From Crunch Clothing to Pickle Jacket: KFC experiments with fashion-led campaigns

Food and fashion have been flirting for years, but KFC appears to have committed fully. In the same week, the brand launched two distinctly different fashion activations in Brazil and the UK, each pulling from a different part of its menu for inspiration. One involves hand-sewn sherpa fabric textured to resemble fried chicken breading. The other involves a jacket filled with actual pickles.

Brazil: Wear The Crunch

In Brazil, KFC has launched a limited-time initiative called Tailor Made Couture, developed with agency Lola\TBWA. The mechanics are straightforward: customers who purchase medium buckets of fried chicken are invited to bring a personal clothing item to KFC's store in São Bernardo do Campo which is the brand’s flagship location and Brazil's first KFC drive-thru, where it will be customised with what the brand calls a “crispy” finish and delivered back within three weeks.

The customisation is handled by Atelier by Amanda Lenzi, a local artisanal studio. Sherpa fabric is chosen for its resemblance to the look and texture of fried chicken breading and is applied to the customer’s existing piece by hand. Eligible items include bucket hats, tote bags, coats, jackets, jeans, skirts, and waist bags.

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The campaign ran as a limited-time activation between March 27 and March 29, positioned as a special offering for KFC’s loyal customers. It also featured a live installation during São Paulo Design Week, where an atelier-style setup allowed selected pieces to be customised on-site.

The UK: A Jacket Filled with Pickles

On the other side of the ocean, KFC UK released what it called the Pickle Puffer, a puffer jacket filled with real sliced gherkins suspended in acid-green brine along with a built-in straw mechanism, so you can have the pickle, whenever and wherever.

The jacket is tied to the launch of KFC UKs limited-time Pickle Mania menu range, which runs for four weeks and includes a Pickle Burger, Frickles, and Pickle Pepsi Max.

The piece was developed as a limited-edition concept rather than a retail product, and is being given away via Instagram.

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The campaign highlights how brands are increasingly extending familiar product elements into formats beyond their core category. By translating visual and sensory cues into merchandise and experiences, KFC’s latest effort reflects a broader shift toward using recognisable brand assets to drive engagement in non-traditional spaces. Whether it lands as clever or absurd depends largely on who is looking at it. Either way, it is being looked at.