Love them or hate them, there’s something undeniably refreshing about the frivolity of Labubu bag charms. You may have seen these mischievous, slightly creepy-looking characters dangling from designer bags, sometimes teamed with other similarly colourful bag charms.

The designer toy turned must-have fashion accessory was created by Hong Kong-born illustrator Kasing Lung in 2015, part of his whimsical collection of characters, The Monsters. Based on Dutch and Nordic folklore, the elf-esque figures are sold predominantly by the Chinese toy company Pop Mart. The latest is the “Big Into Energy” series (£17.50, Popmart.com), which dropped in the spring. To give you an idea of scale, the toys are around six inches, about the same size as an iPhone 16.

Ramping up the excitement is the fact that they’re typically sold in ‘blind boxes’. They contain a toy chosen at random from the series, so you won’t know which one you’ve got until you open the box. In addition to regular designs, there are also so-called ‘secret edition’ Labubus, which are especially rare and sought-after.

Leaning into maximalism, they’re far from the blanket of boring neutrals across high street fashion this year. Bringing a pop of personality and fun to any outfit, it’s easy to see the appeal. Their popularity can be traced back to Lisa from the K-pop band BlackPink, who was seen to be a fan. Having previously shared Labubus on her Instagram stories, the singer has confirmed her love of Pop Mart during blind box unboxing for Vanity Fair, and even referred to Labubu as her “baby” when interviewed for Teen Vogue.

Since then, Rhianna has been seen adorning her Louis Vuitton bag with a lychee berry Labubu, and Dua Lipa has also jumped on the trend. Now, the charms can often be seen dangling from Birkins and Mui Mui bags, lending them a fun and colourful twist (though, of course, you don’t need to have a designer bag to partake in the trend).

With a surge of interest in bag charms – such as Coach hanging cuddly toys from its bags at its New York Fashion Week show – the hashtag Labubu has appeared more than one million times on TikTok. It’s unsurprising that the toys sell out at lightning speed. But if you’re determined to find one for yourself, keep reading for what you need to know.

Pop Mart, which has an online shop as well as hundreds of brick-and-mortar stores globally, is the main seller of the toy, so Labubu figures can be bought from the Pop Mart platform.

One of the newest additions to the range is Labubu × Pronounce wings of fortune figure, characterised by its dark purple fur and golden outfit (£31.50, Popmart.com). And it’s not just hanging charms, as the brand also makes pendants, figures (£31.50, Popmart.com), bags (£28.90, Popmart.com) and more, though, at the time of writing, they’re all sold out.

You might find you have more luck finding the toys at other sellers, which include StockX, Depop, eBay and the Pop Mart store on Amazon. However, you do need to be wary when shopping elsewhere, as counterfeit versions will be lurking on resellers’ sites, so it pays to research the differences between the fakes and the real thing.

There are also several shops in the UK, so if you’d rather buy your Labubu in person, you can head to locations including the Westfield London shopping centre, Hamleys on Regents Street, Oxford Street and others. Adding to the fun, they can also be bought from Pop Mart’s vending machines, which are called ‘Robo Shops’, at a couple of locations.

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