This pride month I have decided to take a stand and come out, this time not as asexual but instead as a Labubu hater. I am well aware that this is going to shock anyone who knows my style, as I am known for being a Miffy loving trinket aficionado. But it is time for me to speak my truth.
If you have been even remotely online over the past two years you would have seen a rise in trinkets, a seemingly catchall phrase encompassing charms, plush toys, figurines, blind boxes and so on. First came the Miffy and Sanrio girlies, then we saw the rise of Sonny Angel adoration, and now the culture has moved on to the oh-so-divisive Labubu.
Now I am going to make a few things abundantly clear right off the bat. I am not writing this from a position of ‘old man shakes first at cloud’, nor is this going to be an ‘I’m not like other girls’ piece. I am exactly like other girls. I sleep in butter yellow bedding on a bow cushion with the faces of many Miffys staring back at me. This piece is instead a justification as to why I don’t like Labubus (so brave, I know), and how I am gradually becoming more anti-trinket.
One of the biggest accusations lobbed at Labubus is that they are a microtrend, with some people going as far as to say that all trinkets are a microtrend. And as someone who has been a lifelong collector, and has found joy in Miffy and Hello Kitty paraphernalia for as long as I can remember, this does irk me (I write sitting under my pink Hello Kitty guitar I have had since I was seven years old).
Perhaps trinket culture is a microtrend for some, for others it is a long-held passion and form of self expression. Online friend and trinket aficionado Amy Stockwell recently posted a video discussing the disconnect she feels from the current trinket community, and the overconsumption of such. She is very vocal online about her love of collecting and how it ties in with her being autistic. Her argument is that it feels like right now, people are buying trinkets inauthentically — and I agree.
We’ve all seen the conversations recently about ‘connecting with your inner child’, and the popularity of trinkets have seemed to have played a part in that. And I think maybe this is part of why I don’t like Labubus, because they have nothing to do with my inner child.
When you compare Labubu to something like Miffy or Monchhichi, both of whom have a storied history, there really is no comparison for lore. Miffy was created in 1955 by Dutch author and illustrator Dick Bruna, who has been instrumental in shaping so many childhoods over the 70 years since. For me, my first birthday present I ever received was wrapped in Miffy wrapping paper (how dare my parents not foresee that I would become a junk journaler and keep a slither of it for me to scrapbook 25 years on).
Monchhichi was created in Japan in the ’70s, and has been loved for generations. I distinctly remember last year being on a call with my then boss, who pulled out her own Monchhichi that she’d owned since she was a child. It had multiple bald patches and had seen better days, but was still so special to her.
Even Sonny Angels have a 20 year history and a great ethos, as they were created to provide comfort to 20-something year old women who were dealing with the anxieties of entering adulthood. Their popularity makes total and complete sense, given how they’re largely serving their intended purpose.
Labubus however feel to me as if they are made in a lab for the algorithm. While they have been around since 2015, it wasn’t until April of 2024 that they became popular, largely due to Lisa from Blackpink being spotted with one adorning her bag. Suddenly, it was the viral, must-have accessory.
They weren’t a childhood toy, nor are we nostalgic for them. They are relatively loreless. And I know that one could make the argument “well that is how we get things with a history, by letting them exist”, but the Labubu just doesn’t sit right with me.
Over the past year, we have seen reports of people with scissors on the streets attempting to chop them off people’s bags, physical brawls over new releases in store, and Labubus being resold online for hundreds of dollars. And somehow within all of this blind box pandemonium, I feel as if I have been awoken from a trinket trance. Suddenly, I am no longer accessorising my bags with a multitude of plush toys, keychains made at a lobotomy night, and badges. My enviable collection is collecting dust. And why?
The culture surrounding trinkets has become so toxic on both sides, with people either gatekeeping or overconsuming. Something that I loved and held near to me has been marred by the pandemonium. Status is more important than style, once again. The algorithm’s overexposure has made people get sick of yet another thing, which inevitably means that all of these purse pals will eventually be in landfill, accompanied by the House of Sunny Hockney dress and made up sports team jerseys in the microtrend graveyard.
So much of the success of these blind boxes feels inorganic, performative and manufactured by the algorithm, much like the premade trinket bag charms for those who want to ‘Birkenify’ their bag without any of the soul, or life-long effort that goes into personalising your outfits. The end result is a trend that feels soulless.
I guess you could say that I am anti trinket culture, but pro organic trinket collector? And given the state of overconsumption and predetermined trends through algorithms in our world, is there even such a thing as organic anymore?
Wherever you fall on the trinket lover to trinket hater spectrum, we are all victims of our algorithms’ incessant pull to buy more, to shop more, to open more blind boxes. Some might say it’s my frontal lobe fully forming, others might lobby inauthentic microtrend final boss accusations at me, but at the end of the day, I am trying hard to not let my algorithm dictate my interests. Let’s all give it a try.
Also, they are just really fucking ugly!
Lead photo: Getty.
Allie Daisy King is a writer and content creator based in Melbourne.
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