Fashion's obsession with food has taken over Fashion Week

Food and fashion share the same magic of rituality. The further we move away from the allure of possessing a desired object, the more what the creative sphere seems to want is to live the experience, almost always through a snack or a dinner. The phenomenon of gastronomic appointments in fashion has ancient origins, but lately, due to the decline of traditional fashion shows, it has been intensifying. From Comme des Garçons which opened Rose Bakery in its Dover Street Market worldwide to Gucci Osteria in Florence with chef Massimo Bottura, the key example remains Bar Luce at the Fondazione Prada, designed by Wes Anderson. The Milanese venue is ideal for thinking about the topic: it is the clear proof of how, even though by Miuccia Prada’s own declaration, the Foundation and the Prada brand have no direct connection (except for the fashion shows), food and fashion have never been so close. In fact, today during Fashion Week, brands do not hesitate to create pop-ups, collaborations, and activations with local spots, restaurants, and cafés, such as "Neighborhood bars" by MSGM and the community dinners by Heliot Hemil in Milan and Paris.

The aestheticization of food and bars makes places like Bar Luce the ideal spaces to take a break, especially if you work in the fashion industry, even though the trend has made neighboring areas of the cities victims of gentrification. Work appointments, new encounters, and old habits make a coffee and a "penelope sandwich" a way not only to consume but also to approach time and the experience of food differently. Not to mention everything is extremely photogenic: the design of Bar Luce takes us back to the 1960s snack time in a Milan that smells of times marked by bells and old workshops in the heart of the city. We thus see how, from the abandonment of traditional shops and fashion shows, the creative sphere increasingly decides to enjoy these ritualistic moments through sharing and culinary storytelling. Just like in the case of Prada, often, the set design of the gathering place is just as important as the food itself, as in the case of the designer sisters who launched the brand Gohar World to draw a parallel between tableware and fashion. Food serves as a sounding board between stories, often stemming from the personal inspirations of creative directors, who can finally explore true modern luxury: not priceable experiences like shopping, but appreciable ones, like the sweet taste or fruity scent of breakfast at Bar Luce.