Who was the mystery fedora man at Louvre heist? French teenager in viral photo revealed

The fedora man, who went viral after an individual was photographed after the Louvre heist in Paris, has finally been identified. The man created waves in the days after France’s crown jewels were stolen from the museum on October 19 because of his dapper appearance in an Associated Press photograph as he sported a waistcoat, tie, fedora, and a wood-handled umbrella with a perceptive look on his face.

The fedora man is the 15-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux, who lives with his family in Rambouillet, near Paris, as per Associated Press.

In a press photograph taken from the location of the Louvre heist following the incident, Delvaux can be seen walking by as a few cops lean on a car in front of the museum. Delvaux’s appearance set him apart from the rest of the crowd, and in the days following the heist, his image began going viral on the internet, with netizens debating who the individual actually was.

According to The New York Times, the mysterious individual was thought to be a detective initially, and netizens went on to claim that he was not real and merely an AI-generated persona. The photographer, however, confirmed to the publication that the man was real. Thibault Camus, who took the photograph, said:

“I don’t know him. I don’t know if he is French. Maybe a tourist? Maybe he is English.”

The man in the fedora, who looks like he came out of a detective film noir from the 1940s is an actual French police detective who’s investigating the theft of the Crown Jewels at the Louvre. Pure aesthetic. pic.twitter.com/XgpgscYGDz

— Ian Miles Cheong (@ianmiles) October 22, 2025

Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux opened up on going viral after the Louvre heist

In his first interview since his image went viral, Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux told Associated Press that he had been wearing his father’s Yves Saint Laurent waistcoat, a jacket, pants, and a restored watch in addition to a tilted fedora in a nod to his icons, Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and Jean Moulin.

Delvaux acknowledged that he went viral because of his old-fashioned clothing. While telling Associated Press that he began dressing up in similar clothing a short while ago, he said:

“In the photo, I’m dressed more in the 1940s, and we are in 2025. There is a contrast…I like to be chic. I go to school like this.”

However, Delvaux’s fedora is reserved for special occasions, such as museum visits and weekends.

According to The Guardian, on the day of the Louvre heist, the dapper teenager had come with his mother and grandfather to visit the museum. He said,

“We wanted to go to the Louvre, but it was closed. We didn’t know there was a heist. When the picture was taken, I didn’t know. I was just passing through.”

Actual shot (not AI!) of a French detective working the case of the French Crown Jewels that were stolen from the Louvre in a brazen daylight robbery.

Somehow he looks like he’s smoking even without a cigarette in his hand, but surely everything you know about life is screaming… pic.twitter.com/YaaoGbzSjE

— Melissa Chen (@MsMelChen) October 22, 2025

Delvaux came to know that he had gone viral through his acquaintances. His mother also reported to him that he had made it to the New York Times. The Guardian noted that the teenager said:

“She told me there were 5 million views. I was a bit surprised…People said, ‘You’ve become a star.’ I was astonished that just with one photo you can become viral in a few days.”

Delvaux did not initially reveal to the public that he was the mysterious person in the Louvre heist photograph. As per The Associated Press, he stated,

“I didn’t want to say immediately it was me. With this photo there is a mystery, so you have to make it last.”

Eventually, he made his profile on Instagram public, and waited for journalists to find and contact him. In his final words during the interview, Delvaux expressed that he would continue to dress elegantly.