NEED TO KNOW
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Labubu is the latest toy that’s on everyone’s minds — and handbags
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The popular blind box toy has gone viral over the past few months and have become incredibly hard to get
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Celebrities, however, have managed to get their hands on the toys
Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and David Beckham have all been sporting a certain fuzzy, monster creature on their handbags over the past few months: a Labubu, the internet’s latest accessory craze.
Labubu is a popular blind box toy with a mischievous grin that wears a costume with rabbit-like ears on its head — and it’s been taking social media by storm.
The critters — according to POP MART’s official website, which sells Labubu and other blind box toys — originated in 2015 thanks to artist Kasing Lung, who created a trio of picture books inspired by Nordic mythology.
The books were set in a fairy world populated by magical creatures, but the most prominent creature in the book series was Labubu, “a small monster with high, pointed ears and serrated teeth” that is “kind-hearted and always wants to help, but often accidentally achieves the opposite,” according to the site.
Courtesy of An
Blue Labubu toy.
Though they’d existed for a decade, Labubu — which was identified as a girl — experienced a surge in popularity after BLACKPINK rapper Lisa first shared images of herself with a Labubu in April of 2024. By November of that year, the singer decorated her Christmas tree with Labubu toys.
In a November 2024 video with Vanity Fair, Lisa opened up about her love of Labubu and related POP MART blind box toys.
“I just got into POP MART early this year, and I learned about this from one of my close friends in Thailand,” she told the outlet.
The “Lalisa” rapper continued, “People were like, ‘The one that I want is sold out, it’s so hard to get.’ I was like, ‘Hm, Is is that hard to get?’ As soon as I got them, I go crazy. I spent all of my money. I go to POP MART everywhere. If I fly to New York, Miami, Paris…everywhere.”
In the time since, the Labubu craze has exploded. Rihanna was spotted at the airport carrying a pink Labubu on her Louis Vuitton tote bag earlier this year in February, while Beckham was gifted a brown Labubu from his daughter, Harper Beckham — which he promptly clipped onto his black leather bag — in May.
Kardashian, meanwhile, is developing a small collection of her own — she posted a photo of 10 dolls to her Instagram Stories on April 30.
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Dua Lipa, Lizzo, and Simone Biles are among the other celebrities that have been spotted on social media with a Labubu in their possession.
Since going viral, fans of Labubu have started sharing unboxing videos online, and have taken to dressing up their dolls in handmade accessories or outfits purchased from websites such as Amazon.
Courtesy of Zee
Pink Labubu toy in a Gucci-inspired outfit.
POP MART’s Labubu blind box series starts at $8.99 USD, but often sell out quickly. Labubu reselling has also spawned a market of bootleg Labubu products, which fans lovingly call “Lafufu” as a play on the name.
Read what two Labubu collector’s experiences have been like with trying to get their hands on the toy.
An, 38, A Two-Month Labubu Enthusiast
Courtesy of An
An’s blue Labubu.
While An, 38, has seen Labubus in passing via Instagram over the past few month, she didn’t realize what the critters actually were until family members sent her videos of the long lines for Labubus in California.
“One sent a video via our group chat of people hoping to buy Labubus from a POP MART,” she tells PEOPLE. “They mentioned that the “Labubu craze” already hit Thailand — the Motherland — last year after Lisa from the group Blackpink was seen with one.”
It took an another couple of weeks after learning about Labubu before she could get her own.
“I got one about three weeks ago, by luck! My friend signed up for Labubu restock alerts and he was able to snag three of them from a store about a 10 minute walk from my apartment,” she adds. “The store only holds them for you for 24 hours and he was out of town so I picked them up for him. He gave me one as a thank you!”
Like celebrities, An accessorizes her purses with Labubu, but doesn’t take hers out all the time — “I’m afraid someone will steal her!”
Zee, 30, Has 6 Labubus (and Counting)
Courtesy of Zee
Zee’s pink Labubu.
Zee was slightly ahead of the Labubu craze, and recalls happening upon the dolls in an unlikely place before BLACKPINK’s Lisa ushered them into the mainstream.
“I started seeing Labubus percolate on IG from some of my favorite micro influencers, specifically those in resale of luxury goods,” Zee tells PEOPLE, noting that it began as a “niche” item before reaching a “zenith” because of the BLACKPINK star.
Once the craze inspired him to buy a doll of his own, he found himself out of luck by the time the “Have a Seat” collection launched.
“I ended up buying one secondhand from a vendor in Koreatown in New York City and paid a hefty price because I was able to verify it was real,” he explains. “But thats not before I spent lots of cash also peddling my way through “Lafufu” dolls that I wasn’t sure were real or not. Those I’ve since given away.”
In the time since, has been “lucky” enough to buy nine dolls for POP MART’s website, some of which were limited edition and cost him over $40, though the dolls are typically “$18-$24 after tax.”
Courtesy of Zee
Zee’s green Labubu.
Zee has even spent upwards of $75 for an opened Exciting Macaron doll “because I was desperate to get my hands on one” — a sum that he now regrets paying. “I still use her from time to time but regret spending that much obviously.”
Now, Zee has six dolls in his possession that he uses to decorate his most fashionable bags.
“I rotate them among my crossbody bags, but mostly I’ve been displaying my Lychee Berry Labubu on my small Fendi Peekaboo purse this spring,” he adds. “I have found that many of my micro crossbody bags aren’t big enough to hold the Labubu without me worrying about it falling off – or worse, being snatched on the subway. I would cry!”
As for how people react to his Labubus, Zee says the dolls usually inspire awe.
“Many people will catcall me on the sidewalk and say “Is that real?!” or ‘ooh’ and ‘aaah’ over them,” Zee shares, adding that some people have a tendency to get too handsy with his Labubus.
He continues, “The worst is when people touch my Labubu, though – that doll is like my child. I would never just reach out and grab your kid, lady! On the bus, an older woman was seated and I was standing and I didn’t notice her playing with the doll for about two minutes. I tried to be nice but inside I was like ‘ugh please don’t.'”
Erin, in Her Early 40s — Is One and Done
Courtesy of Erin
Erin’s pink Labubu.
Unlike An and Zee, Erin found out about Labubu without seeing Lisa’s endorsement of the toys.
“I first heard about Labubu from The Welsh Twins YouTube channel,” she says. “They were talking about POP MART and Labubu during one of their podcasts. I had no idea what either was, so immediately googled.”
She also happened upon her first — and only — Labubu without restock alerts or taking a visit to her local POP MART store.
Days after watching The Welsh Twin podcast video, “I was out walking and saw there was a new arcade near my apartment. They had Labubus in the claw machine and behind the counter,” she recalls.
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After failing to grab a Labubu from the claw machine, she “gave in” and bought one of her own, adding that she spent around $60 for her toy — $10 on the claw machine, and $50 for the toy itself.
Erin doesn’t know which bag she’ll put it on — or if it will end up on a bag at all. “Part of me wants to carry it everywhere the other part wants to keep it safe at home,” she tells PEOPLE.
Though the toy is enjoyed by people of all ages, she has received some negative feedback for having a Labubu, with the worst comment being from someone who said, “What are you a 7 year old?”
Try your luck at finding a Labubu on POP MART’s website here.
Read the original article on People
