I’ve always wondered why there were so many angry haters of Labubu in groups outside of the actual collectors, more so than other fads it seemed.

I read this essay today on it, and TL;DR, it says that when fads as big as Labubu permeate the public consciousness, there are 1. actual consumers of the fad, and 2. reluctant participants who can’t seem to avoid the fad in their consciousness even if they don’t actually consume the item. Which results in their frustration and aggression, which ironically fuels the attention on the fad.

So don’t worry about people hating the Labubu, it actually makes it more popular lol. 

Highly recommend reading this essay if you’re interested!

‘Since the most erudite wing of the professional class has always hated fads, most of them will never buy a Labubu. But one thing that's changed in a post-modern, poptimist world is that "media literacy" requires knowing about all culture, high and low, and this entails, in 2025, learning about Labubus. The end result is that so many of us are consuming the narrative of Labubus whether we like it or not.

…

Culture is now built around this tension: There are engaged, paying consumers of Labubus (and an army of resellers) and there are sour, reluctant consumers of the Labubu narrative. The actual consumer economy, of course, is going to move towards people who pay the real money, and the second group works as a hype machine, even as they're wringing their hands.’

https://culture.ghost.io/only-fads-a-culture-and-economy-of-labubu/?ref=culture-an-owners-manual-newsletter

A great article on Labubus