The Supreme Court of Canada has ditched its iconic red and white robes for a simpler black design.
The new robes made their debut this week as the court marked its 150th anniversary and the opening of a new judicial year. Featuring red piping and white collars over black silk, they replace the bulky, bright red outfits with white fur trim that Supreme Court justices have been wearing since 1875.
For obvious reasons, the outfits became known as “Santa robes.”
“Many of you will have noticed that my colleagues and I are not wearing our usual red robes,” Chief Justice Richard Wagner said from the Supreme Court building on Monday. “Instead we are wearing new robes which preserve the dignity and authority of the judicial role. They have a modern and simple design that echoes our commitment to openness and accessibility in a way that is distinctly Canadian.”
The new robes are made in Quebec by Les Rabat-Joies, a company that specializes in court attire. Constructed from imported Korean silk, they each take 40 hours to make and include finer details, like hand embroidery and custom “SC” buttons.
In a social media post, the company described the new design as “the pinnacle of our craft.”
“Modernizing a 150-year-old tradition — that’s the challenge we took on with our prestigious client, the Supreme Court of Canada,” the company said. “This project goes far beyond aesthetics. It’s about merging the strength of tradition with a vision for the future, crafting a garment that is both symbolic and comfortable — one that embodies the authority and the modernity.”
The previous red robes were ceremonial and only worn for special occasions, like welcome ceremonies for new judges or the opening of a new session of Parliament. During normal court proceedings, Canada’s Supreme Court justices have long donned simpler black silk robes. Canada inherited its tradition of judicial attire from the British, where the practice dates back to the 1300s.
In a 2016 CPAC interview, two Supreme Court judges offered very different perspectives on their ceremonial attire.
“Am I allowed to say they’re awful?” Justice Andromaches Karakatsanis said at the time. “They’re so hot. They’re heavy. At some point there’s two or three layers of fur. I’m glad that we wear it for ceremonial events. I’m not sure that I could do it every day.”
Justice Suzanne Côté defended the red garment.
“I think that we have some traditions, we need to keep these traditions, for instance when we wear our red robes for official events and things like that,” Côté told CPAC. “Given the type of institution that the court is, the court deserves respect and I think that you can reach that when you have some sort of decorum and tradition.”
Karakatsanis, Côté and the other justices could all be seen sporting their new ceremonial garb on Monday, which also marked the last session in the current Supreme Court building before it undergoes renovations that could take a decade to complete.
