When people ask which celebrity made Labubu original famous, the name most frequently connected with the character’s international breakout is Lisa from BLACKPINK. Labubu already existed before the K-pop star became associated with it, having been created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung as part of The Monsters universe. Pop Mart had also been developing Labubu as a collectible character for years. However, Lisa’s public enthusiasm and her appearances with Labubu helped introduce the character to a much broader audience. In April 2024, she was seen with a Labubu plush and a matching keychain, and her enormous online following helped turn what had been a niche collectible into a widely discussed fashion and pop-culture item. Reports from Sky News and Reuters have specifically connected Lisa’s visibility with the sharp increase in Labubu’s popularity.
Labubu Was Famous Before the Celebrity Craze
It is important to understand that labubu original did not suddenly appear because of one celebrity. The character was created in 2015 by Kasing Lung and belonged to his fantasy world, The Monsters. Pop Mart later partnered with Lung and began producing Labubu collectibles, including figures sold through the company’s blind-box model. This gave the character an established identity and collector community before it became a mainstream fashion trend. Labubu’s unusual appearance was already an important part of its appeal. Its pointed ears, large eyes, mischievous expression, and toothy grin created a look that was different from the perfectly polished appearance of many conventional cute characters. That distinctive design gave people something visually memorable to recognize and discuss.
Why Lisa’s Connection Became So Powerful
Lisa’s influence came from more than simply being photographed with a toy. As a member of BLACKPINK, she had an enormous international audience spanning music, fashion, beauty, and popular culture. When she showed interest in Labubu, the character was presented in a context that felt different from traditional toy collecting. It could be seen as part of a fashionable lifestyle rather than something intended only for a collector’s shelf. This helped change the way many people perceived the character. Sky News reported that comments on Lisa’s Labubu-related content identified her as an important moment in the craze, while Reuters described her promotion on social media as a major factor in the subsequent buying frenzy, particularly in Thailand and the wider Asian market.
From Collectible Toy to Fashion Accessory
One of the biggest changes in Labubu’s story was the transition from collectible figure to fashion accessory. Lisa and other celebrities were seen attaching Labubu charms to handbags, which gave the character an entirely different cultural position. Instead of being displayed only on a shelf, Labubu could travel with its owner and become part of an outfit. British Vogue highlighted Labubu charms appearing on the handbags of BLACKPINK’s Lisa, Rihanna, and Dua Lipa, illustrating how the character became connected with contemporary fashion. This shift was significant because accessories are highly visible in public. A Labubu attached to a handbag could be photographed, noticed by other people, and shared online, creating another opportunity for the character to spread.
Rihanna Added Another Layer of Global Attention
After Lisa helped push Labubu into a much wider conversation, Rihanna became another highly visible celebrity associated with the character. Her appearance with Labubu helped strengthen the idea that the collectible could exist alongside luxury fashion and celebrity style. This mattered because Rihanna’s influence extends far beyond the traditional toy market. Seeing the character associated with a globally recognized fashion and music figure gave Labubu another cultural context. Reuters has noted Rihanna among the celebrities who helped increase Labubu’s global appeal, while Vogue documented her alongside Lisa and Dua Lipa as prominent names seen with the charms.
Dua Lipa Helped Strengthen the Fashion Connection
Dua Lipa also became associated with the Labubu trend, further demonstrating how the character had moved into the world of fashion and celebrity culture. Reports noted that she was seen carrying Labubu charms toward the end of 2024. Her involvement came after Labubu had already begun attracting significant attention, but it helped reinforce the character’s position as a stylish accessory rather than simply a collectible toy. When several unrelated international celebrities begin using the same character in their own ways, audiences may perceive it as part of a larger cultural movement. Labubu’s appearance across different celebrity styles made the character feel adaptable rather than tied to one particular audience.
Kim Kardashian and Other Famous Faces
The Labubu phenomenon expanded further as additional celebrities were photographed with the character. Kim Kardashian, David Beckham, Madonna, Cher, and other well-known figures have been associated with Labubu in various reports. Their involvement did not create the original breakout in the same way Lisa’s 2024 visibility did, but it contributed to the character’s continued presence in mainstream culture. E! News, for example, lists several major celebrities who were photographed with or posted Labubu-related content after Lisa’s public interest became widely noticed. This growing list of famous names helped make Labubu familiar to audiences who had never previously encountered designer-toy collecting.
