Is the Labubu is a recession indicator?

India Today

These Labubus might just be recession-era fashion's weirdest symptom.

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00:00These Labooboo's might just be recession-era fashion's weirdest symptom

00:04and the secret to it may lie in a completely different product, this.

00:08Made by Chinese toy maker Popmart, Labooboo is part of a blind box collectable series

00:13that can resell for up to $300.

00:16It's not rare, it's not functional and it's definitely not cheap.

00:20So why is it everywhere?

00:22Because every time our economy takes a hit, fashion and consumer choices start speaking louder.

00:28Start with the French Revolution.

00:30The collapse of the aristocratic power wasn't just political, it reshaped how people dressed

00:35in the West.

00:36Ornate governments gave way to simpler, more practical fashion that echoed the new ideals

00:40of liberty, equality and fraternity.

00:43Economic strain made extravagance out of touch.

00:46Then came the 1930s and the Great Depression.

00:49Out of that era, austerity emerged.

00:51Coco Chanel's little black dress, minimal, affordable and elegant, it rejected the frills

00:56of the past.

00:57Vogue famously called it the frog that all the world would wear.

01:01The Ford Model T of fashion or Maruti 800 if you're in India.

01:05The 1982 global recession brought on another wave, this time of rebellion.

01:09Punk exploded.

01:10Tall fishnets, safety pins, distressed denim, fashion as protest.

01:15After the 2008 financial crisis, the mood shifted again.

01:18Flashy logos went out of style.

01:20What mattered was longevity, value and subtlety.

01:23Fashion designer Phoebe Philo's minimalist designs embodied this perfectly.

01:27Clean lines, neutral tones, wardrobe staples over statement pieces.

01:31Some reports even claim that Hermes let anxious customers take their Birkins home in plain brown

01:36bags instead of their signature bright orange because flaunting wealth felt tone deaf.

01:41And now Labubu, we're not buying houses, we're not buying figurines.

01:44The Labubu craze may look absurd but it's following a very old pattern.

01:49Economists call it the lipstick effect.

01:51In times of economic stress, when big ticket luxuries are out of reach, people gravitate towards

01:55smaller indulgences like lipsticks or now Labubu's.

02:00A 300 figurine still feels rational compared to a $30,000 bag.

02:05But it scratches the same psychological itch.

02:08Status, taste, survival.

02:10Economist Robert Frank talks about this in his book Luxury Fever.

02:14How we often consume not for utility but for identity.

02:17It's not what a product does, it's what it signifies.

02:20According to JP Morgan, the chance of a global recession in 2025 has fallen to 40%.

02:26So no, Labubu is not just a toy, it's a recession artifact.

02:30A tiny viral symbol of how we cope, how we express ourselves and how we perform resilience

02:36in a shaky economy.

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