Zeffirelli offers Pope a makeover

Franco Zeffirelli, the Italian film, stage and opera director, has said Pope Benedict XVI needs a makeover of his 'cold' image and 'showy' clothes. 

Zeffirelli told La Stampa newspaper that the Pope communicated in a cold way that was little suited to what was happening around him. 

These are not times for high tailoring in papal vestments, he said. 

He contrasted the relaxed attitude of the late Pope John Paul II to his official attire with that of Benedict. 

Lacking his predecessor's charisma, Pope Benedict has taken to wearing some eye-stopping outfits in public, such as a red velvet cape trimmed with ermine, not worn in public since the death of John XXIII in 1963. 

When he donned a fur-trimmed red cap, some people mistook it for a Santa Claus hat.

Zeffirelli Offers Pope A Makeover