Streetwear & streetfood: the winning recipe!

Displaying pizza slices on socks, hot dots as a signature on polos, or cheesy burgers on dresses is a fashion phenomenon that has been hugely successful for several years. It’s a fact: street food and junk food have managed to infiltrate areas far from their usual domain, giving rise to collaborations as unlikely as they are explosive.

Champagne or Kebab? Becoming fashion staples, junk food motifs first appeared in 2014 on fashion week runways. At the time, the brilliant Jérémy Scott, artistic director of Moschino, imagined outfits twisting the iconic logo of the world’s number one fast food chain, McDonald's. Although the two worlds seem quite distant at first, the synergy works well and the reactions are explosive! Everyone wants it! Artists, brands, and influencers have understood this well, and now posting a photo with a Starbucks frappuccino, a Five Guys burger, or a Coke in hand is essential. Not only does it allow their fans to better understand their lives, but also to identify with them! At Project X Paris, a reference in urban fashion, we don’t hesitate to play with this trend which perfectly fits our values. Indeed, streetwear and street food share the same codes. Since our creation in 2015, we draw inspiration from urban culture, of which street food is an integral part.

Among our major collaborations, we recently worked with the French rapper Uzi. For this shoot, the artist of the track "A la fête" wore the black and white checkered Tiles capsule and posed with a kebab and a bottle of champagne! A striking and bold contrast, proving that anything goes and that fancy food and junk food can be the perfect pairing! A hit on our social networks!

Junk food accessorizes photoshoots Constantly anchored in our daily lives, junk food is now inseparable from our lifestyles. Influential cities like New York count nearly 83 McDonald's, a colossal number that says a lot about young people’s consumption expectations. Some of our campaigns have been largely inspired by the codes that junk food conveys to play with them. For example, model Sophie Randria can be seen posing in a total white Signature tracksuit holding a Starbucks cup, or our female-male duo walking down the street sharing a baguette sandwich and drinking a Starbucks. For this shoot, he wore a beige oversized jacket paired with loose denim, for perfect couple goals! Our gray Reflect tracksuit set is also highlighted by one of our models holding an oversized cup straight from McDonald's. Moreover, we didn’t hesitate to invade supermarket aisles during our shoots, notably to showcase the new colors of the Signature jogging suit. Here, our model poses in front of a Capri Sun aisle, recalling the yellow of his outfit. This soda, elected favorite drink of French rappers, is even an inspiration for musicians who praise it in their lyrics, like rappers Jul, BoyBandit, or Timal, who didn’t hesitate to use the brightly colored pouch of the famous soda as the sole backdrop for his clip. No wonder the drink sells like hotcakes among a young audience eager to resemble their idols!

McDonald's, Starbucks, KFC… Some brands even go further and attempt collaborations that would have seemed unlikely until now. Think of the brand Cactus Jack, from American rapper Travis Scott, which partnered with McDonald's to create an exclusive clothing line. For the occasion, the artist of "Sicko Mode" imagined a unique and temporary collection with t-shirts, hoodies, caps, ties, a figurine in his likeness, and even a nugget-shaped pillow… voted the most WTF product online! In total, nearly 60 pieces, ranging from 25 to 300 dollars, borrowed the fast food and rapper brand codes. A well-executed and very successful PR stunt since fans snapped up the items. If McDonald's was a pioneer, others quickly followed. For Starbucks' 20th anniversary, the chain also decided to mark the occasion. Besides the collaboration with TikTok star Junior JMSS, which generated a lot of buzz, the brand created its own clothing line. To do this, it teamed up with the Parisian streetwear brand Tealer. T-shirts, hoodies, shirts… In total, 9 unisex pieces came from this partnership inspired by Edouard Manet's painting "Le déjeuner sur l’herbe." Among the fastest-selling pieces was a t-shirt with "Subway" on the front and sandwich logos on the back, as well as those featuring the restyled and reimagined "Le déjeuner sur l’herbe" painting.

KFC has also partnered several times with big names in fashion. In 2018, the American fast-food chain collaborated with streetwear designer NIGO, founder of Human Made and Hypemaker. Together, they designed the "Human Made x KFC Capsule" collection featuring the portrait of Colonel Sanders and the brand’s signature colors. Varsity-style jackets, men's hoodies, slides, tote bags, t-shirts… pieces sold between 20 and 375 dollars! This wasn’t KFC’s first time, as a few years earlier, they released their own "ugly" Christmas sweater collection!

Unlimited inspiration Beyond collaborations with artists, fast food brands have understood there is real demand for such outfits and have released their own merch, directly entering fashionistas’ wardrobes. In July 2020, McDonald's offered two swimsuit models featuring their famous yellow and red striped straw patterns! Pieces only available in Austria but talked about far beyond the hot dog country. Indeed, McDonald's, often criticized for poor waste management, used this campaign to try to improve its eco-friendly image. They didn’t hesitate to use leftover straw stocks, which the brand stopped offering only since 2019, to create these swimsuits. More recently, the Five Guys chain, known for its premium burgers and well-sauced hot dogs, launched its own collection in the UK. It features very American codes from 90s streetwear with varsity jackets, t-shirts, socks, sweaters, and beanies. The collection is not flashy but very refined, highlighting the fast food logo and also featuring its delicious milkshake. Pieces sell from 10 pounds for socks to 75 pounds for the collection’s centerpiece, the varsity jacket. No doubt stocks will sell out quickly!