When people ask, “Which celebrity made Labubu original famous?” the name most often associated with the character’s global breakthrough is Lisa from BLACKPINK. Labubu existed years before the worldwide craze, having been created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung in 2015 as part of The Monsters universe. Pop Mart later developed Labubu into collectible products, helping the character build a following among designer-toy enthusiasts. However, Labubu’s enormous mainstream rise accelerated in 2024 when Lisa was repeatedly seen with Labubu charms and shared her enthusiasm for the character. Reuters and other major publications have identified Lisa’s visibility as a major catalyst for the surge, particularly across Southeast Asia.
Labubu Was Already Popular Before Lisa
It is important to understand that Lisa did not create Labubu or make it popular from nothing. The character already had a creative history and a dedicated collector audience. Kasing Lung introduced labubu original through The Monsters, a fantasy-inspired world influenced by folklore, and Pop Mart began developing Labubu collectibles for a wider consumer market. The blind-box format gave collectors a reason to discover different versions and helped establish a community around the character. For several years, Labubu remained largely within the designer-toy and collectible world. Its later explosion into mainstream culture was therefore an acceleration of an existing story rather than the beginning of one. This distinction makes the Labubu phenomenon even more interesting because it shows how a character can spend years developing a foundation before a cultural moment suddenly brings it to millions of new people.
Lisa and the Moment That Changed Everything
Lisa’s connection with Labubu became particularly important because she did not appear to treat the character as an ordinary promotional product. She was seen carrying Labubu charms on her bags and talking enthusiastically about collecting them. Her public interest gave the character an authentic quality that traditional advertising often struggles to create. Fans could see a global music star enjoying the same type of collectible they could buy themselves. That made Labubu feel approachable while simultaneously giving it a fashionable new identity. Sky News reported that Lisa began attaching Labubus to her bags and posting about her boxes in April 2024, while later coverage highlighted her description of Labubu collecting as a personal obsession.
Why Lisa Was Such a Powerful Influence
Lisa was an especially influential figure for Labubu because of her position within BLACKPINK and her enormous international fan base. Her influence extends across music, fashion, beauty, and social media, meaning that something she carries can quickly become part of a larger style conversation. Labubu benefited from that crossover. Before celebrity attention, a small collectible could easily be perceived as something primarily for dedicated toy enthusiasts. After Lisa was seen carrying one as part of her personal style, the character began to look different. It could now function as a bag charm, fashion accessory, and expression of personality. British Vogue described Labubu as a trend that appeared on the handbags of Lisa, Rihanna, and Dua Lipa, illustrating how the character moved rapidly from collectible culture into fashion.
The “Lisa Effect” and Social Media
The effect of Lisa’s visibility was amplified by social media. A celebrity appearance might once have been seen by magazine readers or television viewers, but modern platforms allow a single image or video to be shared repeatedly across countries within minutes. Labubu was particularly suited to this environment because its unusual appearance immediately attracted attention. Fans could see Lisa carrying one, search for the character, discover Pop Mart, and then begin exploring different designs and collections. This created a chain reaction in which celebrity attention produced curiosity, curiosity produced searches, and searches introduced people to the broader world of Labubu. Forbes similarly identified Lisa as one of the most prominent celebrity fans associated with Labubu’s breakthrough, while noting that social media and other celebrities helped the trend spread further.
From K-Pop Culture to Fashion Culture
One of the most important consequences of Lisa’s influence was the way Labubu moved into fashion culture. The character began appearing alongside designer handbags and stylish outfits, creating an unexpected contrast between luxury fashion and a quirky furry monster. That contrast made Labubu visually interesting. A sophisticated handbag carrying a mischievous little creature is more memorable than a conventional accessory because it combines two very different aesthetics. Labubu became a playful interruption to polished fashion. Instead of making an outfit look less fashionable, the character could make it feel more personal and unexpected. This helped establish the idea that collectibles could function as fashion accessories rather than simply objects displayed at home.
Rihanna Helped Push Labubu Further
Although Lisa is widely credited with helping kick-start the modern Labubu craze, she was certainly not the only celebrity who contributed to its expansion. Rihanna became another major name associated with the trend. Her appearance with Labubu helped move the character further into Western celebrity culture. Rihanna’s influence is particularly significant because she is known for combining luxury fashion with unconventional and playful styling choices. Seeing Labubu associated with her reinforced the idea that the character could belong in a high-fashion environment. Reuters and Vogue have both highlighted Rihanna among the celebrities who helped increase Labubu’s global appeal.
