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Cute meets technology in fashion’s latest obsession
The rise of Mirumi shows how AI targeting, emotional design and fashion tech are reshaping consumer spending
- PUBLISHED: Fri 20 Feb 2026, 9:03 AM
It was an Instagram ad that got me. Something in the algorithm detected that among all the Taylor Swift and Olympic ice-dancing content dominating my feed, I might just be in the market for a robotic bag charm. And, as is the case more often than I am comfortable to admit, the dark arts of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta targeting were proven right.
Not only did I click on the ad, which took me to a Kickstarter pledge page, but I went all the way through and ended up paying around Dh800 (including a hefty shipping fee) for a bag charm robot akin to a Labubu on steroids. Available in pink, cream and grey, the Mirumi (for that is what my souped-up bag charm is called) is designed to dangle from your handbag and bring joy to all who behold it.
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As someone who resisted the Labubu hype, what was it about this baby chick-like fluffy bag charm that won me over? First, timing. Zuckerberg got to me in the depths of PTSD following the festive period when, as a parent of three children, I was internally vowing never to leave gift buying to the last minute again. I will start prepping for Christmas 2026 now. So, yes, an overpriced robotic bag charm is just the thing for a young teenager, sign me up!
Secondly, the Mirumi is hard to resist. Designed to mimic a baby’s gaze, it nods, shakes, and cocks its head, in response to external stimuli (actually, an algorithm). It’s this intersection of AI and real-life interaction that makes Mirumi more alluring than the Labubu, the success of which added around $20 billion (approx. Dh73 billion) to the net worth of its creator, Wang Ning. Yes, it’s a robot. But it’s playing on emotional connection, and goodness knows we all need more of that. Last week, two employees of OpenAI and Anthropic generated headlines following their resignations and a warning that ‘the world is in peril’. Yikes.
Fashion tech is inveigling its way into our lives in ways less obvious than sci-fi LED colour-changing dresses. Instead, it’s the algorithm-determined search that determines what styles you see when you look for fashion online. It’s agentic commerce. According to McKinsey, ‘AI agents could mediate $3 trillion to $5 trillion (approx. Dh18 trillion) of global consumer commerce by 2030’.
Such is the real power — hopefully not peril — of fashion tech. But when it comes to soft power, a tactile Tamagotchi-Labubu mashup dangling from a new season Dior ‘Bow’ bag? I’m powerless to resist.
Go wild
Teched out? Opt instead for one of Dubai-based brand Veganologie’s bag charms; an ode to the endangered species of the UAE, and made from bamboo fibre leather. Choose from the hawksbill turtle, Arabian leopard, owl, falcon and oryx designs. Cute, without the tech.