Fuzzy, mischievous-looking, fang-toothed characters dangling from luxury bags, Labubus are getting everyone talking.

Mainly sold by the Chinese toy company Pop Mart, the designer toy-turned-fashion collectables are incredibly popular. A queue outside the Birmingham Pop Mart store was so long that it made headlines, and rare Labubus are selling for more than £1,000 each. Labubu toys are even available to rent for upwards of £4 a day on platforms like By Rotation (alongside luxury accessories from the likes of Chanel and Hermès).

Despite recent fandom, the Labubu character isn’t new. It was designed in 2015 by Hong Kong-born illustrator Kasing Lung, as part of his collection of characters, The Monsters, inspired by Dutch and Nordic folklore.

Leaning into maximalism, Labubus bring a pop of personality and fun to any outfit, so it’s easy to see the appeal. Their popularity can be traced back to Lisa from the K-pop band BlackPink. Having shared Labubus on her Instagram stories, the singer confirmed her love of Pop Mart during a blind unboxing for Vanity Fair, and even referred to Labubu as her “baby” when interviewed for Teen Vogue.

Since then, Rihanna 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 a designer bag to enjoy the trend.

Labubu dolls are often sold in ‘blind boxes’. These contain a toy chosen at random from the series, so you won’t know which one you’ve bought until you open the box. As well as regular designs, there are also so-called ‘secret edition’ Labubus, which are especially rare and sought-after by collectors. The latest is the Big Into Energy series (£17.50, Popmart.com), which dropped this spring. To give you an idea of scale, the toys are around 6in in size (about the same size as an iPhone 16).

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. Unsurprisingly, the toys sell out fast, but if you’re determined to find one for yourself, keep reading for everything you need to know.

Labubu figures are available on the Pop Mart platform or in Pop Mart shops.

One of the newest additions to the range is Labubu x Pronounce wings of fortune figure, characterised by its dark purple fur and golden outfit (£31.50, Popmart.com). It’s not just hanging charms; the brand also makes pendants (£25.50, Popmart.com), figures (£31.50, Popmart.com), bags (£28.90, Popmart.com) and more, though, at the time of writing, they’re all sold out (you can sign up to be notified when they’re restocked).

You might find you have more luck buying the toys at other retailers, such as StockX, Depop, eBay and the Pop Mart store on Amazon. However, you need to be wary when shopping elsewhere, as counterfeit versions (jokingly referred to as “Lafufus”) are common on third-party sites.

It pays to research the differences between the fakes and the real thing. For instance, collectors suggest looking for signs such as the brightness of the packaging, whether the dolls have a Pop Mart stamp on their foot, the number of teeth the dolls should have (nine), and the presence of a QR code on the back of the packaging, which should take you to the official Pop Mart website.

There are also several Pop Mart shops in the UK, so if you’d rather buy a Labubu in person, you can head to the locations in Manchester, Birmingham, London, and Cambridge. Labubus are also available from Pop Mart’s vending machines, known as Robo Shops, which can be found in London and Reading.

With the fashion rental market booming, it’s perhaps no surprise that you can now rent Labubu dolls for £3 a day. The trend may not last, so renting a doll for a specific outfit might be more cost-effective than buying your own Labubu – you might not be as keen to hang a doll off your bag once summer is over.

Leading rental platform By Rotation has a variety of dolls to rent, starting at £3 a day (Byrotation.com). Hurr has been slower to jump on the trend; at the time of writing, the platform only has one doll to rent (from £22, Hurrcollective.com).

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