When food meets fashion and the fetishes that go beyond a bit of sauce
Often hot in more ways than one, edible attire ranges from designer-created high fashion to do-it-yourself hat recipes, with the best bit being that it can all be eaten afterwards – or in some cases, licked off
Food and fashion may seem like odd things to mix, but with a bit of imagination they can be combined into weirdly wonderful creations.
Take the viral design line developed by KFC. The fast-food giant’s “Colonel chic” line offers consumers everything from hen-themed autumn fashion to edible nail polish.
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The pizza bikini, meanwhile, is the brainchild of New York-based food stylist Jessie Bearden and the Italian food firm Villa Italian Kitchen. This zany item, complete with mozzarella and tomato sauce, appeared just before this year’s National Bikini Day on July 5. The product was priced at US$10,000, making it perhaps the most expensive piece of wearable food ever created.
Pizza’s fast-food cousin, the burger, also has a sartorial equivalent – burger trainers, crafted by the Swedish designer Olle Hemmendorff. As part of a wider reinterpretation project, Hemmendorff was commissioned by Nike to give a fresh take on the sports brand’s top-selling Air Max 90 shoes. Hemmendorff designed a luscious, chunky burger version of the shoe. Clad in a sesame baguette, his creation looks delicious, if rather calorific.
Fashion foodies seeking something healthier might be drawn to the lettuce leaf gown made by the animal rights organisation Peta. Meant to promote meatless meals, the gown did the rounds in 2009, 2010 and 2011, worn by activists urging carnivores to turn over a new leaf and go vegan.
