I guess they are still just toys. As some Joneses wore them (or were made), people had a chance to get one themselves and be just like their idols.

Looks like there are already sneaker blind boxes. [1] I think the issue with fashion is that the regular items are already sold at a high price, so there is likely some hesitation to just splurge on a blind box. As the gacha, cards, toys are all priced fairly low, it becomes easy to just drop a few dollars on a box or two here and there, get the dopamine and repeat it next week.
Even people who are on the fence might join just to check it out.

As for wearable fashion, I'm not sure if that would work. Maybe as a fast fashion thing. If it's not a collectible, you run into the issue of space where people might not be willing to get more.

[1] https://kyw.substack.com/p/the-kicks-you-wear-vol-435-the-blind
 

The 1970s just called to complain about old news. They mumbled something about sticker and FIFA world cups… :)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sticker_album
 

Blind boxes for a wide range of items from clothing, to toys, to food/snacks have existed for a long time. Labubu is just the first, to my knowledge anyway, that has crossed over into the mainstream with how viral its gotten.
 

I couldn't find a link, but recently anyway some Irish supermarkets advertised near-expired goods sold in random packages with a much lower price. I don't know if it caught on, though. [Personally my first stop in a supermarket is the clearance counter if they have one, but I would never buy a random pack - I am fussy about what I eat, even if not about how old it is...]
 

There is a factory making cookies nearby, and after Christmas, when sales decline, they pack unsold stock in mystery bags which you can buy at a low price. Amazon is selling random bundles of returns as well. Using random bundles for the purpose of “destocking” has existed for a long time. I would argue that is different from putting the product into a blind box right at production.
 

Two word: Kinder eggs
Or trading cards/stickers

Lootbox like stuff has existed for quite a while now. To be fair it is less of a problem in rl matters as you can't limit reselling unlike in video games.
 

I thought Collectable Card Games invented the loot box, but that's no doubt just because that's where I first encountered random loot.
 

Loot boxes for toys have been around for ages, I remember those sticker albums from the 70s. The question is whether Labubus are still toys, with their $30 per blind box price tag, and their fashion accessory use. And whether loot boxes have a future outside the toy/game market.