Unless you’ve had a happy offline experience, you’ll have noticed that Labubu’s advertising is unprecedented. Even in real life, you can’t move through the streets of a big city without being poked by a bag full of toothy creatures.
Personally, I love it. Yes, despite her gender-fluid appearance and indiscriminate charm, Labubu is a girl. An elfin character first created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung, Labubu was conceived in 2015 as part of a story arc called The Monsters. Then, in 2019, Labubu expanded into the collectible toy market with a series of figurines offered for sale through a partnership with Chinese retailer Pop Mart. They were later turned into plush toys on keychains — perfect timing to align with the emerging trend in fashion for bag charms, trinkets, and toys; Pop Mart’s first Labubu keychain series is called “Exciting Macarons” and will be released in October 2023.
Inspired by Scandinavian folklore, Labubu’s furry body’s pastel tones and gently devilish facial expressions that vary with each iteration of the character are the perfect blend of cute and ugliness. He’s the latest in a long line of iconic characters to emerge from Asia, with Hello Kitty, Sonny Angel, and Gudetama his jungle darlings. Pop Mart’s Cry Baby series looks set to quickly follow in his footsteps. Labubu has been spotted on Rihanna, Dua Lipa, and perhaps most notably, Blackpink’s Lisa, who spoke to Vanity Fair about her obsession — it was certainly one of the sparks that lit the match for Labubu’s now global dominance.
But as with anything that’s beloved, hyped, and meme-ified, backlash ensues. In the UK, Pop Mart was forced to pull Labubu from stores in May 2025 after a brawl in a queue. Overzealous sellers appear to have resorted to violence to get their hands on the coveted creatures. Fans remain furious over the suspension. After all, Labubu is the number one collectible on resale platform StockX.
Some are rolling their eyes: Why are all these people—not even kids—waiting in toy queues at a time like this? There’s plenty of criticism from haters—Labubu aren’t recyclable, they’re just a “recession indicator,” part of the so-called “regression core.” The mimetic desire they create feeds the capitalist vortex of consumer culture! This kind of collecting is stupid, pointless fun! As Daniel Rodgers of British Vogue wrote: “Labubu is just another colourful flash on the internet’s radar: something we consume for a few months until the next trend comes along and kicks off a new cycle of think pieces.”
