Last month, crowds of shoppers flocked to Pop Mart locations around the country. The popular Chinese toy store has become a hotbed of activity in recent months, and so has its website, which, on one particular day, crashed in a matter of hours. That’s because it was Labubu release day and tensions were high.
What exactly is a Labubu? Created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung in 2015 as a part of Pop Mart’s Monsters series, Labubus are small collectable toys described by Emily Brough, head of licensing for Pop Mart North America, as “tiny devious elves with nine teeth and pointy ears.” They are canonically female and call the Nordic forests their home. “They love to play around and sometimes cause a bit of chaos, but it’s all in good fun,” explains Brough in a email to Bazaar. Characters in the collection include the leader of the Labubus, Zimomo, her special friend Mokoko, and her boyfriend Tycoco—a skeleton-like monster with a “shy and gentle nature.”
While the various cast members come in a range of products, like figurines, cups, and keychains, it’s mostly the plush Labubu keychain pendants that everyone’s after. The fashion crowd is particularly fond of Lung’s creations, attaching them to luxury handbags and belt loops in a way that’s reminiscent of the Monchichi and Tamagotchi crazes from the ’80s and ’90s. Some, like content creator and vintage Prada collector Anna Bediones, are even going as far as buying little (fake) designer outfits for their Labubus.
But what is it about Labubus that draws such a massive crowd? What makes fans camp out in front of the store just to get their hands on a few blind boxes? What makes people break into cars, claw machines, and distribution trucks for the plushies or unclip them from unsuspecting passersby?
Cute qualities and storybook lore aside, Brough explains, a lot of the Labubu phenomenon has to do with timing. There really is “no guaranteed formula for viral success,” she says. “While the Monsters collection and Labubu have been beloved characters for years, her popularity truly surged during the spring and summer 2024 fandom wave. This coincided with key celebrities being seen with Labubu charms, amplifying visibility and placing Labubu squarely within the high-fashion spotlight.” Fashion designers’ and influencers’ current penchant for playful bag charms was simply the cherry on top.
The popularity of the pendants has increased exponentially on the resale platform because of how difficult they are to get on Pop Mart’s site. In fact, the latest Labubu launch last month is now StockX’s number one collectible release of all time, according to senior director of merchandising Rachel Makar, and it has seen more than 8,000 sales since then. The new secret-edition Labubu is going for close to $400 on the site, whereas the others are starting at nearly double the retail price of $27.
Lisa from the K-pop group Blackpink was among the first A-listers to hitch her Labubu to her Chanel bags, resulting in an influx of her fans buying into the blind boxes. Kimora Lee Simmons put the plushy pendant on her Hermès Birkin bag in a curated photo dump, posing alongside daughter Ming Lee Simmons for an all-black twinning moment. And early last month, Rihanna was photographed with a pink Macaron-series Labubu (known to the fandom as “Lychee Berry”) attached to her monogrammed Louis Vuitton Speedy tote.
Fashion strategist and celebrity stylist Raz Martinez describes his interest in Labubus, as well as his clients’ love for the toys, as a “slow burn,” adding that months went by before the TikTok algorithm started picking up on his curiosity and he thought, “Maybe I should get into this.” What drew him in? “Honestly, it was the playfulness and colors,” he says.
Rihanna with her Labubu
For L.A.-based content creator Samantha Purnell, known to her more than 55,000 followers on Instagram as Sammy Spice, toting a Labubu around is less about exclusivity and more about experimenting with different accessories and bag charms—something that’s been big this season. “As a fashion girl, I think we’re always looking for fun new things to try and wear,” says Purnell. “I was one of the girls who was into the Fendi monster bag charms, so it feels nostalgic and brings much joy.”
For many adults, having a Labubu swinging from your bag is a way to embrace your inner child, especially in such a difficult political climate, where a little extra joy is needed. Between Beanie Babies, Pokémon cards, and, more recently, Funko Pop figurines and Sonny Angels, people have always collected things; it’s really nothing new. This is a fact people need to be reminded of constantly, particularly when someone calls the Labubu trend a recession indicator.
According to a 2018 study exploring the psychology of consumer collection behavior, 40 percent of United States households collect something, but the Labubu craze has social media backing it in ways other items did not. As some have pointed out, bag trinkets have long been popular in kawaii culture, as well as in fandom spaces. With Labubus, it’s about stocking up on as many toys as possible in the shortest amount of time.
As for what’s next? Brough suspects that Pop Mart’s Crybaby series is on track for the same type of virality as the other creatures in the Labubu universe. The toy company’s Skull Panda charms with plush bodies and sullen, cherub-like faces have also started infiltrating people’s For You pages. (The brand’s latest launch, which is highly anticipated among TikTok Shop users, is on June 6.) But there’s no real way of knowing the next big thing until it happens. It’s best to simply ride the wave in the meantime–Labubu in tow.