Labub phenomenon: We can analyze the art sector blindly for purchasing through a historical prism.

The monsters of the Labubu made the whole world crazy. Influencers, school children and stars buy popular toys, make a manicure and publish rils and tiktoki with them. And if you’re struggling to escape this trend, then you won’t be successful, because even the restaurants found it using it. Here we told him where to eat a sensational figure in Moscow.

Ekaterina Andreev, Peopletalk columnist, decided to figure out what the phenomenon of the lab was: an ordinary toy caused a mixture of a mixture and only continues to conquer Zumers’ hearts. After all, the key rings appear in the luxury bags of stars, bloggers and secular heroes.

Ekaterina Andreeva is the Creator of Yaandart Art Project

The labus appeared to be contagious, but it is not completely new, so I suggest that this “BUD bütüm this is when this can talk about when and in a historical context. According to Peter Sherpman, General Manager of Pop March: “In the world of uncertainty, people are looking for things that give a feeling of comfort and carelessness.”

The Labubu is the creation of the Chinese company Pop March, for us mostly this brand is not familiar, but if you were in Asia, you have definitely met this store, perhaps even disappointing brand toys and you were surprised. Montrustics was created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung as the characters of the monsters (2015), and then pop Mart won their physical images. Brand success came due to the support of celebrities, including Tiktok (1.3 million publications by #Labubu) and Blackpink, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian Fox and others.

Meanwhile, Pop March sales in 2024 – $ 1.8 billion (approximately 142.8 billion rubles – approximately ed.), Profit increase is 188%. In Russia, demand in the spring of 2025 increased 4,500%. When there are subconscious whispers, we are sure that it is not a real epidemic, but only funny toys: “And we need it.” Is the choice of the capitalist world really rich, finally, with the help of social networks, all adults with all adult capricious children, my mother wanted to buy a toy in the store. And yes and no. Tendencies and masses have always been characteristic of a person. The truth is that we are more fun to live together in fashion trends and to rejoice. I will prove this in modern and historical examples similar to the Labubu. And if you do not want to buy a toy for yourself, it will still be interesting, read.

In particular, we have followed the clues of the trends that collect popular elements.

1. Penguins, dragons, sharks and elephants with a series of more gentle surprises (if you missed a series, change mentally). In the 1990s, Kinder Surpriced really excited the world market with a series of thematic toy series with animals equipped with ice cream, features of people’s rest of the people on the beach. Dancers, bartenders and a tired penguin – a special favorite of adults.

A well -thought -out marketing campaign (still recognized as reference), desire to collect the entire series (up to 10 units), the desire to direct a series of cults to real and adult life, so it was impossible to pass through them. The popularity of the figures in the late 90s included all Europe, Asia and America.

2. Ferbi, in the late 90s with queues, stores in fights and speculative prices created an unprecedented excitement. And again, there are few numbers about a toy with today’s trend: with a starting price of $ 35 (about 2.7 thousand rubles. – Approximately. Ed.) Ferbi cost in the secondary market to $ 300-500 (about 23.8-39.7 thousand rubles– Approximately. Ed.). There is also a higher price cases, the toy on Christmas are $ 1,000 (about 79.4 thousand rubles – – – Approximately. Ed.I wonder how many people won a new car? How was it possible?

Unlike the Labubu, Ferbi was the revolutionary – the first mass was positioned as “home robot .. Toy, attention deficit and “Ferbiy” from “Ferbiy” to human speech by passing light, movement, touch, “injury” reacted. Ferbi also required care like a pet. He had to feed, sleep, play. In the meantime, it was possible to “put the“ robot ”batteries on the bed, and there was no key to adding interaction. Ferbi’s request was supported by artificial explanation from the manufacturer, reports about the fights in the stores and even the myths about Pentagon’s work. So it has become a symbol of a simple figure status. Although the target audience was 6-12 years old, 60% of the buyers were adult collectors and speculators.

The Ferbi phenomenon has set a standard of success for new generation toys, including many people, including the nature of a “adult childhood”. The cost of a rare copy is for 10 thousand dollars (about 799.3 rubles. However, if the ferbi is remembered with technological studies, modern tendencies bet on visual aesthetics and investment value (but not always).

Now let’s take a look at historical examples. One of the reasons for the success of the Labubu is a Fomo logic, that is, the fear of missing an opportunity or event. Was there such tendencies in history? Definitely! As I told my students: “Humanity revealed how many diseases would fly into space, internet and medicines, but one person remained the same two thousand years ago.”

For example, remember furniture from Abraham and David X -Ray. Or, rather, a real epidemic among the rulers of the world for furniture with secrets.

The German Masters Family created special furniture with hidden mechanisms: suddenly switches, music boxes, boxes opened from rotating hidden compartments. Each item was unique and the content was a surprise for the buyer. European monarchies XVI, Catherine II and Friedrich Wilhelm II arranged a real “hunting ve for their work and was ready to pay for a table with a secretary or office of these masters. Like the “blind boxes of Pop March, X -Ray furniture combines surprise, artificial open and status element.

Or another example is a fashion for nuclear green dresses in the 1860s. It doesn’t matter whether you’re green or maybe you don’t like it, but it dictated to buy a dress in a wardrobe to fashion customers. True, then it turned out that the paint used for fabrics was poisonous, but this is a completely different story.

And I am in a hurry to reinforce the thesis about the naturalness of infantile tendencies for humanity, to remind the reader of the Rococo period. This is an enthusiasm, infancy and irresponsibility when the trend is the trend. “Even if I am 60 years old, I am 15 years old” style makeup, puppet dresses, hair styles, male clothes that lose savagery. The European Aristocracy (especially the French) has become adolescents and is reflected in every detail of this period (naivety and “childhood”). True, such an adult infancy ended with the French revolution.

Based on such an example, we can follow an interesting model in toys between adult generations and infancy tendencies in the context of historical events. In times of crisis, the society runs to a “safe childhood – – all this is a degree or another sign of regression. We will follow the pattern: the fall of Rococo-Absolutism, the 1990s (this time it was not only for the USSR/RF, but also for the whole world) and the labu-2020s (crisis that began with pandemic).

The story is cyclical: Furniture-air, dresses or unusual toys, people are always ready for sacrifices for the sake of having a trend object. Labubu is only a modern reincarnation of the desire to express identity through something, even at the expense of discomfort or risk. There is nothing wrong with this, only one person always works for the team.

And the lab I will finally go to myself.