Pope Benedict XVI has been called many things in recent weeks. Conservative. Doctrinarian. Scholarly. But another, more surprising label also fits: fashionable. This isn’t simply due to the bright-red lace-up shoes he has worn with his white robes, in contrast to the brown walking loafers favored by John Paul II and the crimson velvet slippers of previous popes – although that move has caused a stir in the press. “Yes, I know just what you’re thinking. Brogues? … Why how terribly Prada!” a columnist wrote in the Guardian of London last week, in response to the papal footwear.

Beyond the shoes, in an odd confluence of liturgical and sartorial events, the pope’s vestments illustrate perfectly some of the dominant trends in the upcoming designer collections for fall. Gold fabrics and accents, for instance, were practically ubiquitous on the runways for the Fall 2005 collections: Designers such as Oscar de la Renta, Vera Wang, Lela Rose, Carolina Herrera, and Alvin Valley showed dresses, skirts, and even caftans in shimmering gold lame, sequins, and silk. The pope’s own dazzling gold robe and hat, which he wore for his first mass in St. Peter’s Square, would hardly look out of place beside these creations.

Ornamentation, brocade, beading, and embellishment of all kinds were also strong trends on the runway for fall, often paired with rich velvet fabrics or high-neck Cossack coats, in a style that many journalists dubbed “Dr. Zhivago” but that also demonstrated an ecclesiastical influence. The deep-red robe and red-and-gold brocade vestments that the pope wore immediately after his election and during his visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral were evoked by Cynthia Steffe’s red velvet dress paired with a heavy gold necklace and Mr. de la Renta’s heavily embellished red skirts and dresses for fall.

Finally, white was a prevalent color on the fall runways, as in other recent seasons, often shown in flowing, loose-fitting styles and accented with gold. Ms. Steffe paired high-necked white and gold dresses and coats with white tights and colored shoes, much as the pope does. Mr. Valley, Peter Som, and Behnaz Sarafpour sent out white coats, dresses, and blouses with gold detailing. Richard Chai, Narciso Rodriguez, and Chado Ralph Rucci all showed fairly modest white dresses that echoed the pope’s white robes.

It should be noted, however, that though the pope’s look is currently at the height of fashion, designers shouldn’t expect him to be a reliable trendsetter. Filippo Gammarelli of Gammarelli Ecclesiastical Tailoring, whose family has been outfitting popes since 1798, recently remarked a bit ruefully, “Style in the Vatican is always the same.”