After a season of beige, minimalism, and “quiet luxury” aesthetics, fashion, and in turn summer dressing, has swung to the opposite direction. Nothing points this shift further than the current trend of fruit-inspired fashion. While last season saw sardines and oceanic motifs, this season comes with cherries, grapes, strawberries, and more becoming the dominant motif.
Food in fashion has been on a steady rise since the effect of “quiet luxury”, well, quieted down. In a way, it is an emotional reaction to the growing insecurity of society. Now, with the summer heat fresh on our minds, the shift to fruit motifs echoes the same sentiment. It’s a visual representation of searching for refreshment while also being fashion’s latest avenue of whimsical dressing.
This comes after witnessing the latest Spring-Summer and Autumn-Winter collections, where fashion houses turned the runway into a stage. Chanel, Valentino, and, notably, Gucci all had a theatrical flair alongside playful dressing. Whereas maisons like Dior, Loewe, and Jacquemus looked to nature and botanical motifs to inspire their clothes. The desire for fun dressing and fruit motifs intersect with one another since they often share the same sentiment.
Historically, when societies and cultures are in a state of anxiety, small practices like engaging in fashion help to escape and alleviate that burden. The most recent example of this phenomenon coming to life was 2020’s fashion, which was rooted in microtrends and cultural borrowing in the form of “cores”. This was also the time when designer Lirika Matoshi’s Strawberry Dress was the talk of the town. Now, while society navigates geopolitical tensions, wars, economic instability, and the rising cost of living, fun dressing, even if it is just a graphic print of a passion fruit, is a small way to take the mind off things, and exert expression and the parts of life that can be controlled.
But on the other hand, we can’t forget that summer dressing is synonymous with joyful dressing. So, besides the sequins and floral print, it’s also no surprise that the fruit ripe for the season would also make it to our clothes, accessories, and jewellery.
The Soigné Fruit Edit
Chanel | Apple Minaudiere
Christian Louboutin | Rosa Fruit 100 Sandals in Crepe-satin
Chloe | Baby Fit Logo T-shirt in Cotton Jersey
Cult Gaia | Grape Sandal
Loewe | Mini Flamenco Purse In Beaded Crochet
Mary Katrantzou | Como Fruit-print Belted Maxi Dress
Moschino | Apple Bag
Saint Laurent | Cassandre Cherry Earrings in Resin and Metal
