Harry Styles Wore a Cult-Favorite Cap to (Reportedly) Witness Leo XIV Become Pope
StyleWhat do you wear to the Vatican for the close of a papal conclave? A “Techno Is My Boyfriend” hat from an obscure London bookshop, of course.By Eileen CartterMay 9, 2025Photographs: Idea, Getty Images; Collage: Gabe ConteSave this storySaveSave this storySaveAll eyes were on Vatican City yesterday as the papal conclave elected Robert Francis Prevost, an American-born cardinal, as the new leader of the Catholic Church. On the ground in St. Peter’s Square, tens of thousands gathered as the affirmative white smoke swirled into the sky. And among the crowds who witnessed Pope Leo XIV’s ascendancy in real time was, reportedly, the English pop star Harry Styles.Not long after the news broke on Thursday afternoon, a fan claiming to have spotted the musician in the throng outside of the Sistine Chapel shared a candid photo of Styles on X. In the photo, which quickly made the rounds online, Styles looked understated—if still very much recognizable—in a blue collared jacket, which could be the same one by The Row he wore last month in London, and a pair of dark sunglasses by the luxury eyewear brand Jacques Marie Mage, a brand he has worn in the past. His most conspicuous accessory, however, was a gray baseball cap embroidered with the phrase “Techno Is My Boyfriend.”Valentino creative director Alessandro Michele—a longtime friend of Harry Styles’s—wore his “Techno Is My Boyfriend” cap to a film screening in Rome in October 2024. Mondadori Portfolio/Getty ImagesThe cap is produced by Idea, an art bookshop in London that also sells novelty slogan hats, and boasts other famous wearers including the Spanish musician Rosalía. Funnily enough, I myself saw this particular hat in person last week when I crossed paths with designer Alessandro Michele, who wore it to Colman Domingo’s Met Gala outfit fitting at the Valentino boutique in Manhattan. Michele, who is a longtime pal of Styles’s, even wore his “Techno Is My Boyfriend” cap in the headshot photo that accompanied his formal announcement as Valentino’s creative director last March.“Alessandro wears this and other hats of ours all the time,” Angela Hill, the director of Idea bookshop, told GQ via email. She also surmised that “he probably lent that cap to Harry as they are good friends.”The hat, which retails for £40, frequently runs out of stock at Idea—even when it’s not being worn by a pop star in the midst of a historical conclave. “We are sold out as it sells so quickly they are hard to hold onto,” said Hill. “We will restock at some point.”Before he reportedly bore witness to dawn of a new papacy, Harry Styles went for a stroll around London last month. Neil Mockford/Getty ImagesHarry Styles has popped up, Carmen Sandiego-style, in metropolises all over the globe in recent months; fans have spotted him biking around London, wearing teeny shorts in Berlin, and running a marathon in Tokyo. Many seemed delighted, if not exactly surprised, by his latest pitstop in Vatican City.“Harry literally your unemployed friend on a random tuesday, marathon in tokyo? he’s there. pope announcement? he’s there,” read one post on X.“He said i’m finna be in the pit for the pope announcement,” went another. And on that note: Cue the techno.
All eyes were on Vatican City yesterday as the papal conclave elected Robert Francis Prevost, an American-born cardinal, as the new leader of the Catholic Church. On the ground in St. Peter’s Square, tens of thousands gathered as the affirmative white smoke swirled into the sky. And among the crowds who witnessed Pope Leo XIV’s ascendancy in real time was, reportedly, the English pop star Harry Styles.
Not long after the news broke on Thursday afternoon, a fan claiming to have spotted the musician in the throng outside of the Sistine Chapel shared a candid photo of Styles on X. In the photo, which quickly made the rounds online, Styles looked understated—if still very much recognizable—in a blue collared jacket, which could be the same one by The Row he wore last month in London, and a pair of dark sunglasses by the luxury eyewear brand Jacques Marie Mage, a brand he has worn in the past. His most conspicuous accessory, however, was a gray baseball cap embroidered with the phrase “Techno Is My Boyfriend.”
The cap is produced by Idea, an art bookshop in London that also sells novelty slogan hats, and boasts other famous wearers including the Spanish musician Rosalía. Funnily enough, I myself saw this particular hat in person last week when I crossed paths with designer Alessandro Michele, who wore it to Colman Domingo’s Met Gala outfit fitting at the Valentino boutique in Manhattan. Michele, who is a longtime pal of Styles’s, even wore his “Techno Is My Boyfriend” cap in the headshot photo that accompanied his formal announcement as Valentino’s creative director last March.
“Alessandro wears this and other hats of ours all the time,” Angela Hill, the director of Idea bookshop, told GQ via email. She also surmised that “he probably lent that cap to Harry as they are good friends.”
The hat, which retails for £40, frequently runs out of stock at Idea—even when it’s not being worn by a pop star in the midst of a historical conclave. “We are sold out as it sells so quickly they are hard to hold onto,” said Hill. “We will restock at some point.”
Harry Styles has popped up, Carmen Sandiego-style, in metropolises all over the globe in recent months; fans have spotted him biking around London, wearing teeny shorts in Berlin, and running a marathon in Tokyo. Many seemed delighted, if not exactly surprised, by his latest pitstop in Vatican City.
“Harry literally your unemployed friend on a random tuesday, marathon in tokyo? he’s there. pope announcement? he’s there,” read one post on X.
“He said i’m finna be in the pit for the pope announcement,” went another. And on that note: Cue the techno.
