Labubu: A curious fashion trend from Asia conquers Tiktok

A being with large eyes, jagged teeth and a mixture of fox, troll and plush toy that is reminiscent of a small monster. What is meant is a so -called laboratory. What sounds like a childhood figure from a fairy tale book is currently a sought -after collector’s item for millions. Labubu, the star of The Monsters’ Figure Collection, has become a pop cultural phenomenon. The hashtag #labububu travels millions of times on Tikok. In London, Seoul and Shanghai, fans camp against shops when a new edition appears. And in the background a Chinese company earns billions. Now the first labubu shop in Berlin has opened its doors-and here too fans were in line for hours.

The Chinese artist Kasing Lung invented the labubu monsters, originally as an illustration in children’s books. The breakthrough came in 2019 when Lung cooperated with the Chinese company Pop Mart. Pop Mart sells designer toys in so-called blind boxes-this means that customers do not know which figure they get when buying. We know the principle in this country from the well-known over eggs. Chance replaces the selection, and so the collective instinct replaces rational consumption.

The principle pays off: Pop Mart generated sales of over $ 1.8 billion worldwide in 2024. The series The Monsters, which belongs to the Labubu, is one of the group’s strongest sales segments. In China and South Korea, a flourishing second market economy has developed around Labububu, in which rare figures are traded for several hundred euros.

Why this figure is so successful has to do with more than with clever marketing. Labubu stands for an aesthetics that calls itself “Ugly-Cute”-a mixture of conscious imperfection, quirkness and sentimentality.

This fits the trend perfectly in our presence: young adults, often stressed by the fear of future, excessive pressure to perform and the permanent crisis as a normal state, long for small escapes from reality.

The trend is called kidulting – a word creation from “Kid” and “Adult”. Among other things, there is a new consumer behavior behind it. More and more adults are buying toys, collective figures, coloring books. “It’s not about childhood in the real sense,” explains consumer researcher Dr. Jing Wang from the University of Hong Kong, “but about emotional relief and temporary self -assurance.”

Labubu hits this nerve. The figure is clearly childish – but not kitschy. She is playful – but not harmless. And it is stylish enough to find space in the living room.

Labubu’s popularity is also due to celebrities: Rihanna, but also Lisa from the South Korean Girl band Blackpink, pose. Millions of unboxing videos can be found on Tikkok.

In China, age restrictions are now valid for the purchase of blind boxes. Consumer advocates in Europe are calling for the same. “It is a narrow line between passion for collecting and addictive behavior,” says educational scientist Prof. Felix Klein. “Especially with younger ones, the hunt for the one limited figure can quickly tip into problematic consumption behavior.”

Whether you keep Labubu for a clever business coup or a piece of pop culture with depth-it is clear: the figure stands for a new era of consumption. An era in which emotion, surprise and style awareness are very close together. And in which even a small monster with a tooth gap can embody a whole attitude to life.