“The whole world has gone crazy for Labubu! How did these plush monsters conquer TikTok and Birkin bags? What’s behind this trend?” — Denis Khimiline for Sobaka.ru
The Labubu craze has arrived in Russia — Chinese plush keychains. TikTok and YouTube are flooded with unboxing reels of these popular toys. Celebrities and million-follower influencers are attaching this unexpected accessory to their luxury items. What’s going on? Is this just another fleeting trend that will last a week? Or should we take this fashion more seriously? Sobaka.ru investigates.
Denis Khimiline, senior partner at Prime Advice Consulting Group and collector (quote from his Telegram channel 0.1‰ (Promille) Khimiline):
Huddling together like sparrows in the cold, we stumbled upon [in Seoul] a store selling Labubu. The store opens at 10, Labubu sell out by 10:05, and it was already 12… Less than an hour later, each of us had three boxes of Labubu, with six in each. Retail price—$100, scalpers’ price—$200.