Trend Alert – Food & Drink In Fashion & Beauty
Navigating the influx of fast food licensing and the emergence of aesthetics inspired by fruits and beverages mirroring the impact of “girl dinner” on the cultural zeitgeist, EDITED plates up the microtrends to watch within this movement.
- Fast food and alcoholic beverage partnerships have infiltrated fashion with licensing from McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Heineken beer and Malibu rum dominating collaborations. Consider product placements for streetwear items such as T-shirts, hoodies and tote bags if exploring this avenue.
- TikTok became obsessed with “girl dinners,” which coincided with foodie trends emerging at the tail end of summer, including the Tomato and Strawberry Girl aesthetics. Tap into these themes or color stories to boost interest in seasonal merchandise before transitioning to fall.
- For FW23 and SS24, darker and warmer tones will influence fashion and beauty. Keep food and drink-inspired hues on your radar for product and marketing by investing in chocolate browns and latte tones, while positioning buttermilk as a new neutral. Move away from makeup looks inspired by fruits to those inspired by beverages, such as red wine and matcha.
Fast Food Fashion
Between September 13th and November 26th, The Museum at FIT (MFIT) will host a ‘Food & Fashion’ exhibition exploring the impact of food and food culture on fashion design. The convergence of these two industries has sparked countless merchandising opportunities and licensing collaborations outlined below. For the latest market releases across categories, see The Product Launch Tracker.
McDonald’s x Palace
Officially titled PALACE MCDONALDS, the collection comprises 15 pieces of clothing ranging from T-shirts and hoodies to co-branded skateboard decks. The range can only be purchased after scanning a QR code printed on the packaging of “As Featured In,” the new McDonald’s meal.
Aries x Malibu
The pair joined forces on an AI-generated campaign to promote the collaboration, which features classic T-shirts, vests, trucker caps, embroidered varsity jackets and bespoke grills. The limited-edition capsule ranges from £40 to £1,200, and is exclusively available online and at Aries’ Soho store in London.
Five Guys Merch
Commemorating its tenth anniversary in the UK, the American burger chain released a second line of clothing and accessories. It features its signature red and white checkerboard across long and short sleeve T-shirts, sliders, sunglasses, a reversible bucket hat and summer co-ords.
Wagamama x PANGAIA
The food chain teamed up with the material science company on its new uniforms. Staff can return their old T-shirts to be repurposed, which will be replaced by organic cotton styles treated with PPRMINT, a plant-based peppermint oil that requires less frequent washing.
MSGM x Heineken
Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Dutch beer, a limited-edition 150-piece capsule collection was released in partnership with MSGM. The Gen Z-targeted products are branded “Ainechen” to evoke how Italian consumers pronounce the brand.
Malbon x Evian
Capitalizing on the Golfcore boom, Malbon furthered its Evian partnership, releasing a French Alps-inspired capsule range of terry cotton robes, bucket hats and T-shirts bearing the water brand’s logo and signature pink colorway.
Nandos Merch
For summer, Nandos dropped its limited edition unisex Sauce Collection, containing branded T-shirts, hoodies, socks, sliders and tote bags, with prices starting at £15/$20. The complimentary campaign featured Nando’s staff and customers.
Erewhon x CPFM
After tapping Cactus Plant Flea Market for a rainbow $22 smoothie, the exclusive LA supermarket revealed a joint apparel collection encompassing hoodies, crewneck sweaters, long-sleeve tops, T-shirts, sweatpants, shorts, hats and totes bearing the brands’ signature motifs.
Coral Castillo x Cheetos Mac & Cheese
Project Runway finalist Coral Castillo teamed up with Cheetos on a range of playful macramé sneakers and accessories in bold orange, red and green, inspired by the new mac and cheese flavor. Customers can enter for a chance to win the limited range from August 9th to September 8th.
Ninja Turtles x Pizza Hut x Primark
Straddling nostalgia and fast food, Primark launched limited edition leisurewear featuring the four turtles and their favorite dish ahead of Paramount’s release of the TMNT Mutant Mayhem film. Products include T-shirts, bucket hats, socks, leggings and shorts.
Girl Dinner Trends
Social media continues to churn out subcultures with delicious, aesthetically pleasing names inspired by foods and beverages. Additionally, “girl dinner” has become a cultural phenomenon, starting with viewers showcasing curated charcuterie boards and cheese platters and evolving to unhinged food combinations and student meals of ramen and pickles. Videos with #girldinner have racked up 58 million TikTok views in the US over the past seven days alone.
The back end of summer brought an array of food-inspired trends into the lexicon. Starting with the Tomato Girl, which became synonymous with a laid-back, rustic and slower-paced life inspired by long summer nights abroad, farmer’s markets and hearty, home-cooked dishes for family and friends. Red dresses, linen, headscarves and basket bags are included in the starter pack. This aesthetic has branched off to a more niche Sardinecore, marked by tapas-printed merchandise seen at Lisa Says Gah, Sardine Supply and NA-KD, further epitomizing summer dining in fashion.
Hailey Beiber introduced donut-glazed skin to the masses and has also been credited with popularizing Strawberry Girl Summer within fashion and beauty. The movement had led followers to blend red and pink-based cream blushes, lipsticks and eyeliners to achieve a flushed complexion. Beiber also introduced a Strawberry Glaze Peptide Lip Treatment to Rhode’s portfolio, part of a collaboration with Krispy Kreme Donuts. Blueberry Milk nails have been another fruity beauty trend favored by Sofia Richie Grainge, Dua Lipa and Sabrina Carpenter.
While suspicions have been raised that the hottest buzzwords are industry-planted marketing exercises, TikTok has exploded with worldwide views for Strawberry Girl and Blueberry Milk nails over the past month hitting 13 and 20 million respectively, highlighting the importance of edible aesthetics in fashion and beauty. Retailers should curate products that fall within these themes or colors to revive remaining summer stock and drum up interest on socials, as well as bookmark seasonal dishes for SS24 trends.
How to Capitalize for FW23
Color is the easiest way to tap into food and beverage aesthetics, with FW23 runways serving up delectable palettes that should already be designed into. Brown tones have emerged as the frontrunner for fashion and beauty. #lattemakeup clocked 151 million global TikTok views in the past month, a trend achieved with minimal coverage, warm shimmery tones and cream bronzers. Chocolate brown has been a trending fall color at Réalisation Par, John Elliott, and Paige, and also featured prominently at Copenhagen Fashion Week, indicating its longevity into spring 2024 for retailers yet to buy into cocoa hues.
Muted yellows are emerging as a new neutral, reminiscent of 2018’s “stick of butter dressing.” COS recently launched an autumn collection featuring head-to-toe “banana milk” tailoring and knitwear. Buttermilk was a standout shade at ROTATE Birger Christensen and Skall Studio SS24 designs, presenting warm-weather opportunities for future collections.
The transition to fall will see Strawberry Girl Summer darken to Red Wine Winter, creating a dark luxe aesthetic for beauty achieved through dewy skin, warm-toned blushes in shades of dusty roses or berry and rich red lipstick with burgundy undertones. Bold reds have been outlined as hero hue for FW, though crimson tones as seen at Alexander McQueen and Dolce & Gabbana can be applied to leather and sexy dressing narratives for more directional retailers.
Banana Milk
Chocolate Brown
Gestuz Spring 2024
Red Wine
Alexander McQueen Fall 2023