Sardines have become the biggest 'it' print of the summer - and it says a lot about the world

2023 was the year of the lemon, 2024 the year of the lobster, and in a bizarre turn of events, our go-to print of 2025 has officially been dubbed the ever-so-slightly-less-chic sardine.

That's right, the purse-friendly, tinned fish that has any dinner party crowd turning their noses up is currently being plastered all over our homeware, clothing, and art prints this summer. Smell not included.

Is this a recession indicator? Well, weirdly, not quite.

It all started with Bottega Veneta's Sardine bag - a version of their signature woven pouch with a sleek, gold sardine-shaped handle, and at £3,670, they meant business.

Pexels

Soon, Staud's sell-out Tommy Bag, beaded with the design of a tin of sardines (or 'staudines' as they called them) was on the arm of every 'it' girl in the fashion-verse.

Swiftly following, within weeks, it became impossible to walk around any clothing store without being within three feet of a fish-adorned t-shirt, or in a homeware section not embellished with tea towels featuring scales where frills once stood.

And people are kind-of into it.

"Hate them as a food, love it on a shirt though I cant lie", one person commented on a TikTok video showing off the trend.

"How have they made them so cute though?", another added.

"Is this why sardines are always out of stock in Sainsburys? I’m being serious I need them for my dog", someone else joked.

But if we look at the state of the world right now, this once-fashion faux pas is a sign of a much bigger shift in our attitudes.

Elsewhere, in recent months, designer logos have been replaced by unapologetic social justice motifs with politics blending into our style, most notably in the form of the viral Protect The Dolls t-shirts all of your favourite celebrities have been donning at public events in support of LGBT+ people.

At the other end of the spectrum, the idea of being minimalist and polished is being outshone by hours-long queues around the block for the borderline-terrifying Labubu doll keychains now seen hung from the bag of every cool person you know.

While wildly different in their nature, when you marry all of this unexpected rule re-writing paired with a new toe-dip into fishy waters, we've ultimately learnt one thing: Snobbiness is out, and nothing is off-limits anymore.

"This trend is a perfect example of fashion’s current obsession with the unexpected", says Megan Watkins, head stylist at SilkFred.

"Fashion’s fondness for ironic food-related design has been cyclical throughout the years. Think Moschino’s fast-food collection or the lobster dress made famous by Elsa Schiaparelli.

"The sardine, however, feels fresher and more in tune with 2025 trends, maybe because it’s so distinctly unglamorous, and that’s exactly why it's cool right now.”

Staud/ASOS

She continues: “Lobsters had their moment as the cheeky-cute emblem of coastal chic (see TikTok viral trends such as the coastal grandmother). But sardines feel more of-the-moment, less glossy, more grounded (tapping into the TikTok trend around 'recession indicators').

“There’s a simplicity and sleekness to the sardine shape. It’s graphic and instantly recognisable, which makes it a perfect motif for jewellery, prints, and bags. It also adds a knowing wink to an outfit - think fashion with a sense of humour and self-awareness.”

So, are we becoming entirely unserious as a generation? Or have we simply ran out of cares to give?

Here's to hoping 2026 isn't the year of the rat...

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