In this week’s Our Take, dressing up without a reason becomes the point, padel becomes the new luxury accessory, friends turn admin into a social ritual, and nicotine gets a ‘quality culture’ rebrand.
No Occasion? No Problem.
We love a good party theme at Sweartaker and Nowhere To Wear It are doing the rounds on social, and the brief is disarmingly simple – wear the outfit anyway. Old work uniforms. Retired sports gear. Bridesmaid dresses that never saw daylight again. Clothes stuck in wardrobe purgatory, waiting for a moment that never came.
What’s driving it? A wider cultural pushback against curated self-presentation. After years of aesthetic pressure, “main character” outfits and dressing for the algorithm, this trend swings the other way. It’s anti-polish. Anti-performance. Low-stakes by design.
There’s something quietly rebellious about it. These outfits aren’t chosen to look good on camera or rack up compliments. They’re awkward, nostalgic, sometimes ridiculous – and that’s the point. The humour is built in. The ice is already broken. Everyone’s in on the joke.
It also taps into a bigger mood shift we’re seeing across culture: opting out of optimisation. From bed rotting to quiet quitting to nowhere-to-wear-it parties, the throughline is the same – people craving spaces where they don’t have to try so hard or get it “right”.
It’s dress-up without the pressure. A party theme that says you’re welcome exactly as you are – wedding dress, hi-vis vest and all.
Après Padel
Padel has reached peak lifestyle.
Lacoste has planted padel courts in Courchevel. Set at the foot of the Émile Allais slalom stadium, the bright green courts cut through the alpine whites like a fashion editorial come to life – sport, scenery and status all neatly bundled.
Courchevel is already shorthand for luxury leisure, and padel – sociable, accessible, lightly competitive – fits that energy perfectly. You don’t need to be elite. You just need the outfit, the setting, and a free hour between lunch and après.
The branding is predictably restrained. No shouting, no clutter. Just quiet confidence, which feels very Lacoste and very Courchevel.
Padel’s rise has been fast, but this move highlights the sport is becoming a cultural accessory. Luxury brands don’t chase niche hobbies – they attach themselves to behaviours that signal taste, ease and belonging. Versace, Prada and Louis Vuitton releasing padel gear wasn’t random. This is the tennis court of the new leisure class.
What works here is the year-round thinking. Ski season ends, but lifestyle doesn’t. These courts aren’t a pop-up gimmick; they’re infrastructure for a certain kind of modern consumer – active, social, aesthetically minded, and allergic to anything that feels try-hard.
Sport is no longer just about playing. It’s about placement, vibe and cultural relevance. And padel, once again, is exactly where brands want to be seen playing.
Group Admin Nights Are Now A Thing?
The trend of in-person meetups and purpose-driven gatherings has been a recurring culture prediction for 2026; people are tired of living through their screens 24/7 and are clearly looking for reasons to engage in human connection.
With this in mind, this week a strange new trend has come to the surface on socials: people are hanging out… to complete their boring admin tasks together. As in, real-life, soul-sucking, avoid-at-all-costs admin.
‘Admin nights’ are a group strategy for friends who need a little moral support in getting those ‘gets-put-on-the-long-finger’ type tasks ticked off. Think comfy clothes, lo-fi background tunes and your favourite snacks, all with the goal of getting stuff done together.
Doing boring tasks alone can be tough; so doing them with friends, and making a purpose driven hangout session around it, actually makes a lot of sense. We’re interested to see how brands will consider this in 2026, and if they’ll show up to engage – so we’ll be watching this space.
So the conclusion? People will really use ANY excuse to have a party these days.
Nicotine’s New Look
Backed by $40m from a celebrity roster that reads like a festival lineup – Diplo, the Jonas Brothers, Zach Bryan, Andrew Schulz and Post Malone – Sesh+ has rebranded to chase “quality culture” rather than volume. The goal is clear: take on ZYN by acting like a grown-up in a category that still looks like it’s shouting at teenagers.
Led by LA and New York–based agency Truffl, the rebrand starts with a sharp insight. Most nicotine pouch brands borrow the visual language of energy drinks and vape shops – loud, cluttered and juvenile. Sesh+ goes the opposite way, emanating a stripped-back vibe more aligned with brands like Aesop.
The identity is built on Swiss typography, muted colours and a single hard-working asset: the plus symbol. It carries both visual and literal meaning, flexing across motion, framing, flavour cues and patterns while quietly reinforcing the product promise – your experience, plus nicotine.
Product photography keeps things clean and factual, placing the pouch at the centre, surrounded by simple ingredient cues like mango, mint or ice. Lifestyle imagery shows the product folded into everyday moments, training, working, unwinding. Even the language behaves itself. “Sesh+” becomes a verb: Crush your work sesh+. Tee up your golf sesh+.
Positioned as tobacco-free, Sesh+ avoids smoke, vapour and smell – a cleaner option in a messy category. But let’s be clear: nicotine is still addictive. Premium design doesn’t make it harmless, it just makes it feel considered.