The marriage of fashion and food

A report on clothing's evolving obsession with eating and drinking

Aug 9, 2022

unspun just launched their straight-fit jeans with a vintage fabric gold threading. As a new dad, I personally approve of this fit, and you may be seeing me FLEX ON YOU with a pair of these bad boys and New Balances any day now. Check em’ out.

One of the more fascinating movements

I’ve seen evolve in the last few years is clothing’s connection with food.

They’ve always been linked, but more recently there’s an emphasis on collaboration between brands and institutions to garner cultural klout or relevance.

I’m seeing this especially within streetwear, but it’s also apparent in other genres too.

So here’s a roundup of—more or less—recent collaborations I’m seeing across food and fashion and how creative they’re getting, from apparel and accessories to products and popups.

Apparel collabs

Paperboy Paris x New Balance x Beams

This has been one of my favorite ones this year. Paperboy, a Parisian sandwich shop, is becoming a defacto collaborator with sneaker companies, like New Balance and Reebok. They also added Beams of Japan to the mix.

A sneaker feels appropriate for a sandwich shop.

Rowing Blazers x Harry’s Bar

Harry’s is one of the more iconic food institutions in NY, so it feels on-brand for Jack & Co. from Rowing Blazers to tap in with their rebellious country club vibe and design a corduroy cap with a Rugby shirt.

Norman’s Cafe x Futsol

This collab happened recently, and it’s one I am all-in for. Futsol, a luxury footie brand, teamed up with the well-established Norman’s in London to make a few kits in limited batches. They turned out excellently!

Travis Scott x McDonald’s

The internet broke when Travis teamed up with the Golden Arches in 2020. I think we resonated with this one deeply because it felt like a truly internet-driven collab, something we connected at a time when we were stuck in our homes working remotely.

Others worth highlighting

The Hundreds x Jon and Vinny’s x Neighbor’s Skate Shop
Bodega x Carhartt WIP at the LA Produce Market
Action Bronson’s olive oil brand
Matty Matheson, chef and clothing aficionado

Brands as restaurants

Beyond the merch and apparel, some brands literally take things to a new level and just open restaurants.

We’re all familiar with the iconic Ralph Lauren Polo Bar near 5th Avenue in NYC.

…A niche that Dior and Prada have owned for a while.

Victoria Buchanan @VictoriaFutures

Gastronomic Luxury ✨ The new #LouisVuitton restaurant at the White 1921 Hotel in Saint-Tropez by Michelin-starred chef Mory Sacko combines Japanese and African influences ✨

More recently, Snow Peak opened Takibi, a Japanese restaurant in their Portland flagship.

KITH put a Sadelle’s in their opulent Parisian store.

and Jacquesmus gave us Casablanca vibes with their Parisian popup too.

Aimé Leon Dore has also captured a ton of traffic with their Café Leon Dore Flagship space on Mulberry Street.

These establishments are manifestations of the products themselves. They invite you to understand their brand ethos by entrenching yourself in a physical space with food and imbibe that matches their clothes.

Streetwear’s ice cream obsession

Ice cream is another avenue to explore within clothing.

Of course, the OGs Pharrell and Nigo are the godfathers of integrated soft serve into their Billionair Boys Club brand, sub-brand they called ICE CREAM. Seriously.

Over the next decade, Pharrell went on to release a ton of products, from sneakers to shirts and slides, all of which has pretty good resell power on Grailed.

In the modern landscape, we’ve seen rapper Action Bronson make ice bream bars with Morgensterns.

Tyler, the Creator’s brand Golf le Fleur team up with Jeni’s to make special pint flavors.

And the infamous KITH Treats, which was a hit in Tokyo years back. Had lines out the door when it first opened.

Any others I missed? Drop em in the comments!

sprezza