Labubu: the 'creepy' dolls sparking brawls in the shops

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Tiny, toothy and mischievous, a peculiar-looking doll is taking the world by storm and causing chaos among shoppers across the UK.

Labubu is a “wildly popular keyring doll” that resembles a “crossover between a creature from ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ and an evil Teletubby”, said The Independent. Whether this doll is cute, cursed or “well… a little bit scary” remains a matter of personal opinion. But thousands of adoring fans will do anything to get their hands on one.

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‘Eagerly stocking up’

The first Labubu dolls were designed by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung, who created a “whimsical and slightly eerie cast of characters” as part of his “Monsters” picture book series in 2015, said Mashable. The “turning point” came in 2019, when Lung struck a deal with Chinese toy “powerhouse” Pop Mart to turn his Nordic mythology-inspired designs into “wildly collectible designer toys”.

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Labubu dolls are the latest product to emerge from the explosion of the adult toy market during the pandemic, when people began “chasing nostalgia” and the joys of childhood, said The Times. The toys became a viral sensation in April last year when Lalisa Manobal, a member of K-pop sensations Blackpink, shared a photo of herself posing with a Labubu doll and “single-handedly launched a Gen Z global fixation with the cuddly monster”.

‘Mass brawl’

But if you’re hoping to get your hands on one, it’s likely to be a “battlefield”, said the Daily Mail. The furry toys are so “must-have”, a “mass brawl” recently broke out the Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, east London. Video footage showed “several men hurling punches at one another as security guards and others desperately try to separate them”. In response, Pop Mart announced it would pull the product from its stores across the UK until June, citing “safety issues”.

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