This gremlin-looking toy from China is proving to be tariff-proof
CNN
The impish yet cute plushies are a global sensation among Gen Z and even those older, often hanging on handbags, backpacks and belt loops.
Naomi Lin’s favorite high-end accessory is wildly popular, an acquired taste, and shockingly resilient in the face of a tariff onslaught. No, it’s not Manolos or the latest offering from Prada — it’s a gremlin-like plush. It’s a Labubu, a palm-sized Nordic elf with bright eyes, sharp teeth and puckish grin. Lin, a medical student in Nebraska, owns dozens — and the one attached to her Chanel bag is dressed to the nines in a tweed outfit, matching headband and a mini “Chanel” purse. And Lin isn’t the only one captivated by Labubus’ ugly charm. Labubus are cute in the sense that they’re soft, miniature and come in a range of costumes you’d dress your baby in — a jack-o-lantern for Halloween, or a tiny pair of denim overalls. But they have glowering eyes and a jagged, sharp-toothed smile from ear to ear, an unblinking stare that would terrify anyone who caught its gaze in the middle of the night. The impish yet cute plushies are a global sensation among Gen Z and even those older, often hanging on handbags, backpacks and belt loops. People are flocking to shopping malls and waiting hours to purchase Labubus and their fellow creatures, who first appeared in “The Monsters” storybooks in 2015, in mystery “blind boxes,” meaning the buyer doesn’t know which one they’re getting in a given collection.
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