Fashion on the Menu: Why Food and Drinks Are the Secret Ingredient to Selling Style
- Himanshi Bisht
- Sep 12
- 4 min read
“Fashion is the armour to survive the reality of everyday life.” — Bill Cunningham
Fashion and food may seem like an unlikely pair, but in recent years, the two industries have merged in ways that feel both natural and powerful. Beyond clothing racks and runways, luxury labels and emerging designers alike are finding fresh ways to tell their stories—through flavours, textures, and drinks that resonate with everyday life.
Why is food and drink the perfect recipe for fashion marketing? The answer is simple: both trigger emotions, memories, and desires. They make fashion feel less distant and more deliciously relatable.
Let’s explore why this strategy works so well, and how leading fashion houses are cooking up campaigns that audiences can’t stop sharing.
Table of Content
1. The Universal Language of Taste
Fashion can sometimes feel aspirational or unattainable, but food is universal. Everyone eats, drinks, and associates flavours with emotion. That universality makes food and beverages a powerful entry point for luxury fashion brands looking to connect with wider audiences.
For example, Moschino has long embraced playful food themes in its collections. Remember the fast-food-inspired line featuring French fry handbags and McDonald’s style uniforms?
It was cheeky, bold, and instantly relatable, sparking conversations across mainstream media and social platforms.
This is the genius of merging the two worlds: it bridges exclusivity with everyday experiences. A couture gown might feel far away, but a burger-themed clutch? That instantly clicks.
2. Visual Storytelling That Pops on Social Media
We live in a world where visuals rule. Food photography is already a global obsession, and when mixed with high fashion, it becomes irresistible content. Vibrant fruits, glossy desserts, or golden champagne bottles create textures and contrasts that elevate fashion campaigns into works of art.
Take Jacquemus as an example. Designer Simon Porte Jacquemus has seamlessly incorporated bread, butter, lemons, and cherries into his visuals. These bold juxtapositions create eye-catching moments that make fashion feel fun, whimsical, and above all, shareable.
But he’s not alone. Chanel, for instance, often ties its champagne and fine dining partnerships to exclusive events, where the glamour of haute couture is paired with culinary sophistication. The result? A complete lifestyle experience captured in one frame.
3. Nostalgia Meets Luxury
Food sparks nostalgia like nothing else - it’s tied to home, family, and personal memories. When fashion brands use food, they tap into this powerful emotional layer.
Think of Gucci Osteria, the luxury label’s restaurant concept created with Michelin-starred chef Massimo Bottura. Dining at Gucci Osteria isn’t just about eating—it’s about being immersed in Gucci’s world, where a plate of pasta carries the same narrative weight as a handbag. It’s fashion storytelling you can taste.
Similarly, Dolce & Gabbana has collaborated with Italian pasta brands to create limited-edition packaging. By weaving their aesthetic into something as everyday as pasta, they transformed a grocery item into a collectable—connecting luxury with cultural nostalgia.
4. Expanding Fashion into Lifestyle Experiences
Fashion doesn’t end with what you wear. Increasingly, it extends into hospitality, entertainment, and lifestyle areas where food and drinks are natural anchors.
Jacquemus’s champagne collaboration with Veuve Clicquot is a perfect example of expanding fashion identity into new categories. The limited-edition bottle design was not just a drink, but a statement piece - one that symbolised Mediterranean heritage, celebration, and the brand’s playful aesthetic.
Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton recently launched LV Dream, a café and chocolate shop in Paris. Visitors can indulge in luxury-branded pastries while exploring the house’s history and latest collections. It blurs the line between fashion retail and culinary artistry, making the brand experience multi-sensory.
5. Social Media Magic: When Food and Fashion Go Viral
One of the biggest reasons food and drinks are the perfect marketing companions for fashion is their shareability. A quirky edible invite, a designer coffee cup, or a luxury dessert collab is tailor-made for Instagram and TikTok.
Take Tiffany & Co.’s Blue Box Café in New York. Diners can literally have “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” with a curated menu served in the brand’s iconic robin’s-egg blue.
The café quickly became a must-visit destination for influencers and tourists alike-because it’s not just food, it’s content.
In Japan, Prada once teamed up with a local patisserie to create cakes inspired by its designs.
The result?
A viral storm of pastel desserts plastered across social feeds, reinforcing the brand’s aesthetic through something edible and delightful.
6. Appetite and Desire: The Psychology Behind It
At their core, both fashion and food thrive on desire. They’re about indulgence, craving, and self-expression. Just as someone might splurge on a fine meal, they might also invest in a designer dress. Both are ways of treating oneself, celebrating moments, or signalling status.
By linking food and fashion, brands amplify this psychology. A glass of champagne next to a couture gown tells the same story: elegance, indulgence, and luxury. A playful burger handbag reminds us that fashion can be both aspirational and accessible, just like comfort food.
Lessons for Fashion Brands Big and Small
What can other fashion labels learn from these examples?
Here are a few takeaways:
Make it relatable: Everyday food items connect with audiences instantly.
Think visually: Bright, textured, or oversized food props pop on social media.
Tap into culture: Nostalgia and heritage-based foods create deeper emotional connections.
Expand experiences: Restaurants, cafés, and pop-ups make fashion more immersive.
Encourage shareability: Quirky, unexpected food collaborations spark online buzz.
Whether it’s a pop-up coffee shop or packaging inspired by desserts, food doesn’t just complement fashion-it amplifies it.
Final Bite: Fashion Tastes Better with Flavour
Food and drinks aren’t just side props for fashion—they’re storytelling tools, emotional triggers, and viral content generators. From Moschino’s fast-food couture to Gucci’s fine dining, Tiffany’s cafés, and Jacquemus’ playful bread and butter, the world’s top designers have proven that taste sells style.
Because at the end of the day, fashion isn’t just about what we wear-it’s about how we live, celebrate, and indulge. And nothing captures that better than the flavors we share.
So whether it’s champagne flutes clinking at a runway show or pasta wrapped in Dolce & Gabbana packaging, one thing’s clear: when fashion meets food, style is served.
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