Food is the soul of fashion right now. Handbags have become silver-gilded walnuts at Dior and over-the-top colossal shrimp towers and a birthday cake larger than what you’d see at the world’s top weddings reigned supreme at Coach’s recent 85th anniversary fashion show. Celine served hot dogs at a recent event, and Rachel Comey had models walking down the runway of her SS27 show clutching silver metallic bags, replete with pockets and heat protection for Unreal’s chic sweet snacks. That’s all in addition to Judith Leiber, the mainstay that has been upholding crystal-covered novelty food bags for decades, and JW Anderson, which is carrying the torch into the future with cauliflower and carrot bag charms.
But fashion’s food obsession goes far beyond hors d’oeuvres and bags, too. The food mania in fashion has reached such a peak that it’s now more than commonplace that the trending colours of the season are defined by food. Just look at berry hues or butter yellow. ‘Food continues to be a much bigger part of consumers’ lifestyles and the convergence of food with interiors, fashion, and homewares is evolving,’ Jennifer Creevy, director of food and drink at WGSN, tells ELLE. ‘While we have seen many fashion or homeware collaborations with food and drink brands, we are now seeing that food or drink names carry more depth than pure colour chart names. “Butter,” for example, suggests comfort, warmth, and softness, as well as yellow. Food is increasingly becoming a shared aesthetic language.’
Dior SS27 walnut bag.
Rachel Comey x Unreal Coco bag.
Ironically or not, something about butter yellow and berry red sounds more luxurious than a typical descriptor like scarlet or even daisy. With these designs in today’s economy, it’s impossible to ignore the direct correlation of food and fresh produce as visual, wearable wealth. It’s a tale as old as time: Dating back to the Victorian period, pineapples were an exotic status symbol and could be rented for parties to impress guests. In 2026, the story also writes itself: A-list stars who are revered for their beauty and wealth are being defined by trends like espresso hair with ‘rich’ tones, matcha routines that emphasise health and well-being, or chai latte nails with an emphasis on low-key chic.
But on a surface level, most people are probably gravitating toward food in fashion (or beauty) because it’s something everyone can naturally relate to, and it brings people together. Brands clearly see a lot of value in it too, with Le Café Louis Vuitton opening in New York 2024 and serving a menu of fashion-forward dishes like monogram ravioli. A food-shaped bag or an impressive tablescape at a fashion event just naturally sparks joy.
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Kristen Bateman is a contributing editor at Harper’s Bazaar. Her first fashion article was published in Vogue Italia during her junior year of high school. Since then, she has interned and contributed to WWD, Glamour, Lucky, i-D, Marie Claire and more. She created and writes the #ChicEats column and covers fashion and culture for Bazaar. When not writing, she follows the latest runway collections, dyes her hair to match her mood, and practices her Italian in hopes of scoring 90% off Prada at the Tuscan outlets. She loves vintage shopping, dessert and cats.
