Traitors Alan Carr: Why talking about sweat stopped being a taboo

This acceptance of sweat is a marked shift from years gone by. “Active wear didn’t have the same cultural cachet five or 10 years ago,” Alex Simpson, the creative director of Sweaty Betty, tells the BBC. “Back then, the aspiration was being very thin and blanketing yourself in faux fur.”

Young people are now seeking out expensive, high-tech workout gear that showcases their hard-earned sweat. Mimicking the vending machines at Japanese gyms, some outfits even come with wet-proof hologram stickers that glow in the dark when the wearer perspires.

To what extent the commercial success of Sweaty Betty – whose power leggings sell for as much as £85 – is reflective of longevity or whether this trend will dissipate remains to be seen. However, opinion across the fashion industry is that there’s been a collective shift.

“We’re in this place culturally where, if you’re not making fun of yourself, if you’re not enjoying a little self-deprecation, then you’re taking yourself too seriously,” says Alex.

“It never looks like desperation to sweat and be seen sweating,” he adds. “The sweat is an embrace, it’s a smirk in a t-shirt.”

So if the popularity of Sweaty Betty is anything to go by, sweating – at the gym, in the sauna, or even in your own living room, clad in your driest fibres – may just be the hottest trend right now, as well as the coolest.