Sin Is In: Why Embracing Bad Might Be the Most Honest Trend of 2025

If you’ve noticed more caviar-stuffed martinis, white powder vinyls, and influencers chain-smoking American Spirits like it’s 1993, you’re not hallucinating—you’re just witnessing a cultural detox from perfection.

Welcome to Embracing Bad: the trend where guilt is out, indulgence is in, and doing what’s “right” is officially on sabbatical.

In a world that’s teetered on the edge of collapse for a decade (climate disaster, political doom loops, oat milk discourse), people aren’t asking what’s good for me? anymore. They’re asking: What makes me feel something?

Spoiler: it’s probably not a $17 green juice and a lecture on carbon offsets.

From Virtue to Vice: The Cultural Pivot We All Saw Coming

After years of being told to meditate, hydrate, moderate, and never post anything controversial, the public has had enough. This is the backlash to the backlash. The counterculture to clean living. And the rise of what we might lovingly call… wellness nihilism.

Let’s recap the chaos:

• Gen Z’s Opulent Eats: They’re skipping quinoa bowls and going straight for oysters, steak tartare, and “filthy” martinis—because food is now a status symbol, not a sermon.

• Carl’s Jr x Alix Earle: What happens when a hangover queen and a burger chain team up for a Super Bowl ad? A cultural reset. The “Hot Mess” is now a marketing asset.

• Charli XCX’s Coke-Core Vinyl: Yes, she released a record with white powder sealed inside. Is it baking soda? Probably. Is it a wink at club culture? Absolutely.

This isn't about bad taste. It’s about reclaiming pleasure, chaos, and contradiction in an era that feels increasingly sanitized and… well, fake.

Heroes Are Out. Anti-Heroes Are Having a Moment.

We’ve entered an era where Kendrick Lamar wins a Grammy for a diss track and performs it at the Super Bowl. Where fur coats are back in fashion. Where villain arcs are plotlines we root for.

The people are tired of virtue signaling. They want spectacle. They want rebellion. They want permission to be unfiltered.

Because nothing says “2025 energy” like reposting doom memes while ordering a $38 cocktail called “The Asteroid’s Coming.”

What Should Brands Actually Do With This?

You don’t have to serve powdered vinyl or ditch your ESG goals, but here’s how to meet the moment:

• Make Indulgence Worth It: When people treat themselves, they want fireworks. Elevate your luxury, lean into decadence, and make splurges feel cinematic.

• Ditch the Polished Persona: Authenticity is gritty now. Embrace the messy, flawed, and real. Show your imperfect sides and turn flaws into features.

• Pick a Side—And Own It: This isn’t the era for lukewarm messaging. Be bold. Be cheeky. Be something. If you’re going to go there, commit.

If you haven’t already, make sure to download Nichefire’s Trend Library. It covers all this and more!