The booming business of Labubu fashion

Every morning, fashion designer Gina Alva wakes up to dozens of orders for her trendy Los Angeles label, Glossy Gems. Recent bestsellers include a baby blue tulle skirt à la Carrie Bradshaw, a bouclé jacket in French tweed and a pair of black twill overalls with gingham trim. Even though her fashion line is only a few months old, Alva is already making “a significant amount” of money from her creations and web content. “This is how I pay my rent,” she says.

But the clothes Alva creates and shares online aren’t for humans. They’re for Labubus.

First created in 2015 by the Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung, Labubus are fuzzy elf toys from the Chinese brand Pop Mart with keychain rings attached. After K-pop superstar Lisa wore one on her Louis Vuitton handbag in 2024, the bobbles became baubles displayed like precious gems on purses and backpacks worldwide.

Labubu dolls on sale at a Pop Mart store in China. (VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

Like Beanie Babies in the ’90s and Pokémon cards in the early 2000s, Labubus are often traded and resold; uncommon ones can go for thousands of dollars. Labubus can also bring new followers and ad revenue to content creators like Sydney Morgan, a popular YouTuber whose Labubu fashion content has nearly a hundred million total views. “When I started dressing them in tiny little clothes, it was the cutest thing ever. And the audience numbers were huge,” she tells Yahoo.

To stoke the demand for Labubu clothing, tiny shops have pivoted their manufacturing model from human-size clothes to doll clothes. At Popmoco’s headquarters in Jiangmen City, China, Labubu designer Jasmine Zhu estimates she sells almost 10,000 handmade Labubu outfits a month, with the most popular styles being “dupes” of Louis Vuitton and Chanel runway looks. “I hear all the time that my customers’ Labubu has a bigger wardrobe than they do!” she tells Yahoo, noting that one repeat buyer in Dubai “bought six custom yoga outfits” just for his doll.

Jennie Lo hears similar stories from her Hong Kong customers at Lizzie & Friends, a brand that pivoted in January from making trendy handbags and claw clips for teens to making tiny Labubu runway outfits that range in price from $3 for a micro coffee cup to $84.99 for designer-inspired ensembles. After handmaking each doll’s tiny plaid skirts and blazers for the first month, Lo tells Yahoo, “the demand was too much. I couldn’t make them all. So I hired some grannies I know in Hong Kong who like to sew. Now they get together and make them while they hang out.”

Lo says her bestselling designs are handmade animal suits, including hand-knit bunny and bear outfits that come with tiny felt purses shaped like stars and flowers. Her own Labubu sits on her desk during work hours, wearing a duck hat.

Actual fashion designers are beginning to play with Labubu style, too. At a Milan fashion show in January for the Shanghai streetwear brand Pronounce, two Labubus sat in the front row wearing custom-made designer jackets and hoodies from the label. Middle Eastern fine jeweler Dayri released 18k gold charm necklaces in June.

On June 30, designer Marc Jacobs received his first Labubu from makeup artist Pat McGrath to celebrate his Spring 2026 collection. He broadcast the Labubu debut-bu on his social media channels, leading to industry speculation that Marc x Labubu merch was coming for fall. The official word from the brand? “Nothing solid planned, although it could be in the future.”

Celebrity-beloved cashmere line Lingua Franca recently released social media sketches of tiny Labubu sweaters embroidered with “Choose Love” and “Give a Damn” in linen thread. Even though they haven’t been made, customers immediately called the New York City boutique and tried to order them.

“I’ve already spent over $700 on my Labubus wardrobes,” said Morgan, who owns bitty Birkin-like leather bags, Doc Marten boots, and even tiny acrylic nails for the creatures, which she keeps displayed on a large bookshelf in her California film studio. “For someone not to put [Labubus] on a runway during Fashion Week would be a serious missed opportunity. We’d all want real designer Labubu clothes.”

Why is there nearly as much frenzy for a Balenciaga Labubu bag as the real deal?

Zhu suspects the allure around these bozo wardrobes is about wish fulfillment. “A lot of customers tell me they see Labubu as a version of themselves, so dressing it up feels like styling their own mini me,” she says.

For California fashion designer Alva, there’s also a bit of meditation involved. “You put on the tiny clothes, the tiny shoes, the tiny bag. It’s very calming. It’s like a nice little ritual,” she says.

Labubu fashion also helps K-pop fans plug more deeply into fan communities, according to both Lo and Zhu. After the 2025 Met Gala, Zhu created mini versions of the Saint Laurent couture dresses worn by Blackpink stars Lisa and Jennie. The process, she says, was “intricate” but worth it: Both looks sold out in less than an hour.

In Hong Kong, “a lot of people like to take their Labubus to concerts,” says Lo, whose tiny replicas of G-Dragon’s onstage Chanel fits are regular bestsellers for the brand. “Maybe when Timothée Chalamet wears something great to his next premiere, we’ll make a Labubu outfit for him, too!”

Chalamet hasn’t been spotted Labubu-ing yet (sorry) but Lady Gaga has entered the doll design chat.

In July, stylist and artist Marko Monroe was commissioned to create a little monster for the Mother Monster, honoring her recent “Mayhem Ball” concert tour, with a red velvet gown, solid gold buttons, tiny combat boots and a styled black wig.

Monroe frequently creates custom pieces for concert tours and music videos; he began creating Labubu couture in January as creative work dried up due to tariff fears, and later, the L.A. wildfires. “The industry got really slow for all of us,” the L.A.-based artist tells Yahoo. “At the same time, my partner, Hunter, came home with a Labubu. I said, ‘What is that?’ And I got inspired.’”

Word spread via Instagram, and soon Monroe’s celebrity clientele and their fans began placing custom orders. “They want owl and deer costumes. They want tiny Marc Jacobs handbags. Everyone’s just looking for a little bit more joy in their lives. And it’s given me back some joy, too. They’re actually really fun to make!” he says.

This month, Monroe created custom Labubus for Jenna Ortega and Catherine Zeta-Jones; they were commissioned by Netflix as premiere gifts Wednesday Season 2, and dressed in mini-versions of Colleen Atwood’s Emmy-winning costumes, including an itty Cousin Itt made with a 3D printer.

“I know this trend won’t last forever,” says Monroe. “But right now, it’s definitely helped my business pick back up. It’s also a little like pop art — people can’t own a Chanel bag. But they can own a Labubu bag. To me, that’s very cool.”

Alva from Glossy Gems has a similar plan. “I heard Pop Mart is making mini Labubus in China that are getting crazy popular,” she said. “So I started trying to design even smaller clothing and accessories for them. The mini charms, they’re going to be such a big deal.”

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