DESIGN / WHO DESIGNED PAPAL SWISS GUARD'S COLORFUL UNIFORM

While the look is centuries-old, the design itself is a 20th-century creation meant to honor the Guard’s historic legacy. Shown, here, with the late Pope Francis I. 

ANSWER: The colorful Renaissance-style uniforms of the Papal Swiss Guard were designed by Commandant Jules Repond in 1914, though they are often mistakenly attributed to Michelangelo or Raphael. Repond, who led the Guard from 1910 to 1921, was inspired by 16th-century frescoes—particularly those by Raphael in the Apostolic Palace—that depicted papal guards in vibrant, slashed doublets. 

Commandant Repond worked with tailors to craft the current uniform using traditional Renaissance military designs, aiming to evoke the era of Pope Julius II and Pope Leo X, when the Guard was first formed in 1506. The uniform includes: Blue, red, orange, and yellow stripes (the Medici family colors), White ruff collar (for formal occasions), Black beret (for everyday wear) or plumed helmet (for ceremonies), and traditional weapons like the halberd.

During this pre-World War I era, Europe was entering a time of upheaval. Repond believed the Swiss Guard needed a more dignified, unified, and historically rooted identity. His vision aligned the guard’s visual presence with Vatican traditions, reinforcing the Guard’s symbolic and ceremonial role, especially in a rapidly modernizing and unstable world.