All the well-known fashionists had a bitter taste of defeat when pictures of the Pope in a puffy sweater circulated on the internet. His look could give strong competition to the skin-tight latex Versace jumpsuit of Gigi Hadid at Met Gala’ 22.
The netizens appreciate the 86-year-old Argentinian Pope Francis’s style. In his viral pictures, he is seen slaying his signature zucchetto skull cap with a modern, coming-of-age-styled puffer coat. He spoke in style through those pictures with a smart look on his face and a large crucifix hanging on the coat.
People on the internet could not stop talking about the Pope’s newfound fashion sense. One user took to Twitter and posted, “We gotta be living in a simulation because there should be no reason for the pope to be this drippy😭😭.”
His outfit is one thing, but the smug look on his face is giving an ultimate vibe to this. People initially speculated if the outfit had anything to do with the Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga’s haute couture boutique. Known for bold and innovative styles, Balenciaga was not a bad conjecture, after all.
Commenting on his whole vibe, a person said, “That coat go hard asf lol bro look like a former NYC Coke Dealer.”
One of the users on the internet pointed out how everyone in the media is giggling at the viral images. But, if the same artistry was down on another religious leader, the world would have been in a frenzy.
The comment seemed to be true; however, the people are insisting on the entertaining and casual nature of the viral content. They believe that they are viewing the Pope as a person in weird clothing, not as a religious leader.
Following the same entertainment theory, many people seem to think that he looked hip-hop. One user commented, “He truly is the Pope for the hip hop generation,” to which another user replied with a fun word play of his name as “Hipope.”
They compared him to two characters; one was Gigi Hadid, obviously and the other one was mentioned by a Twitter user, “More Michelin Man vibes for me but maybe I’m just old? Does anyone else remember him?”
Now, the fun has no boundaries. But, some questions are too urgent not to ask. In this case, many people were wondering where the sightings happened and why Pope was wearing this outfit.
And the most important question of all: was he “really” wearing the outfit? Don’t worry, we have researched everything!
Photo of Pope looking fly AF in a puffer jacket is totally fake
The viral pictures of the Pope were AI-generated. An app called “Midjourney” was used to create these viral pictures that were first posted on a subreddit before flooding the entire media. The pictures were too realistic to be considered an outcome of AI and technology.
When the news broke out, people were more concerned than entertained. With many such AI-generated fake pictures of celebrities and politicians already in the media, people fear what the technical future has got for them.
Chrissy Teigen tweeted, “I thought the Pope’s puffer jacket was real and didn’t give it a second thought. No way am I surviving the future of technology.”
Another user commented, “The fact people find a picture of the Pope in a long puffy jacket thrilling is a good indicator AI is going to have a really easy time destroying humanity.”
With the art community already against AI-generated art, it remains to be seen whether the trend to generate images with the help of AI continues to remain fun or not.