The lure of Labubu and what many of us don't get

Labubu became the answer to our problems of loneliness. Frankly, we could use more of that happy toy.

- Lin Suling

She's taken Singapore by storm. Spotted with a slew of celebrities including BlackPink's Lisa, she's sparked long queues in Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta. She's so incredibly popular that she's had songs written about her, clothes crocheted by prison inmates for her and even ang ku kueh made in her likeness by beloved Ji Xiang confectionery. She has single-handedly catapulted her company to a US$12 billion (S$16 billion) valuation. And some of her biggest fans have spent over $10,000 on her or ransacked claw machines, just to get closer to her.

WHAT'S THE FUSS ABOUT?

The trouble, however, is that it's notoriously difficult to get your hands on Labubu, the impish elf vinyl plush, who comes in $24.90 blind boxes. It's sold out at every Pop Mart I have been to.

Meanwhile, marked-up resales, dupes and counterfeits have mushroomed on almost every online shopping platform I've looked at, making the opportunity to get my hands on one elusive.

And perhaps because of her colossal popularity, Labubu has also seen her fair share of detractors, who just can't wrap their heads around the mania.

They call her fans "brain dead" for "blindly" chasing after a trend, made popular only by riding on Lisa's fame. They say this fad will die off quickly and the money should be spent elsewhere.

With the average amount spent on claw machines, I can buy a whole outfit from Uniqlo, one Redditer snarks. The kicker? "It's not even cute," another scoffs.

A STAR IS BORN

Much news and commentary have attempted to explain the Labubu boom by looking at its business model, including the psychological tug of blind boxes, the potential for unboxing to create virality and the fortuitous celebrity endorsements that have undoubtedly created more buzz around the toy.