Unless you’ve been living under a rock, then you’ve probably heard all about the furry, wide-eyed, toothy-smiled plush craze that’s currently sweeping the internet (and malls all over the world): Labubu. (An no, that’s not the internet’s newest cutesy shorthand way of saying “lobotomy.”)
Part collectible, part humiliation ritual for how notoriously hard they are to get a hold of from Chinese blind box toy retailer Pop Mart, Labubus are TikTok’s latest trend du jour that has folks all over the globe foaming at the mouth at the chance to put a trendy, colorful, ugly-cute, keychain on their favorite bags.
But how did we get here?
First of all, what exactly IS a Labubu?
First things first, “Labubu” is the name of one of the characters from The Monsters series, created by Hong Kong-born designer and artist Kasing Lung in 2015.
Based on Nordic mythology (Lung was raised in Europe in the Netherlands), The Monsters features several different characters in its arsenal, with, as we’ve seen from all of the online activity in the past few months, the most popular of them being the one and only Labubu.
Known for their signature big eyes, long rabbit-like ears, and nine-toothed smile, Labubus come in a variety of different colors and are offered in different forms from Pop Mart, from bags to figurines to phone charms. The most popular and coveted, however, are the vinyl/plush keychains that everyone from school-aged children to older fashionistas like to hang on their favorite bags, coinciding with the larger, currently ongoing “bag charm” trend.
Where can you get a Labubu?
While Labubus may seem to be everywhere at the moment, that, unfortunately doesn’t necessarily mean they are easy to get. As anyone who just started to collect Labubus in the past few weeks can tell you, it’s actually really hard to procure one for yourself if you are just casually trying…
The only global retailer where you can get official The Monsters merch is Pop Mart, and their products range in price from $9 USD for a Labubu-themed fridge magnet all the way to almost $1000 USD for a gigantic, 32-inch Labubu statue. (The sought after keychain plushes range from $22 USD to $28 USD.)
Because of the trendiness of the Labubu plush keychains, they always sell out within minutes from the Pop Mart website whenever they drop weekly (well, there are also bots to blame, but that’s for a different article…), which is tricky because (at the time of this writing) the only way to get the from the physical brick-and-mortar Pop Mart stores is to reserve and buy them online first (you can’t just walk in whenever you want and get them).
This admittedly weird release system (which has been criticized by many collectors and fans online) has lead to money-eyed resellers marking up prices as much as 200-300% for The Monsters plush keychains and many online tutorials on how to breakthrough the seemingly impenetrable code of trying to get a Labubu.
How did Labubus gets so popular?
Though The Monsters has been around since 2015 and Pop Mart started their collaboration with Lung to sell The Monsters merch in 2019, Blackpink member Lisa is widely credited with starting the worldwide Labubu craze in mid-2024 when she was seen wearing one on her bag on her Instagram account.
And earlier this year, Lisa did a viral video with Vanity Fair sharing her love for all things Pop Mart with the world.
But if you think Lisa is the only superstar to showcase a Labubu, think again! Like many other trends before it, so many celebs are more than ready to hop on The Monsters bandwagon.
Here are some of our fave celebs who have been seen proudly rocking a Labubu…
Lisa (of Blackpink)
Rihanna
Dua Lipa
Rosé (of Blackpink)
Bretman Rock
Selena Gomez
Marian Rivera
Heart Evangelista
Vice Ganda
Paris Hilton
Gia Gunn
David Beckham
Laganja Estranja
Hilary Duff
Dillon Brooks
Madonna
For more information on The Monsters and how you can get your hands on your very own Labubu plush keychain (good luck, you’re seriously gonna need it!), visit Pop Mart’s official website!
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