13 July,2025 10:01 AM IST | Mumbai | Akshita Maheshwari
The sudden fame of Labubu dolls can be linked to “witherwill” and healing your inner child. Pic/Getty Images
Every time she spots a plastic toy phone - the kind that blares Dhoom Machale at the press of a button - 21-year-old Stuti Malik can't resist picking it up. It's silly and entirely unnecessary, but in that brief moment, she isn't a grown-up worrying about deadlines or rent, she's just a kid again. As adults buckle under economic stress, climate anxiety, and endless decision-making, more of them are turning to toys, cartoons, and candy-coloured purchases. Not to relive the past, but to reclaim something gentler in themselves.
The Future Consumer 2027 report by trend forecasting company WGSN says "witherwill" will be the most important driving emotion behind consumption by 2027. Coined by John Koenig, author of the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, witherwill means "the longing to be free of responsibility" - an escapist fantasy of child-like liberty.
Malik, a law student doing an internship in Mumbai, says she couldn't find the toy phones in Delhi. "So when I saw them being sold in a local train in Mumbai, I bought one without bargaining."
These are little joys she can have without denting her bank account. "It's so funny that we wanted to play at being adults as kids, and now that I am one, I just want to buy plastic toy phones to feel like a kid again. It's a way to heal the inner child." she laughs.
Fifty-three-year-old Fayeza Feroze had never heard of a Labubu doll before she was gifted one. For the uninitiated, a Labubu is a mischievous, wide-eyed doll created by Hong Kong-based artist Kasing Lung, known for its big ears, sharp teeth, and childlike expressions. Part of the The Monsters art toy series by Pop Mart, Labubu is now a cult collectible among toy enthusiasts worldwide.
All Fayeza's friends have a Labubu, and cherish their dolls. "It's just about having fun. I like collecting these sorts of things," she says, adding, "It's even more fun knowing that I am part of a trend that is all over social media."
Rahul daCunha, adman and the brains behind the iconic Amul topical ads, tells us why adults might be falling for witherwill. "It's a bit like our passion for Game of Thrones and Stranger Things. It's the reason why we are so into the supernatural, why the only films doing well at the cinemas at the moment are films from my youth: reruns," he says, adding, "I myself often return to my teenage years. That is a space that reminds me of simpler times. Truth be told, reality just isn't sexy at the moment."
So when reality is too tough to deal with, we find comfort in not just products we loved as kids, but the accompanying sense of community. Fayeza says, "Whether you need to be healed or not, we always need a sense of belonging."
For Shruti Agrawal, 21, what heals her inner child is her makeup collection. The Mumbai-based public relations professional says, "I grew up watching my mother use these magical products and everyone used to see her makeup, how good it looked. I wanted that for myself too."
For Agrawal, makeup is about self-care. But can it heal her inner child? "Maybe just a part of it. Buying makeup gives me an instant hit of serotonin and it will make me happy for just a moment. But, it's a quick fix."
What makes Indians even more susceptible to witherwill is that nostalgia seems to be in our DNA. daCunha says, "Internationally kids leave their home at a young age. We [Indians] can argue all we want about the nuclear family, but the truth is we want our parents around us. Tradition finds a way to continue with us, and tradition somewhere links back to nostalgia. We have embraced modernity when it comes to technology perhaps, but deep inside our hearts, we are an old fashioned people."
daCunha continues, "In advertising we have always relied on nostalgia. At every party, after a point, we go back to playing antakshari. And sing the same songs from our childhood both Indian and Western. These things stick."
In the end, these objects are less about what they are and more about what they represent. As Fayeza puts it, "These products are not as much about healing the inner child, as they are about dealing with the stresses of the adult world."