Dua Lipa Added Another Layer of Global Attention
Dua Lipa also became part of Labubu’s celebrity story. She was photographed with Labubu charms attached to her handbag, giving the character additional visibility among international music and fashion audiences. Her involvement demonstrated that Labubu’s appeal was not restricted to K-pop fandom. The character could travel between different music communities and still maintain its identity. When Lisa, Rihanna, and Dua Lipa were all associated with Labubu, the character began to look less like a passing niche collectible and more like an international fashion phenomenon. Each celebrity brought a different audience, and together their appearances helped create the impression that Labubu was suddenly everywhere.
Why the Celebrity Connection Worked So Well
Celebrity influence alone cannot explain Labubu’s success. A celebrity can introduce millions of people to a product, but the product needs something memorable enough to keep their attention. Labubu already had that advantage. Its design was unusual, its expressions were recognizable, and its collectible format encouraged people to explore different versions. Once new audiences discovered the character through celebrities, they had a reason to investigate further. Pop Mart’s blind-box system then added another layer of excitement because consumers could experience the anticipation of discovering which design was inside. This combination of celebrity visibility and an engaging product experience created a much stronger effect than a simple advertisement would have produced.
The Power of the Bag Charm
Another key part of Labubu’s celebrity success was the decision to turn the character into a bag charm. A collectible sitting on a shelf can be interesting, but a small figure attached to a handbag becomes visible in everyday life. It travels with the owner and appears naturally in photographs. When celebrities carried Labubu on designer bags, the character became part of their public image. Fans could see it repeatedly in airport photographs, social-media posts, fashion images, and entertainment coverage. The charm format therefore gave Labubu an extraordinary amount of visual exposure. Vogue noted the popularity of Labubu key-ring dolls hanging from the handbags of major celebrities, showing how strongly the character became connected with contemporary accessory culture.
Labubu Became a Symbol of Personal Style
The celebrity trend also changed what Labubu represented. Instead of being viewed only as a collectible, it began to communicate something about the person carrying it. A Labubu could make a luxury handbag look more playful, add personality to an outfit, or show that someone followed current internet culture. This is one reason the trend became especially attractive to younger consumers. Modern fashion is often about mixing unexpected elements rather than following one strict aesthetic. Labubu fits naturally into that philosophy. It can look cute, strange, humorous, fashionable, or rebellious depending on how it is styled. Celebrities demonstrated these possibilities, and ordinary fans began experimenting with their own ways of displaying the character.
Social Media Made Every Celebrity Appearance Bigger
Every celebrity sighting created another opportunity for online conversation. Fans could share photographs, create videos, compare different Labubu designs, and discuss which celebrity had the best styling. TikTok and Instagram helped transform these moments into ongoing content. The more people talked about Labubu, the more recognizable the character became. Forbes reported that celebrity visibility combined with memes and TikTok activity helped push the dolls into viral territory. The result was a feedback loop: celebrities increased visibility, social media increased discussion, discussion increased curiosity, and curiosity increased demand.
Why Lisa Remains the Most Important Celebrity Name
Among all the famous people associated with Labubu, Lisa remains the strongest answer to the question of who made the character famous. Rihanna, Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, David Beckham, and other celebrities helped broaden the trend, but Lisa’s early and highly visible association with Labubu is repeatedly identified as a major turning point. Sky News described her role as central to the craze taking off, while other reporting has similarly called her one of the key figures behind Labubu’s transition into a global phenomenon. Her influence mattered not simply because she was famous, but because she appeared to genuinely enjoy the character. That distinction made the trend feel more natural and gave fans an emotional reason to participate.
The Real Secret Behind Labubu’s Celebrity Success
The deeper lesson behind Labubu celebrity popularity is that the character was ready for a cultural breakthrough. Lisa provided the spark, but the character itself provided the fuel. Labubu already had a distinctive artistic identity, Pop Mart had created an effective collecting system, blind boxes provided excitement, and social media offered the perfect platform for viral discovery. Celebrity attention connected all of these elements together. Without a memorable character, Lisa’s appearance might have created only temporary interest. Without celebrity visibility, Labubu might have remained primarily within the collector community for much longer. The phenomenon emerged because both sides worked together.
Final Thoughts: Lisa and the Labubu Phenomenon
So, which celebrity made Labubu original famous? BLACKPINK’s Lisa is the clearest answer when discussing the character’s modern global breakthrough. She helped transform Labubu from a collectible known mainly within designer-toy circles into a fashionable object recognized around the world. Her bag charms, public enthusiasm, and social-media presence created enormous curiosity, while celebrities such as Rihanna and Dua Lipa helped carry that momentum into broader international fashion culture. But Labubu’s success ultimately belongs to more than one person. Kasing Lung created the character, Pop Mart built the collectible ecosystem, fans created communities, social media amplified the conversation, and celebrities introduced the character to new audiences. Lisa may have helped light the fuse, but Labubu’s distinctive personality gave the world a reason to keep watching. That combination explains why a small, mischievous-looking character became one of the most recognizable collectible sensations of the modern era.
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