Social Media Turned Celebrity Interest Into a Global Trend
Celebrity visibility alone cannot fully explain Labubu’s success. Social media transformed celebrity sightings into content that ordinary fans could immediately share, discuss, imitate, and build upon. A photograph of a celebrity carrying a Labubu could inspire someone to search for the character, while an unboxing video could then introduce that person to the blind-box collecting experience. Each stage reinforced the next. TikTok and other platforms were particularly important because Labubu is highly visual and easy to recognize. Videos of people opening blind boxes created suspense, while photographs of Labubus attached to handbags connected the character with fashion. This combination helped turn celebrity exposure into a participatory trend rather than a simple endorsement.
The Importance of Labubu’s Original Design
Celebrity attention would probably have been less effective if Labubu did not already have a distinctive personality. The character’s appeal comes partly from its unusual combination of cute and mischievous features. Its pointed ears and toothy grin make it instantly recognizable, while its expressive eyes give it a playful appearance. This has allowed people to interpret Labubu in different ways. Some see it as adorable, others find it slightly strange, and many appreciate the contrast between those qualities. That unusual aesthetic also works well in photographs and short videos because Labubu can be recognized quickly even when it appears briefly on screen. The celebrity effect therefore amplified an existing visual identity rather than creating that identity from nothing.
Blind Boxes Made the Craze More Interactive
Pop Mart’s blind-box format added another important ingredient to the story. Instead of knowing exactly which figure is inside a package, buyers discover the design only after opening it. Different releases can contain multiple versions, with some designs being less common than others. This creates an element of surprise and gives collectors reasons to continue exploring different series. Once celebrities made Labubu more visible, people who discovered the character online could easily become interested in the collecting experience itself. Unboxing videos then became part of the online conversation, creating a cycle in which celebrity visibility, consumer curiosity, collecting, and social-media content supported one another. Pop Mart’s role was therefore crucial in transforming interest in a character into an ongoing collectible experience.
Why Lisa Is Often Called the Face of the Labubu Breakout
Among all the celebrities associated with Labubu, Lisa stands out because the timing of her public association with the character coincided with its rapid international rise. South China Morning Post reported that Lisa posted photographs with a Labubu plush and matching keychain in April 2024 and described her influence as helping ignite a global frenzy. Other publications have similarly identified her as an important catalyst in Labubu’s transition from a niche collectible into a mainstream phenomenon. This does not mean Lisa single-handedly created Labubu’s success. The character’s creator, Pop Mart’s commercial strategy, blind-box collecting, social media, fashion culture, and later celebrity appearances all contributed. Lisa’s importance is that her visibility helped connect those existing ingredients with a huge global audience at a particularly important moment.
The Real Story Behind Labubu’s Celebrity Fame
The answer to “Which celebrity made Labubu original famous?” is therefore more nuanced than naming one person. Lisa from BLACKPINK is widely regarded as the celebrity who helped trigger Labubu’s major international breakout, especially through her visible enthusiasm in 2024. Rihanna and Dua Lipa subsequently helped reinforce its fashion credentials, while other celebrities expanded its mainstream visibility. But the character’s success ultimately came from the combination of Kasing Lung’s distinctive creation, Pop Mart’s collectible strategy, blind-box excitement, social-media communities, and celebrity visibility. Labubu was already a developed character before it became a global trend, and celebrity attention acted as an accelerator rather than the sole source of its fame.
Labubu’s Journey From Art to Global Culture
The story of Labubu shows how modern characters can travel through completely different cultural spaces. A character originating in an illustrated fantasy world became a designer collectible, then a blind-box product, then a social-media sensation, and eventually a fashion accessory carried by some of the world’s most recognizable celebrities. Lisa’s involvement helped create a major bridge between those worlds, but the continued popularity of Labubu depends on much more than celebrity photographs. Its recognizable design gives people something memorable, its collectible format creates excitement, and online communities give fans opportunities to participate. That combination explains why Labubu has remained a major subject of conversation well beyond its original niche and why its story is an interesting example of how art, collecting, fashion, celebrity culture, and social media can influence one another.
