It's easy to indulge in a bag of salt-laden chips to find comfort on a busy workday, a boring holiday, or when you are just feeling low. But, what if you could hug a cushion shaped like a bag of chips on a bad day too? Fashion has always been a refuge for finding fun and creativity when life surrounds you with monotony. Dopamine dressing has been a major trend for the last two years, and now, accessory trends are reflecting how we are looking for comfort in our fashion add-ons. From food-inspired accessories (like Moschino’s celery-shaped clutch or Huemn’s sequined Lay’s cushion), plush keychains and charms, to animal-shaped bags (Simon Rocha’s Creature Clutch or Coach’s Teddy Clutch), adults are seeking emotional support in childlike accessories in 2025. 

Pranav Misra, co-founder and creative director of the label Huemn, which recently collaborated with Lay’s to launch limited-edition merchandise, says that the partiality towards uplifting accessories is not just to provide a dopamine rush to the consumer. “Fashion is seasonal and most brands think similarly in a similar period of time, largely dependent on consumer behaviour,” Misra comments on every major fashion label offering cutesy bag charms and playful clutches. What is pushing this trend and encouraging brands is an experimental consumer who is willing to put their money into statement fashion pieces other than just occasion-wear, a wave where people are buying art pieces and carrying them as accessories. “The world has been partly a bright and dark place at the same time forever, so has society and politics. There is nothing new about it. I think what has changed is the comfort with which people want to spend money. After the pandemic, a younger age group entered with economic power, they are more comfortable going to parties wearing a piece they have invested in or one inspired by art. We seek internal and external validation in some form. And if you feel happy by spending money on a plush charm that reminds you of your childhood or teens, it is a meaningful purchase for them,” says Misra. It’s not always numbers that inspire design houses though he says. A horned motif widely used by the brand seamlessly seeped in the brand after his father passed away in 2018 he says. “It could just be a creative expression that comes from one’s self, or it could just be an aftermath of what happened with my life.”