Whether plastic, plush or porcelain, these iconic collectable dolls did more than sit on a shelf—they defined eras, sparked trends and tugged at our collective nostalgia
Ah, Labubu, the mischievous woodland creature-turned-collectable designed by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung and made world-famous by BLACKPINK’s Lisa. Equal parts grotesque and adorable, Labubu looks like it crawled out of a cursed fairy tale, and it’s currently dominating the high-end toy scene with the fever of a fashion drop. Limited releases sell out in minutes, resell prices spike to hundreds of dollars and unboxings are livestreamed like red carpet reveals. In short, the doll is no longer just a plaything. It’s art, it’s identity; it’s Instagrammable chaos in vinyl form.
But Labubu is only the latest in iconic collectable dolls to spark obsession. Long before TikTok teens were hunting Sonny Angels in blind boxes or stylising Noodolls on minimalist shelves, other dolls reigned: Barbie ruled the Dreamhouse; Raggedy Ann stitched herself into American innocence; Blythe scared and seduced the art world. Each doll was more than a toy. Rather, it was a reflection of its era’s ideals, anxieties and aesthetics.
From the candy-coloured chaos of Bratz to the soft-spoken earnestness of American Girl dolls, here’s a timeline of the iconic, strange and strangely beloved collectable dolls that defined generations—and how they got us to this moment of Labubu-mania.
Also read: Kasing Lung’s mystical Labubu dolls and 5 other collectible trends that took over the world