All the times fashion was inspired by food, in an exhibition in New York

Food has become the new floral pattern. This is how the New York Times described the latest trend in the fashion industry, which is increasingly drawing inspiration from food to create innovative garments, including original accessories and coats. A winning combination now on display in a museum in the Big Apple.

Food & Fashion, the exhibition in New York

A bag with inserts in the shape of burgers and chips, a jacket reminiscent of chocolate wrappers, Elsa Schiaparelli's headgear: there are many garments on display at the Museum at FIT in New York, which until 26 November 2023 is hosting the Food & Fashion exhibition, a collection of over 80 unique pieces by modern and contemporary designers. One of the best known brands is Moschino, which, thanks to the creative direction of Jeremy Scott, has developed a sui generis collection all about food, with forks instead of buttons or shoes with a design very similar to that of McDonald's. The aim of the exhibition, in any case, is to show that the relationship between food and fashion is becoming increasingly close, and the dialogue between these two worlds starts from afar to arrive at very topical issues, starting with environmental sustainability, a crucial point that unites both sectors.

The themes covered in the exhibition

Organised with intelligence and a touch of irony, the exhibition opens by evoking the typical environments of gastronomy, from the market to the restaurant, where instead of food, however, there are clothes. It continues like this, amidst improbable food halls and colourful kitchens, to arrive at one of the crucial points of the itinerary, which focuses on the importance of aesthetics for food brands: the eye also wants its part, says the proverb, and those who work in food and wine communication know this well, considering the important role that social networks have carved out for themselves in the last decade. And so appearance becomes essential in both cases, whether it is an outfit or a dish. Fashion influences food and vice versa: think of the types of clothes tailored for a particular meal, such as cocktail dresses; in that case it is the kitchen that dictates the rules and creates a new market demand. High attention is also paid to environmental impact: we talk about slow fashion and also slow food, natural fibres and ethical cultivation, as well as creative recycling of waste.