Good Taste
Fashion and Food in the Age of Overconsumption
This summer has seen a major surge of food-inspired fashion. Whether it’s the dawn of the “tomato girl summer,” garments made from food-print fabrics, or hand bags designed to look like croissants so realistic you want to take a bite, both social media and runways have been taken over by food. In other words, the worlds of designer and gourmet have come together to whet the appetites of consumers.
The most recent example would have to be Kate Spade’s recent collaboration with Heinz, crafting handbags and clothing modeled after the signature tomato ketchup packets. However, food and fashion have coexisted long before this summer.
In 1972, Christian Dior released a cookbook full of his favorite recipes. Fashion brands like Prada and Gucci have opened their own cafes. In 2014, Jeremy Scott’s debut Moschino collection consisted of looks taking clear inspiration from pop culture food and cuisine. A few years later in 2020, the Lirika Matoshi strawberry dress became a viral sensation.
While fashion and food seem to be two completely different careers, universes, and aesthetics, they have a lot more in common than one might think – and it’s more than just matters of taste.
Fashion is not just the clothes you wear, it can serve as a representation of who you are. Where words fail, fashion speaks, and without talking to a single stranger an entire coffee shop can understand who you are just from the shoes you wear or how you pair them with your hat. Cannot the same be said for your coffee order? Whether it’s an iced Americano or spiked Demonias, one can say so much to an entire room without ever saying a word (besides a polite “thank you” to the barista).
In a 2023 article from CNN Style that discusses the food fashion phenomenon, it wrote that Daniel Humm, owner of New York restaurant Eleven Madison Park and the one who presented Gabriela Hearst with the Museum at FIT’s Artistry of Fashion award that year, said there aren’t too many differences between a chef and a designer.
“It’s about the quality of the ingredients, mastering of a craft, as well as working on the schedule of the ever changing seasons,” he says in the article.
Essentially, both food and fashion are crafts, carefully designed, and are often high-end, luxury purchases. While it’s clear that food and fashion are no strangers to one another, why are the old flames rekindling once again this summer?
While food-influenced garments are a current fashion trend, there are other trends making waves in the fashion world – particularly among Gen Z. We live in an era where maximalism is taking the fashion world by storm. Following an era of minimalism and quiet luxury, fashion is now in the wake of an era more vibrant and electrifying.
Instagram fashion influencers like Anna Golka and Eve-Lily are pivotal figures of this era, fusing together haute couture and maximalist ensembles to deliver looks that are both glamorous and impactful. Sara Camposarcone, another social media influencer, has also been a viral figure in this movement as she combines sustainability, extreme maximalism, and designer, punk-infused glamor. Camposarcone often incorporates food-inspired garments into her outfits, including in a recent post where she pairs the new Kate Spade x Heinz ketchup packet purse, cheese pants, and a hamburger bra together to create a condiment-inspired look.
However, perhaps this current fashion scene is alluding towards something bigger happening beyond the world of couture. Food-inspired pieces and maximalism are both occurring at the same time of another trend: over consumerism. Whether it’s buying too many clothes or using too much of the Earth’s resources too quickly, current trends show that we live in an era of over consumption.
Studies show that, next to Millenials, Gen Z spends the most money on food and groceries. Following the pandemic, the increased desire for dining out and food-related experiences can be tied into its incorporation in fashion as well as Gen Z’s desire to romanticize their lives.
According to The Dynamics of Fashion (fifth edition) by Elaine Stone and Sheryl A. Farnan, one of the first principles of fashion is that all things end in excess. For instance, before the twentieth century, large hoop skirts were popular in womens fashion. Another principle is that almost all trends are evolutionary, not revolutionary. These skirts kept getting bigger and bigger until, eventually, doors had to be built wider so that women’s dresses could fit through them. Thus, French doors were created.
Graphic by Rori Elizabeth
In regards to consumerism, similar to how minimalism fell out and maximalism took over, whatever trend happens next ultimately means the end of maximalism. And perhaps maximalism is a representation of fashion moving so far into one direction until it can’t possibly go any more.
Essentially, food and fashion are incredibly satisfying, and both a buffet table and a packed wardrobe can be enticing for the palette. When these two worlds are mixed together, they create a heightened experience for the senses and a unique way for consumers to express their thoughts, emotions, and personality. As a means of expression, a designer can say so much with one look. Whether it’s a nod to capitalism, a tongue-in-cheek commentary on pop culture, or an appreciation of American symbolism, food and fashion serve as a beautiful couple that will continue to coexist with one another.
You are what you eat, and you are what you wear.