Rare Labubu toy figures up for auction: Pharrell Williams’ Joopiter site to offer Sacai-dressed special editions in collaboration with K-pop band Seventeen
The Labubu craze has reached new heights with a four-foot (1.2 metre) model of the plush toy fetching a price of 1.08 million yuan (US$150,260) at auction.
On June 10, the teal character – “the only piece of its kind in the world”, according to Beijing Yongle International Auction, fetched the eye-watering sum at a sale held in China’s capital. It was offered alongside other Labubu paraphernalia, including a brown model that sold for 820,000 yuan.
An auctioneer takes bids from buyers for a Labubu figurine, during an auction by Yongle International Auction in Beijing, on June 10. Photo: Reuters
But these remarkable prices may be just the beginning as the viral toy is soon to make another appearance at auction through a collaboration involving Pharrell Williams, the K-pop group Seventeen and the Japanese fashion brand Sacai.
The rabbit-like figures sporting mischievous toothy grins began as a character created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung, and are made by Beijing-based toy brand Pop Mart.
A Labubu toy hangs from a bidder’s Hermès bag at an auction by Yongle International Auction in Beijing, on June 10. Photo: Reuters
They have been endorsed by celebrities such as Rihanna and Dua Lipa, and fans have queued overnight outside stores hoping to snag one, with analysts pointing to the phenomenon as more evidence of China’s growing soft power.
The global frenzy for the figures is now to be further fuelled by the coming high fashion collaboration.
The latest Labubu auction is a blind box limited to 14 pieces: 13 boxes contain Labubu dressed in beige Sacai jumpsuits, while the 14th box, kept secret, is decorated uniquely, paying homage to one of Pharrell Williams’ favourite Sacai creations. Photo: Handout
Pharrell Williams’ digital platform Joopiter recently announced “Joopiter presents: Sacai x Seventeen”, a global auction marking the first time that Labubu has officially partnered with an international fashion house. The sale will feature 14 exclusive “Pop Mart x How2work green edition” Labubus from The Monsters series, all dressed in Sacai, with 13 of them representing K-pop group Seventeen’s members, plus one secret, Pharrell-inspired model.
