In the world of trendy toys, labubu is now a well-deserved “big star”. This little guy with jagged fangs, a grinning mouth, and an “ugly and cute” appearance makes fans stay up all night to queue up, and even willing to pay a high price to buy it. In many trendy toy exhibitions, secondary markets and blind box sales platforms around the world, the price of labubu has soared, even far exceeding the price in China, its country of production. From the Barbie doll that swept the world in the last century to the labubu that is now sought after by the world, the leap in the international influence of trendy toys reflects the deep transformation of global culture, consumer psychology and social structure. It can be said that the change of toys is not only a commercial phenomenon, but also reflects the important trajectory of our social mentality, consumer culture and even national development.
Since its birth in 1959, Barbie has long dominated the global toy market. It represents a standardized aesthetic, lifestyle and social values. Barbie, with tall blonde hair, blue eyes and elegant clothes, is a typical embodiment of the American dream and a cultural output product under the background of industrialized mass production. It carries a certain “ought” life template, and what it conveys to children is the fantasy of “becoming beautiful and having a good life”.
However, this “perfect” template is being abandoned by more and more consumers. Labub is in sharp contrast: asymmetrical appearance, imperfect figure, cunning and even weird look, but have become sought-after characteristics. Behind this phenomenon is the rise of personalized consumption. Especially after Generation Z became the mainstream consumer group, they are no longer satisfied with traditional standardized products, but tend to express themselves and show their individuality. As French philosopher Jean Baudrillard said in “Consumer Society”, we consume not objects, but the symbols they represent.
Another notable feature of trendy play is that “playing” is no longer just children, but also adults. Their enthusiasm for trendy play is not due to the childishness, but is probably more of a need for psychological comfort, emotional expression and identity recognition. In the fast-paced, high-pressure modern society, adults need more emotional sustenance and spiritual comfort. Trendy toys are small, special, and collectible. The limitations, uniqueness, and storytelling they contain just meet the needs of modern people for emotional value. In this sense, trendy toys carry the function of emotional healing.
The emergence of images such as Labub reflects the change in the mentality of contemporary young people more deeply. Its “imperfect” appearance is more likely to inspire empathy. Unlike the toys that pursued perfection and glamor in the past, Labub’s “imperfection” just echoes the complexity of real life and the diversity of emotions. It can be fragile and sensitive, or naughty and tough, just like every living individual.
What is more noteworthy is that as an original Chinese trendy toy image, the popularity of Labub is a landmark event for Chinese trendy culture to conquer the global toy market with original images. Looking back, the Chinese toy market has long been dominated by international brands such as Barbie, Lego, and Hello Kitty. At that time, we were the recipients of foreign toy products. Today, we have a group of local trendy toys including Labub, which have not only taken root in China, but also entered the global market through IP licensing, overseas exhibitions, cross-border cooperation and other forms.
This is not only the success of China’s toy industry, but also a microcosm of the improvement of the country’s cultural soft power. From “Made in China” to “Chinese Design” and then to “Chinese Aesthetics”, the development process of the trendy toy industry corresponds exactly to China’s leap trajectory in the global industrial chain.
When Labub appeared at the New York Trendy Toy Show, when Korean, Thai and Japanese trendy toy stores competed to represent the Pop Mart series, and when foreign bloggers opened a “Skullpanda” blind box on YouTube with a surprised tone, what we saw was not only the commercial success of a certain trendy toy, but also the gradual establishment of the competitiveness of China’s cultural and creative industries in the world. This also means that Chinese consumers are turning from “cultural acceptors” to “trend definers”. We no longer just buy toys that “others think are good”, but begin to define “what is trendy”.
Of course, whether trendy toys like Labub have reached the height of Barbie’s cultural symbols that span decades and influence multiple generations remains to be further observed. At present, it is more of a cultural phenomenon in the context of Generation Z, and its popularity is highly dependent on social media, short video dissemination, and limited distribution mechanisms. But we cannot ignore that as a Chinese original trendy toy IP, Labub has a certain degree of global recognition and has begun to play a role in cultural dissemination. It also inspires more and more Chinese designers and artists to enter the trendy toy market, forming a production chain of China’s creative industry. Multiple IPs including Labub have jointly formed the “aesthetic spectrum” of Chinese trendy toys. Their diverse, weird and unique styles are gradually competing with the trendy culture of Japan, Europe and the United States, and even beginning to partially lead the trend. From Barbie to Labub, from acceptance to creation, from following to leading, the changes in the toy world are a secret social history and a microscopic cultural mirror. The direction of trendy toys is not only about business, but also about emotions, and more about the times. It reminds us that today, when consumption is becoming more personalized, people’s psychological needs are becoming more complex, and national culture is becoming more confident, we can use more Labubs to tell our own stories.
