How Fruit and Veg Became Fashion's Most Modest Muses

Step aside Kate Moss, Jane Birkin, and even Grace Jones, as there's a new fashion muse quickly rising up the ranks—and we’re all likely to be very familiar with this face, or should I say skin, as creative directors dig into the fruit and veg patch to inspire their designs.

Don’t believe me? Allow me to remind you that Jacquemus just recently rode around Los Angeles in a banana-shaped go-kart to launch its new store. The fruit was also emblazoned across pieces from the brand’s Autumn/Winter 2025 collection. Louis Vuitton recently re-issued its Takashi Murakami cherry-adorned collection. And Loewe, that is no stranger to the allotment aesthetic—having woven radishes and ginger into silk sets for its Autumn/Winter 2024 collection while also creating beaded bag charms of asparagus, mushrooms and peas—has just unveiled a tomato bag that’s taken over the internet. Not to mention it just floated a just tomato-shaped hot air balloon over Cappadocia in Turkey. Plus, a handful of other labels including Chloé, Balmain, and Farm Rio have all been spotted getting a little green-fingered of late.

Explaining the fruity phenomenon, Dr Carolyn Mair, a cognitive psychologist, fashion business consultant and author of The Psychology Of Fashion, says, “In times of economic uncertainty or social upheaval, there is a tendency to return to the basics, to celebrate the simple joys and essentials of life, such as fruit and veg.”

“From Loewe’s asparagus charm to Balmain’s grapevine printed dress, this is about giving consumers ‘Glimmers’—aka small moments of joy—as a much-needed distraction amid the poly-crisis,” seconds Hannah Watkins, head of prints and graphics at trend forecaster WGSN. This idea of ‘fun’ fashion being used to inject joy into a continually worrying world can also be seen through the Labubu trend and our current love for statement bags, too. Although why fruits and vegetables are being used over bright colours, sparkles or perhaps even childhood famous faces to do this is the key question.

“In an increasingly digital-first world, we are bombarded with information, images, and content, often leading to overstimulation and a sense of disconnect from the physical world,” explains Mair. “The fruit and vegetable motifs can be seen as a way for designers to anchor their work in something tangible, simple, and inherently natural,” she adds. “In this sense, the motifs are a visual and symbolic counterbalance to the abstract, fast-paced nature of the digital realm.”

Additionally, “featuring natural elements like fruit and vegetables in fashion items could be seen as a reflection of the shift towards sustainability and eco-consciousness,” continues Mair. It’s this ideology that has boosted food and farming to the forefront of other industries as well—let’s cast our minds back to the ‘tomato girl’ make-up trend that took over social media last summer.

“We’ve been tracking food in fashion for several seasons at WGSN as interest in farming, gardening, and sustainability drives a flurry of wholesome motifs. Sparked by TikTok’s #FarmTok trend, designers are appealing to Gen Z’s new green-fingered hobby by reimagining fruit and vegetables as prints and collectable accessories,” says Watkins.

Taking the trend off the runway and into physical stores, Loewe recently collaborated with New York’s Saks Fifth Avenue to create an immersive experience in celebration of five limited-edition fruit versions of the bestselling Squeeze bag. Towering vegetable sculptures sat in the store windows, while a juice bar brought the fashion and food ideology even closer. But where do we go from here?

Well, according to Watkins, food and fashion will only continue to converge. “WGSN forecasts a shift to imperfect or more unexpected foods as the next must-have. Think of buffalo tomatoes rather than perfect strawberries [Loewe has just done exactly that], and drinks and cocktails will also make their way onto graphic tees, as seen by Moschino’s spring/summer 25 collection,” she says, while noting the continual popularity in wine and spirits on social media.

So it seems ‘foodies’ truly are making their mark on the fashion space—and we will continue to see this unserious source of inspiration shift through seasons to come. Suddenly, tomatoes never seemed so chic.

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