Critter Culture: What's That Hanging From Your Bag? And What Does That Say About You?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

As I sit on a packed L train, I am face-to-face with a haggard Labubu hanging from a standing passenger's bag. Confronted by the little guy, I began to think about Labubu's place in the cultural zeitgeist. With its smudged plastic face and matted pink fur, I am forced to reckon with the terrible cyclical nature of such cultural phenomena. 

Much can be said about the Labubu: it’s frivolous, commodity fetishism, belovedness among adults and children, culturally humongous, and debatably ugly. I say I'm interested in them for "anthropological reasons", that I wouldn't mind having one because it's funny to own such a thing, but how do I know I'm not as easily persuadable as the millions of other Labubu owners? From my observations working at the library, I would estimate that at least half of the students I see have some sort of charm on their bags. 

Beyond my personal aesthetic aversion, it is clear why people are flocking to bag charms like Labubus. They are relatively cheap items one can treat themselves to for a momentary sense of satisfaction. Much like the “little sweet treat” culture of the youth. Many young people doubt they will ever be able to own a home, but they can pay $30 to open a mystery box with a plushy in it, or $6 for a matcha. If you can't have financial security, at least you can have a Labubu. I am not immune to this propaganda. These days, I want some bag charms more than bags themselves. Why? At least a bag holds something; it has an essential function. A bag charm is purely ornamental, completely superfluous. But many of the charms I observe hanging from students' bags are unrecognizable to me. Why do you desire that little creature? What am I missing?

Beyond immediate gratification, bag charms have become a symbol of one's interests and aesthetic sensibilities. What little guy do you like? Is it Snoopy or Mochichi? What does that say about your taste? The media you consume? I don't want to diminish the very human tendency to be drawn to cute things. There is nothing wrong with being endeared by Snoopy; the problem lies in the symbolic nature of the cute little guy you choose to align yourself with. If I don't recognize the charm hanging from your bag, perhaps I don't recognize your interests. A bag charm can symbolize not only your passions or pastimes but also who you are as an individual, conveying it to others directly, and without verbal communication. The essential function of a bag charm is its hyper-visual nature. It's not like a figure that sits on a shelf; it is designed to be clipped to a bag, being one of the first things someone sees when looking at you. The desire to be observed is essential to its function. It was made to be visible.

(Jacob Elordi, Photo by Backgrid)

A faux ornamentalism has been trending in recent years. The kids call it “peformitive”. This reminds me of a personally iconic image of Jacob Elordi with two books in hand, and one in the cargo pocket for good measure. While I'd personally never discourage a man from reading a book, this is one of my favorite images amongst the iconography of “male performativity”. Was he reading those books? I would like to think so. But a book in a cargo pocket is undoubtedly insane. Much like a Labubu in a polyester outfit swings from one's bag, there is someone letting the title of a Joan Didion book peek slightly out of their back pocket or within eyesight of an open tote bag. This is all to say we are in a growing panoptocon-esc aesthetic landscape, where the symbol has become more powerful and pernicious than the substance. 

The term “Dubai Chocolate Matcha Labubu” has been thrown around on the internet as a representation of late-stage capitalist trend cycles that feel indescribable. A culmination of concepts that feel almost meaningless. A homogeneous sludge. I fear we are in a crisis of individuality and earnestness. A collection of charms and knick-knacks, presented on a bag, worn, collected over many travels, can symbolize a cultured life well lived. You can also just as easily buy a bunch of cheap charms on Amazon and slap them on a polyester purse; to an untrained eye, there is no difference. A price can now be paid for the visual imagery of an impassioned life. There has been a trend of “Jane Birkin-fying” your bags or adding charms and unique touches to emulate the lived-in purses of French actress Jane Birkin. But the only way to truly do so is to live your life with authenticity. I'm sure she wasn't thinking, “How unique and esoteric do people find me?” She was just living true to her aesthetic vision. If you liked bag charms, one would have already been on your bag without being told to do so.

(Jane Birkin, 2013 in Tokyo, Japan, Photo by Jun Sato/WireImage)

Despite their huge, inevitable boom, I find no one cares much for Labubus anymore. While they still have their die-hard fans, much like Sonny Angels, Smiskis, and the very gauche Funko Pop, Labubus have gone out like a burning star. There is a certain eeriness to the fact that, when I die, there will be millions of Labubus still on earth, the majority of which will be in landfills. But this cycle has happened before. 30 years ago, a young girl waited in line for a commemorative Princess Diana Beanie Baby the same way one waits for a NeeDoh today. Are we ever free from this pernicious cycle of consumption? Will there ever be a time we are not captivated by a little critter?

-Haleigh Lusinski, Mood Machine DJ