Over the past few years, few trends have been as enduring as the intertwining of food and fashion—you know what I’m talking about: cute baby tees emblazoned with tomato clusters from it boutique Lisa Says Gah, Rachel Antonoff dresses printed with colorful sardine tins, and Susan Alexandra’s dangling shrimp earrings—but the latest evolution of this trend revolves around handbags.
This week, Kate Spade announced a new collaboration with Heinz, which includes a crossbody bag inspired by the brand’s iconic ketchup packets. Retailing for $398, the bag’s details are super fun, boasting pink trim that looks like the real thing, decorative zipper pulls that resemble the curves of a ketchup packet, and a bulging design that looks like it’s filled not only with your wallet and keys, but also assorted tomatoes. According to the description, there’s even an interior pocket specially designed to protect your everyday ketchup packets (which is probably the case if you’re willing to spend $400 on a ketchup wallet).
Kate Spade isn’t the only brand to get into the food-shaped handbag arena. Betsey Johnson offers a particularly original and literal take on the genre: a bag shaped like a frozen cocktail glass covered in tiny ornaments that look like condensation on a real Bahama Mama. There’s a berry basket bag studded with 3D strawberries, a glittery watermelon handbag, and a cherry pie crossbody bag. There’s even an outrageously flashy and elaborate heart-shaped cake bag with decorative rosettes and ribbon “icing.” Anya Hindmarch has also launched its own Heinz product (a ketchup packet bag charm), as well as a $500 Crunch Bar wallet, an $1,800 glittery tote bag decorated like a vintage Kellogg’s Coco Pop box, and a bucket bag resembling a Kikkoman soy sauce bottle.
Kitsch, of course, is at the heart of the food-shaped handbag trend, and some designers are taking it seriously: Nick Bentel, known for his literal pasta box bag, is now selling a $200 clutch that looks strikingly like a can of Tums Chewy Bites. Retailer Lunchbox is selling McFlurry handbags emblazoned with the McDonald’s logo, boxy totes that resemble the packaging of the fictional SpongeBob Squarepants restaurant, the Krusty Krab, and fanny packs designed to resemble KFC buckets.
For something even more wallet-friendly, reality TV star Lauren Conrad’s line of bags sold at Kohl’s includes a corncob-shaped coin purse and a surprisingly cute crossbody bag in the shape of a grapefruit slice, all priced under $30. Amazon is also full of copycat bags in the shape of food, from slices of buttered toast to tiny cartons of strawberry milk.
Following the popularity of the “tomato girl” and “strawberry girl” aesthetics, it’s probably no surprise that we’re getting very serious about choosing a bag that represents our personality — we are what we eat, after all.
