In a world where fast consumption and image rule everything, food has stopped being just food. It’s been rebranded — styled, positioned, and even worn — as part of an aesthetic that blurs the line between luxury and waste. But what does it say about us when we turn something that could feed someone into a fashion accessory? To truly answer that question, we must look at two key factors: the historical moment we’re living in and how the luxury market works.
The World We Live In
We live in an age of ultra-fast everything. We’re constantly flooded with content, overstimulated by trends and aesthetics that show up one day and are “cringe” by the next. So, what do we do with what no longer serves us? We throw it away. In this cycle, food — something that should be sacred — has become just another disposable product.
Looking at the bigger global picture, things aren’t exactly calm: multiple wars are happening (with Ukraine, Palestine-Israel dominating the headlines), a tariff war between economic superpowers, skyrocketing food prices leading to rising hunger rates, climate change continues to spiral out of control and — to top it all off — Pope Francis has passed away. The vibe? Chaotic at best.
So, How Does Luxury Work?
Let’s zoom in on the rising cost of food, because, strangely enough, that helps us understand luxury. How? Well, luxury has always been — and always will be — about exclusivity. In times of crisis, luxury leans into excess. So while millions are going hungry, elsewhere, waste is being turned into a trend.
A striking example? Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. There’s a moment when Katniss and Peeta are horrified after someone in the Capitol offers them a drink that makes you vomit — just so you can eat more — while people in the Districts are literally starving. Sadly, fiction is becoming reality. Today, influencers spray whipped cream on designer clothes or toss fruit into the air for the sake of an “aesthetic” video.
Fashion Reflects the World
If you want to understand a historical era, just look at what people were wearing. Fashion reflects society , its values, behaviors, cultural shifts, and context. During the World Wars, fashion was muted, practical, minimal. The rebellious and countercultural spirit of the ’70s brought bold colors, clashing textures, tons of accessories. Today? It’s all about minimalism and “quiet luxury” (though even that’s slowly shifting.)
Sensory Marketing & the Aestheticization of Food
So, what does this food-is-fashion moment say about us? Maybe that we’ve gone too far. The truth is: as long as we keep consuming this kind of content, it’s not going anywhere. And brands know that.
Todays’s marketing is all about the senses: melting chocolate, fizzy sodas, fruit bursting on impact. These visuals create desire, sure, but also scream status. Food is no longer meant to be eaten. It’s meant to be seen.
Celebs Wearing Food, Literally
From Bella Hadid licking ice cream in couture to Brazilian influencer Gkay hosting dinners where the food is both the table and the outfit, celebs are all in on the movement. It’s all for the ‘gram — and the algorithm.
These moments go viral — both for the glam and the controversy. “People are starving”, the comments say. And they’re right. But cancel culture is a fast-moving machine: what’s shocking today is trending tomorrow. And the cycle keeps spinning.
How Much Food Are We Actually Wasting?
Sometimes, we need a hard reality check. According to the UN, around 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted globally every year —about a third of all food produced. Enough to feed billions. So when someone wears a banana peel hat for clout, it’s not just wasteful — it’s a symbol of a much deeper issue.
Why This Reflects Our Society
Food as fashion is both an uncomfortable and fascinating mirror of our time. In this hyper-connected, content-driven world, where visuals outweigh meaning, turning food waste into luxury fashion shows just how deep we’ve fallen into the absurd. It highlights our disconnect from the basics — like food’s actual purpose — and how far we’re willing to go to turn something “ordinary” into a statement, as long as it gives us status, attention, and likes.
Luxury no longer needs to be practical — it just needs to be unexpected, ironic, and buzzworthy. Nothing does that quite like wearing what should’ve been eaten or tossed out. It’s a symbol of our current cultural obsession with narrative over necessity, with visuals over values.
So maybe the real question isn’t “Is it beautiful?” but rather “What are we actually trying to say with this?” And maybe — just maybe — it’s time we rethink what “good taste” even means, and who gets to define it.
The article above was edited by Isabella Simões.
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