Benedikt XVI. wears Prada!

Pope Benedikt is a fashionista. He really likes wearing expensive Prada shoes. He's quite interested in fashion and accessoires.
read more on vogue.de

Edit #1: Now I read that he's not only wearing Prada shoes but also Gucci sunglasses. It would be a nice thing for research The Fashionable Pope, don't you think? I remember when I was in Rom 2 years ago there was this really narrow alley where you can only find clothing stores for the pope, the cardinals and all the others. Only the finest gowns. I took a photo. I'll have a look for it.

Edit #2: He may never make the best-dressed lists, but Pope Benedict XVI is nothing short of a religious-fashion icon, riding in the Popemobile the Papa Mobil with red Prada loafers under his cassock and Gucci shades. But his penchant for designer wear and a move to ditch the papal tailors who have dressed popes for more than 200 years are causing new wrinkles in the Vatican. Benedict has favored his tailor from his days as cardinal, Alessandro Cattaneo, and the 20-year-old religious-fashion house of Raniero Mancinelli, which has provided the pope with dazzling new vestments (some with shimmering, sequinlike details). At risk of losing the papal-dress contract are the Annibale Gammarelli tailors, who have made papal wear since 1792. But they blundered when Benedict had to make his debut blessing in a cassock that was too short, ending just above his ankles. Subsequent celebratory vestments made by Gammarelli are reported to have made the pope uncomfortable.
Source: msnbc Newsweek

Edit #3: A short list of Benedikts fashion guide.
+ For everyday and travelling: 1.) a white Soutane (= cassock): a long, close-fitting, ankle-length robe. The cassock derives ultimately from the tunic that was formerly worn underneath the toga in classical antiquity. 2.) a white Zingulum (= kind of belt, latin). 3.) a white Pileolus on top (latin = pileus = hat, also Zucchetto, plural zucchetti, Italian for "small gourd"). A small skullcap. It was first adopted for practical reasons — to keep the clergy's tonsured heads warm in cold, damp churches — and has survived as a traditional item of dress. It consists of eight panels sewn together, with a stem at the top. Its name may derive from its resemblance to half of a pumpkin, or from the fact that it covers a larger "pumpkin" (the head).
+ During colder days: 1.) He wears a red coat, the so called Mantello. In winterdays this coat also comes with a ermine fur lining. Is that P.C.? 2.) On his head he's sporting the Camauro (from the Latin camelaucum, from Greek kamelauchion, meaning "camel skin hat"). Papal camauros are of red wool or velvet with white ermine trim. It looks a bit the hat Santa Clause is supposed to wear. Benedikt XVI. wore it last year shortly before christmas and it was quite a laugher. He was the first pope to wear it again since Johannes XXIII (1881-1963).

Edit #4: Well I just found a very good article about the new pope's fashion affectations on washingtonpost.com. It made me understand the rumors and uproars a bit better: Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, had no use for fancy papal attire. Most often he put on the basic white cassock and white gold-trimmed sash. In winter, however, he enjoyed a crimson wool cloak trimmed in gold braid, at times allowing children to play hide and seek in its deep folds. Yeah that makes sense. All the time reading about this the-pope-wears-prada-issue I was wondering whether there was something about modesty in church and the Catholic/Christian set of beliefs. And something like the voidness of material things, if you come to think of monks living in a monastry, that property is nothing and not important at all. The 78-year-old Benedict lacks John Paul's natural charisma, and the trappings of Vatican splendor may be a way to compensate. But it also sound like Benedikt is a little riot clergyman who has his own head when it comes to fashion and clothing. Have you heard about the sweater mystery? When he came out on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to give his first blessing minutes after his election April 19, an inappropriate black sweater peeked out from under the cuff of his hurriedly donned white cassock. Apparently there was no heating in the Sistine Chapel where the conclave was held, and the new pope might have needed some woolen comfort.
Another fashion issue in the news recently: papal hemlines.
During Benedict's first public appearances, his cassock was way above the ankle, revealing white socks and bright red footwear. The hem was soon lowered a few inches, although he still prefers a sporty around-the-ankle look instead of having the cassock draped over the shoes. That is why we saw the designer loafers. And I also read somewhere else that he prefers his own tailor who he knows and works with since his old days as a cardinal. So he's not accoutered by the traditional vatican tailor. And his personal tailor kind of made the mistake with the too short hemline. Which is also funny cause it reminds me to some extent of the emancipation of women starting to wear shorter dresses and skirt because it's much more handy and comfortable.