On Sunday afternoon at RedBird mall in Dallas, North Texans sipped on matchas and purchased labubus as the viral song “Golden” from Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters blasted during a Labubu Festival.
The event, the third of its kind, shows North Texans’ love for the plush dolls has reached a fever pitch. In recent months, there have been dozens of labubu-themed events in North Texas from raves to markets and cake-decorating classes.
Inspired by Nordic mythology, the collectible labubu dolls sold by Chinese toy company PopMart have garnered a cultlike following with many crediting Blackpink’s Lisa for its rise after she featured the toys on her social media last year. Now, labubus have a host of celebrity fans including Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and tennis star Naomi Osaka who at the U.S. Open in the past few weeks debuted blinged out tennis-themed labubu dolls including “Billie Jean Bling.”
Tram Nguyen, 33, was a vendor at Sunday’s Labubu Festival in Dallas where she sold hand-crocheted hats and bags to accessorize labubus. She said she makes several hundred dollars at each festival with her most popular item being a hat and bag combo for $15.
Nguyen, who lives in Carrollton, said she’s noticed labubu dolls seem to have a universal appeal regardless of age.
“It's everyone, like it's so surprising,” she said. “You have kids that are like 5-years old up to people that are in their 40s and 50s collecting these labubus.”
That’s something that resonates with 51-year-old Arlington resident Roni West whose son Zaytoven, 33, bought her a mini labubu keychain. Back at home, she also has a large Zimomo labubu on a stand next to her TV.
For her, there’s something nostalgic about labubus which remind her of the monchhichis, Japanese stuffed monkey toys, that were popular in the 70s and 80s.
“This is me telling my age, but I remember the monchhichis. And I guess this is just a newer trend of the monchhichis upgraded. So I'm just happy with the colors and color scheme of it all,” she said.
She attended a previous labubu festival earlier this year and plans on attending more in the future. West said part of the reason she attends festivals is because she trusts that vendors are selling authentic labubus and not lafufus, cheaper dupes of the toy, which have also become a lucrative market.
“It wasn't me who did, but I did have a friend who picked up one. And I was like, ‘nah, man that's not real.’ So yeah, it happens,” she said.
Fourth grader Diana Medrano, 9, walked around the festival with her parents and cousin on the hunt for her second authentic labubu. She couldn’t contain her excitement for the furry dolls, which she started collecting after a friend brought one to school.
“I kind of love having labubus,” she said. “One of my brothers always says they're kind of like creepy for him, but I just said they're kinda cute for me. They’re cute and you can dress them up!”
That’s exactly what she did to the blue sea salt coconut macaron labubu hanging from her purse. She put a hot pink bracelet around its little waist to match the ruffles on her flamingo-themed shirt.
Other festivalgoers like Gen Zers Elaine Wong, 25, and Maddie Reyna, 25, came to look at labubus but also to sell off some of their collections.
Part of the appeal of labubus is the suspense of opening up a blind box and not knowing what’ll be inside. But that also creates surpluses for collectors who can end up with multiple of the same kind.
Reyna said she wants to sell her sesame bean and toffee labubus from the macaron series.
“I am trying to sell two of them just because … I just want the ones that I want but I don't need all the series and all the types of them,” she said.
Though labubus at the festival ranged from about $50 to $400, Wong said buying labubus is well worth it.
“They are expensive, but so is like paying for a meal. It's temporary joy. I want to spend the money how I want and this is what I choose to do with it,” she said.
Wong said there’s something freeing about doing what she wants with her adult money.
“I loved plushes when I was younger and this is kind of like healing my inner childhood by being able to purchase them with money that I wasn't able to as a kid if you were turned down by your parents.”
For many North Texans, whether they’re actually kids or just kids at heart, that seems to be the draw of the quirky-looking fluffy dolls with gnashing teeth.
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