W hen 23-year-old Aïcha travelled from London to New York last year, it wasn’t for a holiday. She was on a mission to buy a rare Squishmallow, a type of cuddly toy that’s a hybrid between a pillow and a stuffed animal . She already has 35 of them, her bed at home neatly lined with a pig named Daisy that doubles up as a handbag, a puppy holding a bubble tea, an aquamarine-coloured dolphin, and many, many more.
“I call them my babies,” Aïcha tells me. “They make me feel so safe, they hear me out and they see everything. They’re like my little witnesses in life.
” While Squishmallows is her current favourite brand , Aïcha combs through the internet for rare Black Barbies and Bratz dolls, because she never saw herself represented in toys as a child. “My bed is filled with them,” she says. “It’s a piece of me.
” Squishmallows is just one of the cuddly toy companies currently obsessed over by Gen Z . Another popular brand is Jellycat, which transforms household objects or food items – such as a pair of salt and pepper shakers – into a cute, plush form to be squeezed and hugged. These toys aren’t just something kept at home , either: if you look closely at a Gen Z-ers outfit, you may find a pink furry animal affixed to their belt strap.
Across Hollywood, celebrities are endorsing cuddlies, too. Jisoo, a member of the K-pop group Blackpink, is sometimes seen with a Jellycat bunny dangling from her handbag. Kylie Jenner told fans she carries her Jelly.
