PARIS (AP) — When 15-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux noticed an Associated Press photo at the Louvre. crown jewels heist As he was racking up millions of views, his first instinct was not to rush online and unmask himself.
Quite the opposite.
Pedro, a fan of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot who lives with his parents and grandfather in Rambouillet, west of Paris, decided to join the world of suspense.
While theories abound about the tight-fitting stranger in the “Fedora Man” shot, including whether he’s a detective, an insider, or a fake AI, he chooses to remain silent.
“I didn’t want to say it was me right away,” he said. “There is a mystery to this photo, so I have to leave it until the end.”
In his only in-person interview since the photo brought him worldwide attention, he appeared in front of Associated Press cameras at his home just as he did that Sunday. He wore a fedora, a Yves Saint Laurent waistcoat borrowed from his father, a jacket chosen by his mother, a neat tie, Tommy Hilfiger pants, and a restored war-damaged Russian watch.
This angled fedora pays homage to Jean Moulin, a hero of the French Resistance.
In reality, he is a bright and fun teenager who accidentally finds himself in a world-wide story.
From photos to fame
Pedro Elias Garzón Delvaux speaks with The Associated Press on Saturday, November 8, 2025, in Rambouillet, south of Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
The images that made him famous were intended to document crime scenes. Three police officers lean against a silver car blocking the entrance to the Louvre, hours after the robbery A daylight raid on France’s treasure. On the right, a figure in a three-person ensemble strides past. A flash of film noir in a modern investigation.
The internet did the rest. “Fedora Man,” as users nicknamed him, was cast as an old-school detective, an insider, a Netflix pitcher, or someone who wasn’t human at all. Many were convinced that he was created by an AI.
Pedro understood why. “In the photo, I’m dressed like I’m from the 1940s, but we’re in 2025,” he said. “There’s a contrast.”
Some of her relatives and friends hesitated until they spotted her mother in the background. Only then were they convinced. The internet’s popular fake detective turns out to be a real boy.
The real story was simple. Pedro, his mother and grandfather were visiting the Louvre.
“I wanted to go to the Louvre, but it was closed,” he said. “I didn’t know there was a robbery.”
They asked the policeman why the gate was closed. Seconds later, Associated Press photographer Thibaut Camus recorded the security cordon and caught Pedro in his stride.
“I didn’t know when the photo was taken,” Pedro said. “I was just passing by.”
Four days later, I received a message from an acquaintance. “Is that you?”
“She said it had 5 million views,” he said. “I was a little surprised.” Then his mother called and told her he was appearing in the New York Times. “It’s not every day,” he said. Cousins in Colombia, friends in Austria, family friends and classmates followed with screenshots and phone calls.
“People said, ‘You’re a star now,'” he said. “I was surprised that just one photo could go viral in a matter of days.”
inspired style
This look, which has shocked tens of millions of people, is no costume reserved for a museum trip. Pedro started dressing like this less than a year ago, inspired by 20th century history and black-and-white images of politicians and fictional detectives in suits.
Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux poses outside the Louvre Museum on the day of the Crown Heist on Saturday, November 8, 2025 in Rambouillet, south of Paris. He poses with a photo from The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
“I like being chic,” he said. “This is how I go to school.”
He appears in a three-piece suit amidst a sea of hoodies and sneakers. And what about the hat? No, it’s its own ritual. Fedoras are reserved for weekends, holidays, and museum visits.
His style has already begun to spread in schools where there are no uniforms. “One of my friends came in this week wearing a tie,” he said.
He understands why people have projected detective characters on him: the impossible robber, the impossible detective. He loves Poirot (“very elegant”) and likes the idea that unusual crimes require unusual-looking people. “When something unusual happens, it’s something a normal detective can’t imagine,” he says. “You imagine someone else.”
His instincts are a perfect fit for the world he comes from. His mother, Félicité Garzon Delvaux, grew up in an 18th-century museum and palace, the daughter of a curator and performer, and regularly takes her son to exhibitions.
“Art galleries and museums are living spaces,” she said. “Life without art is no life.”
For Pedro, art and film were part of everyday life. So when millions of people projected their stories onto a single frame of him wearing a fedora next to armed police at the Louvre, he recognized the power of the image and brought the myth to life before moving forward.
He remained silent for several days, then switched his Instagram from private to public.
“People had to find out who I was,” he says. “Then the journalists came and told them how old they were. They were very surprised.”
He’s relaxed about whatever happens next. “I’m waiting to be asked to star in a movie,” he said with a laugh. “That would be very interesting.”
In a story of theft and security failures, “The Fedora Man” is a gentler counterpoint. A teenager who believes that art, style, and great mysteries belong in everyday life. One photo turned him into an icon. When you meet him, you can be sure that he is the real deal.
“I’m a star,” he says. It’s more like an experiment than a boast, as if he’s trying out words like trying on a hat. “I’ll keep wearing this outfit. That’s my style.”
