It’s 3 a.m. on Paris’ Champs-Elysees, where drizzle dims the streetlights. Hundreds of meters of queue wind along the avenue—young people in overcoats clutch coffee, eyes fixed on the sharp-toothed “little monsters” in the window. This is the scene of a Labubu limited edition sale by Chinese hip toy brand Bubble Mart in France. The same drama unfolds worldwide: Fans queue all night on London’s Oxford Street, causing chaos that halts sales. Tokyo’s Harajuku store sells out in seven minutes, while Bangkok malls become the only venues requiring full museum-style crowd control. What is Labubu and what so special about...
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