It’s small, toothy and often described as slightly creepy. But this plush doll, called Labubu, has quickly become an unlikely status symbol.
In recent weeks, social media has been filled with videos of collectors trading tips on how to get their hands on a Labubu, the fluffy doll with pointed ears and a mischievous grin.
Though the latest Labubu collection, which dropped on Friday and sold out in seconds, retails at $27.99 for one blind box or $167.94 for a set of six, resellers have already put them up on sites like eBay for more than double those prices.
Labubu dolls are made and sold by Pop Mart, a Chinese retailer known for its “blind box” collectibles, which makes it so that buyers don’t know which color or design they’re getting until they open the box.
Online restocks have earned a cutthroat reputation for selling out immediately, and buyers around the world have been known to camp out in front of Pop Mart stores for hours.
From Beanie Babies to Squishmallows to the naked Sonny Angel figurines that exploded in popularity last year, collectibles have frequently fueled one consumer fad after another. As limited supply drives up their rarity, many fans seek the thrill of hunting down certain coveted versions, like the special-edition “secret” Labubu, which can only be found by winning the blind box lottery.
Thania Gonzalez, 31, said she has collected nearly every color of Labubu from every collection. But since the dolls began blowing up online late last year, the Los Angeles-based fashion content creator said purchasing them from Pop Mart has become virtually “impossible.” Nowadays, she gets her Labubus from a reseller she calls her “Labubu plug.”
“I like to put them on my bags and dress them like me. I will wear multiple Labubus,” Gonzalez said. “I’m putting them on my belt. If I could put them as earrings I would, but that would hurt. I’m putting them wherever they can be put.”
The craze has even spawned a market for fan-made outfits that can be used to dress up Labubu dolls. Gonzalez said she used to get hers from Chinese e-commerce platform AliExpress before finding local pop-up shops that specialize in those accessories.
“I think as adults, we have a lot of responsibilities, things to take care of, bills, people. People get a little bit in a rut,” she said. “And I think Labubus bring people back to their childhood. It’s like dressing them, how cute they are, just looking at them. It’s like a little plush you can make look like you. I think it heals people’s inner child.”
Created in 2015 by Kasing Lung, a Hong Kong–born artist based in Belgium, Labubu is one of “The Monsters,” a group of characters inspired by Nordic mythology in Lung’s children’s book series. Labubu, according to Pop Mart’s description, is “kind-hearted and always wants to help, but often accidentally achieves the opposite.”
Pop Mart and Lung did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The dolls, which have become a symbol of exclusivity in themselves, are now often paired with luxury bags in a trend that seemingly contrasts luxury fashion with a less traditionally high-end — but still status-signaling — collectible.
They’ve also been boosted by celebrities like Rihanna and Blackpink’s Lisa, who have been spotted sporting Labubu charms on their handbags. Lisa, who sometimes shares her Labubus on her Instagram stories, told Vanity Fair last year that shopping for Pop Mart collectibles has become her “secret obsession.”
“Labubu is my baby,” she told Teen Vogue last month.
From Asia to North America, collection launch days at Pop Mart stores often draw crowds of customers anxious to snag their own Labubu. At the Michigan Avenue Pop Mart in Chicago, a line of people stretched down the block on Friday morning — many having brought foldable chairs and blankets — as they waited for the store to open.
“I got here early, just so I could get a Labubu,” August Olvera, who was in line as early as 1:30 a.m., told NBC Chicago. “My boss called them hideous. But I think they’re adorable.”
The frenzy has also bled into chaos. At the Pop Mart in Los Angeles’ Westfield Century City mall on Friday, videos online appear to show hundreds of people rushing toward the store before dawn, drawing a police presence. Posts from attendees reported that the event was later canceled. NBC News has reached out to Westfield Century City for comment.
On communities like the r/labubu subreddit, hopeful collectors circulate tips on how to improve their chances of catching an online restock before all the Labubu dolls sell out. Others online have warned against leaving Labubus unattended, claiming that people have broken into cars to steal them.
And the craze is giving rise to dupes, or replicas, of the popular collectible toys. It’s led some Labubu enthusiasts to try and counsel others on how to spot the fakes, which have become so notorious that they’ve been dubbed “lafufus.”
