Written by Maura Reilly, writer

While Kate Moss once famously stated, “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels,” current

fashion trends, Instagram accounts, models and general opinion fervently disagree; many go so far as to claim food and fashion are deeply intertwined, two-heads of the same creature. Models like Gigi Hadid and Emily Ratjkowski post photo after photo of their carb-overloaded cheat

days; while its worth questioning if they’re eating the food or just posing with it, it is hard to

overlook the interrelated industries of food and fashion. The Australian food blogger, Lee Tran

Lam suggests, “food, like fashion, is driven by trends, seasonality and the occasional gust of

hype.” The similarities of trending in both the industries leads to an overlap in how both products are marketed, by people with influence, people we mere mortals look to for a glimpse into

unattainable luxurious lifestyles, of eating delicacies and never gaining a pound.

Claudia Wu, a co-founder of the food and fashion magazine Cherry Bombe, suggests the

increasing focus on food in both fashion magazines and individual’s Instagram accounts is

“elevating food from just sustenance to something with style.” Food has become the latest

accessory and status symbol. The rise of the cronut and clamour to get one, whether by waiting in line for hours or buying it off the black market, follows in the wake of designer bags, shoes,

and clothing items that require waiting lists and are only available to a select few. The

groundswell of food and fashion together are simply an extension of industries driven by

providing a luxury no one else can provide, and sell the image of a lifestyle through people with

a built in following.

The food and fashion industries overlap in more ways than advertising, both are built

upon an empire of waste. Both fast fashion companies and designer brands contribute pollution

problem facing the world. To promote the idea of exclusivity, designer brands burn and throw

out much of their products, rather than selling off-season items at a discount and seeming

undesirable. Nearly 87% of clothing products are thrown out or incinerated annually, and by

2050 it is estimated the fashion industry will contribute nearly 20 million tonnes of plastic waste

which ends up in the ocean. Food waste among individuals and families has become an

increasingly prescient problem, UK households throw out nearly 7.3 million tonnes of food

yearly, with higher amounts of waste coming from the younger millennial generation. Many

suggest this trend is due to a rise in viewing food as fashionable, leading to the younger

generation cooking and ordering food for an Instagram post rather than to use the food they have

and avoid waste.

While both the fashion and food industries and the increasing interest intertwining both

into a single luxury promote the waste of both clothing and food products, together the industries

can help solve our modern and global waste problem. Many fashion houses are turning to

pollution as a material for their designs; the designer Richard Malone, has spearheaded using

plastic pollution in the ocean for textiles and has partnered with independent weavers to produce

recyclable textiles which have been naturally dyed. The company Circular Systems is working to

transform food waste fibre, such as banana peels, into reusable materials including fabric. Global

companies like H&M and Levis are partnering with these innovative companies to reduce waste

in the fashion industry.

Zara Wong writes “food and fashion are daily means of self-expression,” it just so

happens we live in a time and a society that promotes overbuying, extravagance and demands

daily innovation and change. I’m not suggesting we suddenly wear the same thing until it

literally falls apart, or we only eat what we ourselves can grow, but, it is worth thinking about

before we buy a new item of clothing or order too much to eat, are we doing it for the image of

luxury promoted by fashion magazines and models? And how can I express myself sustainably?

This article is written in combination with Daliah Gleicher's photo shoot: "Don't Play With Your Food"

Food and Fashion: Let’s Taco Bout It