A dozen furry dolls strung together on a metal chain dangled from Labubu fan Maki Li’s neck as he proudly posed for photos in front of a store selling the toys in central Beijing on Friday.
Made by Chinese toymaker Pop Mart, the fanged creatures have taken the world by storm, adorning the handbags of celebrities such as Rihanna and Dua Lipa—and Thursday night saw the launch of their latest iteration, a palm-sized Labubu.
The mini monsters were up for grabs online for around $11 each and sold out almost immediately.
Li was one of the lucky ones, managing to snag a box of 14.
“I’m super happy right now,” the 32-year-old told AFP on Friday after collecting and unboxing them at a shopping mall Pop Mart. “I’ll hang them every possible place I can.”
Labubus, which have caused frenzies at stores internationally, are released in limited quantities.
They are typically sold in “blind boxes,” meaning buyers don’t know the exact model they will receive.
Labubus have even made it into the speeches of Communist Party officials. Last month, commerce minister Wang Wentao used the toothy-grinned dolls as an example of “new forms of consumption… (and) new trends” that could help boost China’s stubbornly listless economy.
Zhang Jiaru, who bought a box of the mini toys as well as a bigger version, told AFP she was willing to spend on the dolls as she liked their “ugly-cute” look.
“It’s about paying for your own interests, right? It makes you happy,” the 27-year-old said.
“People can’t afford the big-ticket items anymore—they can’t buy Balenciaga, so they buy Pop Mart instead,” Maki Li said, referring to the luxury fashion house.
Li said that wearing his newly purchased Labubus felt “healing.” AFP
