Bag Charms and Keychains trend: From Labubu to Smiskis and Sonny Angel keychains, everything to know about the trinket fashion trend | Explained

If you take a look around in public, you will find the bags and outfits of young people adorned with small collectible figurines.

Often you’ll find the beady little eyes of a Labubu staring back at you with a menacingly cheeky, tooth-baring smile.

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Designed by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung and based on a creature from Nordic folklore, the figurines are the product of Chinese toy maker Pop Mart, with their locations across the world featuring long lines snaking out of the entrance as customers clamber to get their hands on a box, hoping to find a limited edition one.

There is one caveat, though.

The pointy-eared, snarling creatures – priced upwards of $50 and into the thousands for a single unit – come in a blind box format, where consumers don’t know what they’re getting until they open the box up.

This only adds to the appeal, says RMIT’s Senior Lecturer in Marketing Dr Marian Makkar.

“The idea of the ‘blind box’, which is not dissimilar from past collectibles… offers consumers a sense of excitement, and random rewards,” she told 9honey.

“Not only is it exciting, but it encourages repeat purchase because you want to know what else can you get, and what surprises await you. It’s also another way of creating a sense of community through swaps with friends who are fans of collectibles.”

In fact, this trend of collectibles goes way back. Think back to your own childhood – does Beanie Babies ring a bell? Maybe Pokémon cards, or even Hello Kitty (which is seeing another resurgence, this time with her friends like My Melody, Kuromi, Cinnamoroll, and others from the Sanrio Squad)?

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“These collectible dolls and toy craze has been around way before Labubus and others. Labubus are just a modern iteration of a recurring cultural pattern. Think Beanie Babies from the 90s that brought aesthetic joy, or Pokémon cards that had a community sense of involvement,” said Makkar, adding that these created a culture of trading and unboxing we still see today.

But she does agree the weirdly cute nature of these characters can “bring some whimsy to a very stressful, structured reality that we live in”.

“It is like a soft rebellion in a way and breaking free of structured norms around what is beautiful, what is luxury. It’s just a way to break logic in a fun, harmless way, that is not going to break the bank.”

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It’s characteristics like these that are reminiscent of the ever popular Lipstick Effect theory.

In 2008, Leonard Lauder – then chairman of the board of cosmetics giant Estée Lauder – observed his company’s sales of lipsticks surged after 9/11.

As a result, he coined the term “lipstick index” to describe this rise of sales during the early 2000s economic recession, suggesting that in times of hardship – particularly economic – we tend to splurge more on smaller luxuries.

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Makkar has been studying this phenomenon and agrees the rise in popularity of collectibles and toys are a recession indicator.

“I think there are some links between these collectibles with the recession. They’re low-cost toys that bring some ‘joy’ to consumers. It’s providing a dopamine hit of consumption without major financial commitments,” she explains.

Some of these toys were made for this express purpose. Sonny Angels, a line of cherub figurines from Japanese company Dream Inc. were first released during Japan’s recession in 2004 and were intended to comfort young working women during uncertain economic times.

The naked toys with an inquisitive smile featuring a variety of different accessories did this further during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, fulfilling their official tagline: “He may bring you happiness.”

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“The idea of collecting, especially limited editions or seasonal collections, creates this sense of urgency and scarcity, builds a sense of excitement yet remaining within the more affordable price range, just like the lipstick effect. It offers affordable escapism during times of uncertainty.”

But this time it’s a little bit different. Unlike Troll Dolls or furbies, which were kept in the safety of our homes, these collectibles are now playing a part in self-expression, being worn out on the streets.

Smiskis, for example, are curious little figurines that glow in the dark and come in various whimsical designs and poses. These figurines also come on keychains so that they can be hooked on to bags and outfits.

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Some variations are known as “hippers” and are specifically engineered to hook onto surfaces such as desktops or phones so owners can take them on the go.

There are even plastic cases available for sale so consumers can keep their Labubu’s fur spic and span while out and about.

“What makes these small collectibles different to ones from the past is indeed that they can be worn,” says Makker.

“It brings a sense of uniqueness and artistry – a way to express yourself differently.

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“Younger consumers in particular love to celebrate difference, self-expression, and uniqueness and these worn collectibles allow them to do this, to stand out from the crowd.”

Many young customers are taking heed from celebrities such as Dua Lipa and Blackpink’s Lisa who have been seen sporting Labubus on their luxury bags, and have even coined the term “Jane Birkinify” – a la actress Jane Birkin, who would accessorise her namesake luxury bag with a number of trinkets.

But one point that differs is that this generation is doing so at lightning speed. Instead of collecting trinkets over time with sentimental value, everyone just wants the limited edition Labubu or Jellycat (a line of plush toys that come in every variety imaginable) – and when they don’t get it in their blind box, they just keep buying until they do.

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“What [this] tells me about consumer behaviour is the idea of hyper-consumption and the need for instant gratification… this clearly resembles the current market” says Makkar.

Just as we now prefer watching shorter videos on social media, demand our purchases to be delivered in the next day or complain when our streaming apps dare to show us an advertisement, “consumers want things now or never.”

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