A few days ago, Dr Lam Pin Min of the People’s Action Party (PAP) posted an image of a toy dressed in party colours.
This toy — clad in tiny white pants, shoes, and a T-shirt bearing the PAP logo — is none other than Labubu, a character that has gained a ton of popularity in recent months.
Source: Lam Pin Min (蓝彬明) on Facebook
At the latest iteration of the Pop Toy Show at the Marina Bay Sands last month, the police were called after the crowd got a little too rowdy over some limited-edition Labubu dolls.
Dr Lam’s TikTok clip with the toy has been shared more than 5,700 times at the time of writing, with many asking if the Labubu is the party’s new mascot.
While this remains a mystery, here’s all there is to know about the iconic character with the cheeky smile.
Labubu is a character created in 2015 by Hong Kong-born artist and illustrator Kasing Lung.
The small monster with long, pointed ears and a row of sharp teeth first existed in the artist’s original story called ‘The Monsters’.
Some publications such as Tatler Asia have referred to the character as an ‘elf’.
No matter what you choose to call it, the fictional character is a product of Mr Lung’s fantastical imagination.
Influenced by Nordic folklore, ‘The Monsters’ story draws from the artist’s childhood in the Netherlands — where he had immigrated to with his parents when he was seven years old.
As a child, the artist enjoyed reading storybooks and tales of ancient European elf legends.
In adulthood, Mr Lung first became known for creating picture books.
His work includes the Chinese illustrated book ‘My Little Planet’ — published in Taiwan in 2013 — and the children’s illustrated book ‘Lizzy Wil Dansen’ published in 2014.
‘The Monsters’ and its cast of adorable characters would come about a year later.
In an interview with HYPEBEAST earlier this year, Mr Lung reflected on the growth of Labubu since its debut nine years ago.
“I feel that this character has grown with me throughout all these events,” said the artist.
“In the past, I’d just thought of him as mischievous and kooky, but now I think he’s showing much calmer and amicable qualities.”
Labubu is said to be a kind-hearted character, always willing to lend a hand but accidentally doing bad things.
While Labubu is undoubtedly the star of ‘The Monsters’ series, it is not the only character.
The story features characters such as Zimomo — the leader of Labubu’s tribe, who is “much bigger” in size. Also, Zimomo has a tail, while Labubu does not.
Source: Go To Manager
Another recent character is Yaya, who shares the nickname of Mr Lung’s daughter. Other characters include Tycoco and Spooky.
Mr Lung shared more about the character design process with Tatler Thailand in May.
“Each character has its own unique function,” he said. “For example, Labubu has nine teeth, Tycoco has a skeleton head, YaYa has two horns, etc.”
As for why the characters are called what they are, the artist shared that his daughter is the one who decides them.
However, he also said that he wanted unique names that are easy to pronounce and search for on Google.
Mr Lung’s ‘The Monsters’ was first adapted into figures by Hong Kong-based creative and design production house How2Work.
According to the artist’s biography by KaiKai Kiki Gallery, Labubu has been released in more than 300 colours, shapes, and sizes.
In 2019, Mr Lung reportedly entered an exclusive license agreement with Pop Mart. The toy company headquartered in Beijing, China has taken the region by storm, having hosted multiple conventions in Singapore.
Labubu specifically, however, experienced another meteoric rise in popularity when Blackpink’s Lisa posted about it on social media in April this year.
The Thai K-Pop idol had used a vinyl plush doll pendant from ‘The Monsters’ Fall in Wild series as a bag charm.
Source: Teen Vogue
Pop Mart International’s head of strategic partnerships Kevin Zhang said to Tatler Asia that this sparked a “buying frenzy in Thailand”.
Among the interested buyers were local celebrities and key opinion leaders. Even the Thai Royal Family and senators were involved.
Source: Bangkok Post
Perhaps it’s not too surprising then that Singapore’s politicians have also jumped on the Labubu bandwagon.
Brands are following suit, too. Mobile financial platform YouTrip, for instance, recently launched an exclusive Labubu explorer outfit and is giving 100 lucky users a chance to snag it. Six of these winners will also receive a Labubu blind box.
The prices of Labubu dolls differ based on rarity and size.
On Pop Mart Singapore website, a 58cm doll fetches a handsome sum of S$229.90. It is also sold out on the site at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, smaller figurines range from S$11.90 to S$29.90.
But as with most collectible items, there is sizeable resale market — especially for exclusive series.
In June this year, Pop Mart launched the Singapore-exclusive Merlion Labubu keychain at S$37.90. It sold like hotcakes, only for some to be listed on Carousell for hundreds of dollars.
As for the recently “launched” PAP Labubu, it’s likely that the toy will just remain in the private collection of Dr Lam.
Already have a Labubu? Here’s a cute outfit you can dress your furry monster with.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from @landmarkhk on Instagram and Lam Pin Min (蓝彬明) on Facebook.
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