There’s an appetite stirring across runways, beauty campaigns, and Instagram feeds: food.
Not merely as edible indulgences, but as visual protagonists – fruits, pastries, even everyday condiments transforming into playgrounds for high fashion.
A Legacy of Still‑Life Sensuality
This food fascination isn’t new – it echoes the opulence of 17th‑century Dutch still lifes, the eroticism of Edward Weston’s peppers, and Irving Penn’s Vogue features with frozen peas and apples. But today’s fashion-food fusion goes beyond nostalgia, it leans into immediacy, vivid texture, and Instagrammable thrill.
Loewe’s Feast for the Eyes
Under Jonathan Anderson, Loewe has been a pioneer. Its Spring/Summer 2018 campaign, shot by Steven Meisel, features Vittoria Ceretti biting into mango, pomegranate, mangosteen – each fruit echoing her makeup palette – yielding a hypercharged, juicy allegory of consumption and desire. The effect? A bold sensory jolt that’s also wildly shareable.
Loewe has long incorporated tomatoes into its creative universe, from the crisp scent of tomato leaves in its fragrance and homeware lines to their appearance in visual campaigns and styling. But it was a viral tweet – “This tomato is so Loewe I can’t explain it” – that turned a meme into a masterpiece. Creative director Jonathan Anderson embraced the moment, reposting the tweet and shortly after unveiling the now-iconic tomato clutch: a sculptural, hyperrealistic accessory crafted in lambskin. The bag, which debuted in the Spring 2025 collection, perfectly captures Loewe’s flair for turning internet whimsy into high-fashion reality.
Loewe’s beauty lines continue the motif: citrus fruits and tomato leaves appearing front-and-center in perfume campaigns, positioning produce as taste, aroma, art, and brand narrative.
The Rise of “Condiment Couture” & “Edible Accessorising”
Major houses are laughing at the conventions of fashion: Kate Spade’s Heinz ketchup-themed totes, Coach × Zabar’s bagel knits, Levi’s “Fresh Produce” caps – these mashups transform groceries into couture. They blur categories: is it a handbag or a snack pack?
On the beauty front: Garnier framed its brightening line in a glazed-donut shoot; Milk Makeup leaned into its jelly tint tagline “almost good enough to eat”; Laneige wrapped lip serums over pastry stacks; Glossier’s cherry balm was literally piped onto cakes. Customers don’t just want to wear beauty – they want to taste it.
Why Now? A Cultural Crunch
Marie Claire highlights that the trend taps into longing for simplicity and joy – food is relatable, sensory, often nostalgic – especially in an era of digital overload and climate anxiety. Fashion-psychologists point to the comfort of real, tactile experiences; food motifs supply a simple dose of pleasure in an increasingly ordered and filtered world.
Meanwhile, social media cannibalises trends fast – Tomato Girl, Lemon Girl aesthetics see Gen Z dressing like their snacks in vibrant edible colour palettes. And with fashion and food worlds increasingly collapsing – a Gucci restaurant here, a Gucci-cooked menu there – the divide dissolves.
What’s Next? Gourmet Gowns and Flavourful Footwear
As FutureParty notes, expect chefs collaborating with fashion houses, localised pop-ups merging streetwear drops with brunch menus, and more multi-sensory feasts from luxury brands. The next frontier? Clothing that pleases the eyes with flavour narratives, or invites actual tasting.
@pauseonline Marc Jacobs enlist @Nara Smith to cook up their signature Tote Bag 😂 🧑🍳 #pauseonline #narasmith #marcjacobs #fashion #fyp
Final Recipe for Style
- Why it works: Food is universal. It hits memory, craving, escapism, colour, texture – evoking emotional richness beyond fabric and fragrance.
- What it signals: A playful rebellion in luxury, welcoming humour, hybridity, sensory overload amid seriousness.
- What to watch: More cross-industry feasts, edible-inspired collections, and maybe, edible-runway-snacks – fashion you can consume.
In this era of endless scroll, fashion’s food frenzy offers something more than visual luxury – it gives us something delicious to feel. A feast for the eyes, the imagination – and soon, maybe, our appetites.