became known for his simple, often unadorned regalia, in contrast to his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who opted for gem-encrusted pectoral crosses, bright red designer loafers and archaic accessories — among them, a traditional velvet and ermine camauro that caught attention for its resemblance to a Santa hat.
Accolades for Francis’ style soon followed: The Cut declared Francis the world’s “normcore pope” for his “simple, non-frilly” approach to dressing. He also became the first pontiff to land a Rolling Stone cover, and was dubbed by Esquire as 2013’s “Best-Dressed Man.” Not long after came the countless memes and unauthorized Etsy merch, with Francis’ likeness featured on a slew of T-shirts, sweatshirts and mugs in faux ’90s bootleg designs.
“While Bradley Cooper, Chris Pine, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have all had banner years, their sartorial choices begin and end on the proverbial red carpet,” wrote Esquire’s Max Berlinger. “Meanwhile, Pope Francis’s sartorial decisions have subtly signaled a new era (and for many, renewed hope) for the Catholic Church.”
The feature was one of Esquire’s best-performing stories for months, according to Berlinger, who was subsequently invited onto several morning news shows to explain his controversial decision (he declined).
“I just thought it was cool and worth mentioning,” he told CNN in a phone interview. “The Pope before him wore a lot of really ornate, expensive clothing. (Francis) was going to jails and washing the feet of prisoners. I remember thinking that this was part of a bigger shift, and that his clothes were a visual manifestation.”
Although Francis’ style was often read as a show of his humility or asceticism, Carol Richardson, an ecclesiastical and art historian at the University of Edinburgh, said that the two popes’ sartorial contrasts represented deeper differences in their views on their roles as head of the Catholic Church.
When the AI-generated image of Francis dressed in high-fashion streetwear went viral, the depiction was particularly absurd for a holy leader, let alone one so modest in style. However, Richardson saw a hint of truth as to why the hoax photography resonated with internet users as much as it did.
“Although it was fake, it was still a gentle compliment to a pope who follows tradition… but also the fact that they are priests in the world as it is today,” she said. “(It’s) understanding the past and the present to move into the future.”
