Gen Z seeing red: What launched a fruity fashionista craze – and its backlash

Understanding most fashion trends is easy, even for those clueless about clothes. Barbiecore, gothcore, cottagecore; all the cores are self-explanatory. Other trends benefit from visual demonstrations, such as the “whale tail”, where the straps of a G-string appear above a low-slung skirt. Seriously, this elevated approach to the “wedgie”, which had its first outing in the early 2000s, has returned.

Getting to the core of the Tomato Girl Summer trend, which ripened in the heatwave that swept Europe recently, defies all demonstrations. The fruity style took root on social media platform TikTok with a hashtag that’s attracted more than 18 million views. It then spread like a virus to Instagram, which has endured an unofficial Italian takeover by Australian influencers escaping the winter chill at home. Cue countless posts featuring models (and those filtered to resemble them) ambling along cobblestone streets and pebble beaches.

Entry-level observance includes outfits with tomatoes on them, such as those from Italian fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana. Even prints of tinned tomatoes, channelling Andy Warhol, qualify, but fresh is definitely best. The trend deepens, like a nonna’s passata, into anything in a vibrant shade of red before spilling over into a range of holiday outfits suitable for sipping a Campari and soda by a hotel pool.

With Sophia Loren and the entire cast of the second season of The White Lotus serving as inspiration, the trend encompasses prints and fabrics that look perfect under a Tuscan, Tootgarook or Terrigal sun but are wildly inappropriate in an office environment or nightclub. It’s more cropped peasant top than Camilla kaftan, more straw hat than trucker cap.

Since the beginning of August, searches for linen trousers on the online marketplace Depop have increased by 644 per cent. Searches for the type of woven bags suitable for stuffing with tomatoes grew by 289 per cent.

Many see the exuberant trend as a backlash against stealth-wealth minimalism, which followed the austere styling of the cast of Succession. Or it could just be a natural seasonal shift. Meanwhile, those leery of colour and bold prints have already retaliated with beige ensembles in a bid to kick-start Potato Girl Summer.

We suggest sticking to the tomato diet and starting now. September is the right time to plant tomatoes in the garden and the wardrobe. Start with red and take some risks that stop just short of the whale tail.

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