The Summer Accessory Fit for a New York Cookout
Just in time for the perfect New York summer, barbecue outfits got an accessory upgrade: Heinz ketchup clothing, thanks to Kate Spade. The New York–based brand is launching a limited-edition collection of accessories and clothing in partnership with everyone’s favorite condiment: ketchup. Have you ever looked at a ketchup packet before squeezing it onto your hot dog and thought, Hmmm, chic? Neither have I. But Kate Spade turned the classic packets into 3-D wearable accessories.
“Condiment couture” is what Heinz’s head of global communications and creativity, Megan Lang, dubbed the collection. It’s not a capsule of red accessories inspired by the condiment; instead, it’s actual Heinz logos and food packaging in the form of leather goods. The collection includes purses that look exactly like ketchup packets. There’s a tomato-red tote with the Heinz logo complete with “tear here” ketchup-packet details, loafers with ketchup packets adorned on them (one of the packets has ketchup spilling out), and a white cross-body purse with a 3-D design of ketchup spilling out of the torn packet, which is designed as a slightly asymmetrical zipper.
“Bring your own ketchup,” the bag says in small lettering at the bottom. This is the epitome of bringing your own goods to a cookout, and I bet it’ll be the most talked-about accessory of the night. Aside from accessories, the collection includes a T-shirt with the Heinz logo printed on it that would make for a cute barbecue outfit with a pair of shorts. “The playful designs are perfect for all of summer’s special moments, capturing the spirit of the season,” Kate Spade SVP and head of design Jennifer Lyu said. “We believe in exploring the journey of self-expression through style in fun, unexpected ways.” Wearable ketchup is unexpected, almost in a camp way. It’s kind of bizarrely fun to attend an event with a 3-D life-size ketchup packet, and summer is the most fitting season for it. If we can’t play during the summer, when can we play?
The collection’s prices range from $40 for a phone case if you want to transform your phone into a ketchup packet to $398 for the cross-body bag. The collection will be available on July 8 at katespade.com.