What are Labubu dolls, and why has buying one become a ‘battlefield'?

Metro

24-05-2025

It dangles from designer handbags, has been spotted accompanying celebrities like Rihanna and Dua Lipa, and has teens queuing overnight just to get their hands on one.
To the untrained eye, Labubu dolls might seem like a creepy stuffed toy – with their demonic eyes and menacing snaggle-tooth smile. But to thousands of fans, it's the ultimate IT-girl accessory.
In recent weeks, demand for the small collectible accessory has exploded. Crowds have formed outside of shops, online listings for rare editions have skyrocketed in price, and things have even turned physical in stores.
So what exactly are Labubu dolls – and why has this quirky keyring turned shopping centres into battlefields?
Labubu is a furry monster character created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung. Unlike more familiar cute characters like Hello Kitty, Labubu features a snaggle toothed grin and wide, mischievous eyes.
The creatures first appeared in a Nordic-inspired picture book by Lung, before toy company Pop Mart launched the first Labubu collectible series in 2019.
Since then, their popularity has surged, and in 2025, they're more in-demand than ever – thanks to TikTok and celebrity endorsements.
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The hype around the dolls has transcended age groups while teenage girls are queuing outside of shops, A-listers are just as eager to get their hands on them.
Lisa from K-pop group Blackpink, who recently featured in the Season 3 of The White Lotus, admitted Labubu was her 'secret obsession'. In an interview with Vanity Fair she said she went 'crazy' after being introduced to collectible and spent all of her money on them.
Stars including Olivia Atwood, Rihanna, and Dua Lipa have also been spotted sporting Labubu dolls on their bags.
Labubu belong to a tribe called 'monsters', members of the group include Zimono, Mokoko and Tyococo. They're sold in blind boxes, meaning you don't know which character you're going to get until you open it.
Despite their mischievous smiles, Lung describes them as good-natured little creatures whose well-intentioned antics sometimes get them into a pickle.
Up until recently, you could easily get your hands on a Labubu doll in the UK, simply by walking into a Pop Mart store.
They retail for between £13.50 and £50, though rare edition can sell for hundreds, even thousands on online retail sites. On Friday, a Labubu Pronounce Be Fancy Now doll was listed on eBay for £1,299.
However, due to overwhelming demand, Pop Mart paused Labubu sales in all 16 of its UK shops 'to prevent any potential safety issues'.
The retailer shared the announcement to its Instagram page last week, stating that they had seen a 'significant rise in customer turnout on restock days'. However, fans of the little creatures can still buy them online.
The craze around these little creatures has turned chaotic in some UK stores. Labubu fan Victoria Calvert claimed customers were scrambling to get their hands on the dolls at Pop Mart's Westfield Stratford location.
'It was just getting ridiculous to be in that situation where people were fighting and shouting and you felt scared,' she told the BBC.
She said she met customers who had been outside since the early hours and others that had camped overnight.
Avid collector of Labubu dolls Ahsley Bushey said Pop Mart's decision to pause the in-store selling of Labubu dolls has made them even more difficult to get. More Trending
The 32-year-old from Northamptonshire said she's spent more than £1,000 on 13 Labubu dolls and countless hours scrolling TikTok Shop, Vinted and Facebook resale groups to expand her collection.
'It's a battlefield. Pop Mart are live every day from 2pm to 7pm and I sneak out of work, like I'm always trying to score one on the livestream,' she told the PA news agency.
She added that she spends 'more time than I care to admit' tracking down Labubus. 'Especially now, because they're so hard to get' after the UK sale pause.
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Pop Mart has confirmed they are pausing in-store sales until at least June – whether the craze will die down by then is anyone's guess.
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