Three years after declaring the death of florals, John Lewis has discovered a new print that is making a splash among shoppers. At the launch of its new high summer collection, the retailer said fish were quickly becoming its customers’ catch of the day.

From sardines and sprats to crustaceans including crabs, its latest haul across fashion and homeware is rich in fish prints and shapes. Sales of starfish-shaped earrings are up 300% month on month, while high demand for a silky blue skirt smothered in shoals of fish has resulted in a waiting list. In homeware, sales of a set of glass tumblers that stack together to form the shape of a fish are up 400%, while a “gluggle jug” – a ceramic pitcher shaped like a fish that makes a gurgling sound as the water is poured – is becoming an outdoor dining essential. Sales of versions from Wade Pottery are up 129% month on month.

The trend is an extension of the UK’s increasing tinned fish obsession. Recently, preserved seafood has pivoted from a cheap cupboard staple to a bougie star ingredient, with jazzy packaging and “tin to table” brands. This month Tesco said an 18% increase in sales of tinned tuna was due to TikTok influencers who it said had helped it to rise to “the height of culinary fashion”. While supermarkets sell tins of fish for as little as 65p, some gourmet versions start from £12.

Bettina Makalintal, a senior reporter at the food website Eater, says people are embracing the trend as a way of signalling how they align themselves politically and socially. “Choosing to buy fancy tinned fish and to reflect these dietary choices in our clothing and decor says something about who we are, what we aspire to, and our social milieu, especially when we consider how much of our lives we also share online for other people to see and judge.”

Now you can have your preserved fish and wear it, too. At Asos, a shopping go-to for gen Z, oversized graphic T-shirts featuring prints of sardines and carp are topping its bestseller list. Over at Anthropologie you will find everything from fish-shaped hair clips to a beaded shoulder bag covered in tiny sprats, while Accessorize is selling raffia bags shaped like actual fish. The Brazilian brand Farm Rio’s popular bright botanical prints are being trumped by marine references, including koi-inspired prints and illustrations of molluscs.

Food has long been used as a narrative device in fashion. Melissa Marra-Alvarez, the curator of education and research at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in the US, and co-curator of its 2023 Food & Fashion exhibition, describes the pairing as having a “reciprocal relationship”, saying both are necessities and part of daily life.

Throughout the middle ages, textiles featured pomegranate and grapes “to represent the Earth’s bounty”, says Marra-Alvarez, while during the 17th century pineapples were used to signify wealth. Today’s pervasive portrayal of fish has emerged against the backdrop of the UK cost of living crisis and the rise of Maha (make America healthy again) in the US. Overfishing is also making some fish types a luxury.

Marra-Alvarez says food is becoming increasingly polarised. “Food has been used to represent a variety of viewpoints. It’s emotionally charged. Many designers are now looking to food patterns and motifs as a way to make a cultural statement.”

The trend follows the “tomato girl summer” of 2023, which embraced a laid-back Italian mood. Vintage sundresses and basket bags were all part of the vibe. This year’s fish take is a similar spin on la dolce vita but instead of Mediterranean fruits and vegetables, it is seafood prints, breezy linen trousers, silk scarves, jelly shoes and fisher knits.

Miranda Shanahan, a brand consultant who specialises in internet culture, says it taps into a wider “euro summer” aesthetic that has been gaining momentum over the past five years. “People crave a life that feels embodied and unoptimised and this desire for a different way of living gets redirected into consumer objects that capture the spirit of that lifestyle,” Shanahan says. In this case “it’s less about the cost of living and more about sideways aspiration – not wanting more luxury but wanting a simpler, slower, more European life”.