They’re everywhere: You see them in the subway, on the streets, all over your social media feeds, and even in our street style galleries. They’re at the US Open with Naomi Osaka and on tour with pop superstar Lisa. From high-brow fashion folk to your colleagues’ toddlers and even your adult friends themselves—everyone’s succumbed to the beguiling, mischievous little creature known as Labubu, the monster toy popularized as a bag charm earlier this year. Now, you can find Labubu not just hanging from your accessories, but on the accessories themselves: Labubu creator Kasing Lung has partnered with French luxury trunkmaker Moynat to release a special capsule collection.
For those new to the Labubu craze—the creature has been something of a cult figure in Asia for a few years now—here’s one thing you should know: Labubu has siblings. Inspired by Nordic folklore, Lung created the character 10 years ago in 2015 with a trilogy of books under the franchise Monsters, which eventually gave way to an entire universe of products, from books and prints to toys and figurines, including the beloved Labubu figurines that have become so omnipresent these days.
“I will tell you, I never imagined that this would happen,” offered Lung, calling in from Hong Kong, about the ongoing Labubu craze. “The starting point of The Monsters was the story, I wanted to make a picture book about different kinds of monsters, my fans loved it, and then year after year it became more serious,” he said. “But what’s most important to me is that the project is about storytelling, that is what I’m working on with Moynat as well, about telling a story. I like to have my paintings on the bags because I want to tell stories with my painting.”
The capsule features Labubu and its siblings, Zimomo and King Mon, all on black monogram coated canvas tote bags and mini trunks. They also appear as all-over prints on leather handbags and two passport holders. Labubu specifically turns up exclusively on the small leather goods, primarily on colorful bag charms that see him rendered with the Moynat monogram all over its body.
The partnership with Moynat marks the first time Lung has opened up The Monsters to a Western luxury label. (Pronounce, the independent Shanghai-based label, has an ongoing collaboration with PopMart and Labubu—as I write this I can see a purple edition of the toy hanging from a colleague’s handbag at the Vogue offices.) “My fans, everyday they leave a message on Instagram or [via] email asking about The Monsters,” Lung said. “The question they ask the most is when we were working with a luxury brand.”
The capsule is being announced today, but will become available from October 11 in Shanghai. It will then embark on a world tour, landing in Paris during Art Basel from October 21st with further stops in Taipei in November and Hong Kong in December. It will then arrive in the US in early 2025. Did you think that the Moynat Labubu would be easier to get than the perennially sold-out figurine? Think again!
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