Their unboxings saturate our feeds, their little monster faces hang from handbags and key rings, and some models are resold for a fortune on Vinted. The Labubu craze is well and truly here… So much so that Pop Mart, the brand behind these soft toys, has temporarily suspended their physical distribution in Europe.
But why exactly are these soft toys so popular?
Labubu, or the archetype of the algorithmic fast trend
On TikTok, the hashtag #Labubu has nearly 2 million posts, including 200,000 in the last 7 days alone. The phenomenon is viral and the archetype of flash trends driven by social media.
Fuelled by algorithms, niche subcultures such as toy boxes and collectible figurines can quickly become mass phenomena. A few repeated appearances, pushed through recommendations, are enough to create desire… and virality. When influencers get involved, it fuels the trend even further: Lena Situations recently shared her unboxing, and Rihanna posted a photo of her Labubu on her bag.
It’s a mechanism that brands like Pop Mart have understood well. More than just objects, the soft toys, sold in mystery boxes, become ritualised shopping experiences, ready to be filmed, recounted and posted. People film their unboxing, hoping to find the figurine they want, and share their joy or frustration at the verdict.
The brand has found an effective formula for fuelling compulsive buying: limited editions, collectability and, above all, the mystery box lottery. Labubu, like Pokémon and Sonny Angels, borrow from the psychological triggers of gambling and casino games, which keep you coming back for more with a rush of dopamine and frustration.
Totems of a disenchanted generation
So, are Labubu simply totems of compulsive consumerism?
Behind these soft toys, which can become expensive, we recognise the lipstick effect: a post-war theory which observes that in times of economic hardship, consumers buy more affordable pleasures (such as luxury cosmetics) to compensate for their inability to access more important goods. To caricature, if you can’t afford to invest in an apartment, you buy rare figurines.
Labubu dolls thus become a form of compensation… and in turn become social markers and luxury items of a different kind, rare, desired and displayed: they are signs of belonging to a community, of mastery of codes, and of success in obtaining an item that is out of stock.
And they are not alone. Pokémon cards, Sonny Angels, etc., collections are on the rise and form powerful communities, particularly among young adults.
For many, these objects take them back to their childhood: cute items, soft toys and other toys. Between nostalgia and cuteness, the ‘kidult’ phenomenon marks a return to childhood as a refuge from an anxiety-inducing world.
Economic crisis, climate change, political instability… In an uncertain and anxiety-inducing context, cute soft toys and other childhood toys offer simple comfort and a gentle escape.
So, Labubu fever will one day give way to another hype, and these soft toys will surely end up falling into oblivion (or worse, becoming has-beens). In the meantime, their cute little monster faces embody the spirit of an era. An era of young people with a frenetic relationship with consumerism, seeking belonging and comfort in an increasingly anxious and uncertain world.
By Jade Ferreira
