18-2-2024 (MANILA) A delightful trend has taken hold in the Philippines, as tiny, yellow duck hair clips on springs bounce above the heads of Filipinos, injecting moments of joy into their otherwise ordinary days.
Local media reports indicate that the trend originated during a cosplay convention in mid-2023 in Baguio City, a popular holiday destination known for its cool climate, located approximately 200km north of the capital Manila.
With the catchy phrase “May bibe na ba lahat?” (Does everyone have a duck already?) spreading like wildfire on social media, these cute yellow plastic hair accessories can now be spotted bouncing on the heads of both children and adults throughout the archipelago.
“It’s like you’ll feel out of place if you’re not wearing one,” shared Jaja de Guzman with ABS-CBN News.
“They bounce, so they’re incredibly cute,” added Timmy de Quiros.
Wanda Mabini also expressed her thoughts, saying, “It looks good, even on seniors like me. It makes you look young.” The trend has since expanded to include variations with chickens and hearts in place of ducks.
These ducks are currently being sold for 100 pesos (S$2.41) per set of three pieces. E-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Lazada have joined in on the craze, offering five hair clips for approximately 65 pesos. Online retailer Shein is selling the hair accessory for S$1.50 each in Singapore.
Buyers have been leaving playful comments on these sites, playing with the Tagalog word “bibe” (duck) and its homophone “baby” or “babe.”
“You’re my one and only bibe,” quipped one Shopee user.
According to Dr. Jimmuel Naval from the University of the Philippines, there is no profound meaning behind this trend. In an interview with ABS-CBN’s radio program TeleRadyo Serbisyo, he explained, “We just like to follow trends. We have this compelling need to ride the bandwagon. We don’t want to be left behind, and we do this all the time, not just with hair accessories, but also with food.”
He further elaborated, “In the past, we didn’t drink coffee. Now, there’s Starbucks. We didn’t drink tea with milk back then, but now there’s milk tea. We carry them around like a badge of honor.”
Some have traced the origins of this fad to China, where wearing hair clips adorned with sprouts, grass, and flowers became a fashion trend in 2015. Millions of clips were sold online that year, with one top-selling store on Taobao, China’s leading online shopping platform, reportedly selling over a million clips, as reported by CNN.
Professor Gao Xuanyang, a sociologist from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, commented on the phenomenon, stating, “People need something fresh to enrich their mundane lives. Be it a hair clip, a purse, or a T-shirt.”
