It feels like the whole world is obsessed with Labubus. You can’t walk around a major city like London without spotting countless little grinning monsters dangling off the straps of handbags or clipped to the back of rucksacks. Dodgy street markets are filled with racks of unconvincing fakes (or 'Lafufus’ as they’ve come to be known), and every time you walk past one of manufacturer Pop Mart’s many shops, you’ll inevitably see long queues as shoppers race to get their hands on the originals.
The plush toy’s trademark—slightly creepy—smile is inescapable, but there’s another, less disconcerting face that you might have seen around. Designed in 2006 by Hong Kong creative Kenny Wong, Molly is a child-like mascot with big blue eyes and a playful pouting expression. She was Pop Mart’s top-selling character before the Labubu craze and has appeared in collabs with some of the most prominent pop-culture brands.
