Who is Labubu?

Decoding the fashion world’s obsession with the fan favorite toy.

Labubu is the happily unhinged figure taking over fashion following last year’s Sonny Angels craze. The chunky monster toy with a demonic grin is currently being attached to the world’s most gloriously expensive and flashy bags, from Chanel flaps to Hermès Birkins. With the bag charm trend reaching its peak, creepy cute plush charms are the next logical step. 

But who is Labubu? It’s not only an if you know, you know status symbol, the creature also represents the next generation of complex accessorizing. Think: accessorizing your accessory’s accessories. Consider it the final frontier of fashion in our ultra strange, dark times. The most intense diehards are creating their own outfits for Labubu, whether making custom gold chains and ski masks or designing miniature replicas of Prada nylon hats and backpacks specifically for the creature. The options are endless: choose your bag, then your Labubu, then DIY your Labubu’s outfit. 

Read on for everything you need to know about Labubu.

Who is Labubu?

Labubu is an elf-like furry rabbit character with pointy ears, detailed hands and feet, and a slightly chaotic grin. The fluffy monster most popularly comes in the form of a plushie keychain or bag charm, which has become incredibly collectible and hard to get. 

Adding to the excitement, Labubu is sold by the toy company Pop Mart in a blind box format, meaning you never know what color you’ll get until you open it. There are also special “secret” items which are the rarest of the rare – these are the pieces collectors covet most. Plush charms come in various series, ranging from different color combinations to unique poses. Reportedly over 300 different options have been produced and sold. “Despite a mischievous first impression, Labubu is very kind-hearted and always wants to help others while accidentally doing bad things,” is how Pop Mart describes the creature. “No matter what difficulties we encounter, we should grin like Labubu, and naturally we will become happy.”

What is the Labubu fashion lore?

It’s impossible not to see Labubu dangling from designer bags in the street style scene at fashion week lately. People are stacking their bags with multiple layers of them, and they’re so hard to get, they’ve become a collective cult symbol.

Labubu and The Monsters has been popular in Asia for quite some time, but in Western culture the craze has exploded in recent months. Blackpink’s Lisa is known to collect the plushies. In November 2024 she revealed her obsession to Vanity Fair: “I just got into Pop Mart earlier this year, and I learned about this from one of my close friends in Thailand,” she said. “I go to Pop Mart everywhere, if I fly to New York, I go to Miami, I try to find Pop Mart there…Paris, everywhere.” She often buys the entire collections of different series to avoid disappointment and to make sure she gets the ones she wants.

Bryan Boy is also a fan and has posted his own unboxing videos. The influencer and editor-in-chief of Perfect even devoted an entire cover of the most recent issue to the character, with an original sketch and interview by Lung.

Additionally, the Shanghai founded label Pronounce, which presents at Milan Fashion Week, has collaborated with Pop Mart several times to release limited edition versions of the toy wearing custom outfits.

As we inch closer to the end of the fall 2025 fashion month season, we’ll undoubtedly see more of the character on bags and everything else. It’s only a matter of time before one of the fashion industry’s biggest brands pays tribute to Labubu. And it’s just the kind of weird whimsy we need right now.