The sentence ‘You are what you eat’ is well-known to many. But lately, something new has appeared. The guiding principle for those navigating the current fashion scene is, ‘wear what you eat,’ or at least something like that. That’s right, in these past months, fashion has fully caught up with food. From cherry-printed dresses to tomato purses—talking to you, Loewe—the food-meets-fashion phenomenon seems to be here to stay. And it’s not just because fashion lovers are craving something new. 

It is clear that the combination of food and fashion has been a part of our society for quite some time. Think of Marilyn Monroe wearing a cherry print dress in the 1960 film Misfits. Or in high fashion, exemplified by the 1937 Schiaparelli lobster dress created in collaboration with Salvador Dalí. And even Karl Lagerfeld’s Fall 2014 supermarket runway at Chanel. It has always been there. And today, it’s no exception—whether to reflect their cultural cuisine or to add a playful appeal to their clothes, modern designers are also having fun with the food-meets-fashion concept. Seen in cake dresses for Moschino FW20, Schiaparelli SS24 lobster skirt, Kim Shiu SS24 strawberry bag, Balmain FW24 grape bodices, and Moschino Menswear Spring 2025 pizza bags and croissant necklace, the chef’s menu looks promising. 

As they always do, the haute couture designs trickle down and inspire middle market fashion brands. Many prominent ‘affordable’ luxury brands are proving the food-fashion phenomenon is here to stay, and you better be hungry. Brands like Rachel Antonoff have pieces ranging from a pea-print cardigan to a bread and butter tank top, Reformation has its pepper-print linen dress, and Lisa Says Gah’s latest collection is almost entirely food themed. Hungry they are. It’s even made its mark on social media, with trends like ‘Tomato Girl Summer‘ and ‘Vanilla Girl Core.’ Aside from embracing fashion with a nod to a tasty dish, netizens are also making actually food trendy— whether it’s the infamous Erewhon smoothies, the perfect avocado toast, or the pumpkin spice latte. But along with these recent emerging trends and resurgence in dressing what one eats, a number of questions have arisen. For starters: Why are we craving food fashion so much this year?

Although they may seem very different, food and fashion are both basic needs that act as a form of expression, whether culturally or personally. This alone could justify the trend to wear what we eat, but there’s more to it than that. Firstly, it makes fashion more relatable—it’s commonly believed that food can foster connections between people. In this context, the latest food craze may be viewed as a final attempt by designers to establish a connection with their audience to convert them into loyal customers. Nevertheless, the debate around non-conformism also arises. In a post-pandemic world that has become increasingly standardized, a multitude of unconventional trends have begun to emerge, even if they have not yet been widely accepted. In this way, food prints are perceived to convey more about an individual’s identity than more common prints, such as floral and checkered patterns. This prompts the question of whether this is an effective way to distinguish oneself in a world where everything seems to be so similar.

When singer Katy Perry donned a Moschino hamburger costume for the 2019 Met Gala theme ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion,’ the outfit was worth a thousand words—and reactions. Jeremy Scott, the brand’s former designer responsible for the singer’s look, told Page Six before the event that its theme was all about Perry, “And frankly, there probably isn’t a performer in pop history that’s used camp and humor more than she has.” By combining his taste and Moschino’s playful style with the over-the-top theme, the singer’s look was distinctly her own, and therefore unique. After all, no one else was dressed as a burger on the Met steps. In that way, food and fashion went hand-in-hand, and rightly so.

However, it has become inevitable to associate anything related to the fashion industry with exclusivity, and food fashion is no exception. In a world where the people are being subject to starvation, food becomes a luxury. The UN released its 2023 Global Food Crisis Report which found that, “nearly 282 million people in 59 countries and territories experienced high levels of acute hunger in 2023.” If one was hoping for a decline, forget it. According to WFP’s analysis of food security and evolving needs in a June 2024 update, ”This year, 309 million people are estimated to face acute levels of food insecurity in the 71 countries with WFP operations and where data is available.” Besides the deprivation of food for marginalized nations, and the familiar situations regarding poverty and social exclusion, the prices of essential goods in local markets are increasing at an alarming rate as a result of wars, economic and political difficulties. 

While last year the leading trend was quiet luxury, today the real luxury seems to be food. And fashion, too, has long been a luxury. From the opulent court attire of Louis XIV to the lavish banquets reserved for only those of high social status, fashion, and food have always joined forces as symbols of wealth. As FIT Associate Curator Elizabeth Way once wrote, “Fashion and food might be the most potent symbols of aristocratic extravagance, and these ideas persist in contemporary culture.” For all the progress seen from the monarchical era to the present, not much has changed. Nowadays, whenever one turns on an electronic device or connects to social media, images of high-ranking personalities, celebrities, and public figures alike can be found dining at extravagant Michelin-star restaurants and buying exclusive Haute Couture garments. These pictures always stimulate a taste for more, as the pursuit of luxury has become the primary objective of modern society. Two of the world’s most powerful and profitable industries are united to act as a potent pleasure center for excess and desire. This, combined with the fact that both are inaccessible to many, only adds to its appeal. So the new coin is either a strawberry or a blouse—or you get a high-value currency if you combine the two. 

Strawberries and blouses aside, the timing seems ironic, doesn’t it? It is somewhat paradoxical that in the current ‘Ozempic Era,’ food has become a trend. While many are willing to adorn their bodies with the most varied food prints, there is still a prevalent hesitation to consume it. It is clear that if a plus-sized person shared a photo of themselves in an outfit with a food print, the reactions would be different if a thin person did the same. Naturally, fatphobia has a significant role in this discussion. The food-meets-fashion phenomenon seems to be more driven by access and power. While the wealthy can deliberately deny themselves food by choice—and can access drugs like the one mentioned above— many consider medicine, fashion, and food a luxury.

Despite the harmful standards perpetuated by the fashion industry and the limited access to essential needs experienced by a large percentage of the world’s population, both food and fashion emerge as two pillars that significantly influence societal status. The obsession with appearance and materialism fuelled by these industries underscores the pervading disparities in our world. Food and fashion not only encourage disproportionate consumption, but also exacerbate inequalities, creating a cycle where one side will always crave more.