Why Labubu Is the Unexpected Status Symbol Swinging from Your Birkin

That fang-toothed, wide-eyed creature swinging from luxury handbags? That’s Labubu – fashion’s most unexpected status symbol and the face of a billion-dollar craze.

Image courtesy: @kellyfzilli

Fendi Karlito charm.

The OG Fendi Karlito charms.

Of course, Labubu wasn’t the first fuzzy character to grace luxury bags. That title belongs to the Fendi monster, a quirky luxe charm designed by Karl Lagerfeld for Fendi’s Fall/Winter 2013 runway, which helped spark the playful bag accessory trend in high fashion. But there’s something different about the Labubu craze – it’s blend of art, collectability, and accessible pricing has fans of all budgets going wild, turning it into a marketing phenomenon unlike anything before.

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Created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung in 2015, Labubu began as a folklore-inspired character in his illustrated series The Monsters. In 2019, she entered the collectible toy world through the Chinese giant Pop Mart and quickly became a blind-box icon – unpredictable, strange, and instantly addictive.

Consider it marketing genius to have shoppers clamoring to buy a sealed box without knowing which Labubu they’ll get. The surprise inside is part of the fun, and the thrill of chasing them all keeps collectors hooker. Some Labubus are more valuable than others. Each collection has a core set plus a rare “secret” figure with unique colors or poses. These secret Labubus are seriously hard to find (about a 1 in 72 chance), which only adds to the exclusivity.

Image courtesy: @clairechanelle

Image courtesy: @clairechanelle

By 2024, Labubu had infiltrated fashion’s inner circle. As luxury lovers embraced charms and – echoing Jane Birkin’s famously over-adorned Hermès, Labubu hit the moment: oversized, fluffy, and defiantly unserious. Some fans use her to downplay the flash of a Birkin in public. The irony? In some corners of the internet, a rare Labubu triggers almost as much frenzy as the bag itself.

labubu crytal | custom labubu | labubu birkin | labubu outfit

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Collectors have turned Labubu pairing into an art form. Some hunt obsessively for the perfect color match – curating a Labubu to complement the exact tone of a Birkin or Kelly. A tricky feat, given the unpredictability of blind boxes. Others go maximalist: attaching not one, but several Labubus at once, creating a kind of plush explosion that covers the entire bag. Whether it’s disguise or decoration, the result often draws more attention than the Birkin itself.

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Image courtesy: @fafaavenue

Image courtesy: @bryanboy

Official Labubu blind boxes retail for around $28. But, much like the notoriously hard-to-get Hermès bags, Labubu has developed a serious secondary market. Single figures can fetch upwards of $80, while full sets sell for around $500. And just like in luxury handbags, the market is flooded with counterfeits, known cheekily as “Lafufu – making the hunt for authentic pieces part of the thrill.

Telltale signs that you’ve been fooled by a Lafufu? Labubu knockoffs are often overly glossy, oddly textured, or unnaturally vibrant. And make sure to check the accompanying boxes and QR codes. The authentic Labubu boxes include a QR code inside that instantly redirects to Pop Mart’s official site. If the link is broken, slow, or leads somewhere suspicious, that’s a major red flag. In other words, spotting a real Labubu can take almost as much expertise as authenticating a handbag.

Lafufu

Authentic Labubu

With celebrity fans like Lisa (BLACKPINK), Rihanna, Dua Lipa, adding to TikTok-fueled unboxing mania, Labubu helped Pop Mart pull in over $1.8 billion last year. CEO Wang Ning is now one of China’s richest and youngest billionaires.

Image courtesy: Harpers Bazaar

@pursebop

Cute, chaotic, and quietly loaded with status, Labubu is what luxury looks like when it stops taking itself seriously.

@theluxuryflavor

So, have you caught yourself stalking Pop Mart’s site, hunting for your own Labubu? And more importantly, would you dare to adorn your Birkin with one?