There’s nothing more relatable than seeing a star slip into cozy footwear and just chill. See Ugg’s latest crop of lo-fi ads as proof of concept. 

The ugly-chic brand’s social feed may feature some slickly produced ad campaigns — see: grizzled Hollywood icon Danny Trejo in a pair of cartoonish Willy Chavarria collab motorcycle-inspired boots — but a more stripped-back aesthetic is also bubbling up to match the moment. 

We’ve got New York Knicks point guard Tyler Kolek in some Shep Loafers, Citi-biking around town, while the internet’s favorite London import, Fakemink, performs in a squishy new Birch Hiker boot, and Highsnobiety’s Spring 2026 cover star, Sage Elsesser, posts up in Tasmans. 

None of this is exactly new territory for Ugg. The brand has been synonymous with this laid-back atmosphere since the early 90s, when Pamela Anderson puttered around the beach in a pair of its classic boots on the set of Baywatch. There’s the surfer tie-in, obviously. And a recent Kevin Abstract Ugg shoot looks like it was photographed one room over from last year’s ad with Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard Jared McCain. But there’s something about the way these most recent micro-campaigns look and feel: an approachability that’s less polished — and maybe more effective — than any megawatt campaign might be. 

It isn’t just Ugg getting in on the vibe. Airbnb recently had Gen Z rap star Xaviersobased do an extremely scrappy ad about visiting a nowhere town in Florida that looked like it was made in Microsoft Paint, yet stood out in the sea of same-same, slickly produced spots. It’s a very “stars, they’re just like us” flavor of marketing — one that feels aligned with the Juergen Teller-ification of fashion imagery, where the superfamous (like, say, footballer Michael Olise) are photographed like they’re just another image in an iPhone camera roll. 

The anti-campaign campaign hits, and this type of marketing fits Ugg like a glove (or, rather, a sheepskin-lined shoe).

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