Is The New "Labubu" Craze A Social Experiment?

Unless you've been walking around with your eyes closed, you've heard about the Labubu craze, and I do mean CRAZE. People of all ages (mostly adults unfortunately) have been "collecting" these little ugly stuffed animals on keychains, a la Beanie Babies. They have Tiktokers in a chokehold, and after Lisa from Blackpink said how much she loves them in an interview with Vanity Fair - they were launched into the stratosphere:

Now you can't go two feet without seeing a Labubu. Real, fake, doesn't matter. They aren't going anywhere, and neither is the discourse:

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People are genuinely wondering if this is a social experiment. I understand where they're coming from - an ugly, collectible toy that's inadvertently become a status symbol; not of money, but some sort of "social" status. Having one, or multiple labubus shows that you are "in on it." Luckily I've been around long enough to see the last iteration of this….started by none other than Karl Lagerfeld. The Fendi "Monster" keychains:

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Equally ugly, equally stupid - but this time we're talking "money" status. If you had a Fendi Monster keychain, people MIGHT assume you were rich. Ranging anywhere between 200 and 500 dollars, every model it-girl had one, and every wannabe model it-girl wanted one. (I had a knockoff. It was hideous.)

In 2013 these were the hotness, and now history repeats itself in the year of our lord 2025. Labubu, owned by Chinese toy company Pop Mart, has pushed the company's valuation to a WHOPPING FOURTY FOUR BILLION DOLLARS. 

It's hard to fathom that these stupid dolls are more popular/valuable than the entire Barbie, Hello Kitty and Transformers franchises COMBINED??? Wow. 

It leaves me with these thoughts - are they actually that cool? Was Lisa the catapult, and we're seeing the power of K-Pop fans in full force behind a tangible company? How long will this last? And, of course…what's next?