SHANGHAI — Labubu‘s creator Kasing Lung had a busy weekend in Shanghai.

Just before The Monsters 10th anniversary exhibition opened its doors to the public on Sunday, he made a final walkthrough at the venue in Shanghai’s Rockbund, making sure everything was where it should be.

He then doodled next to his portrait, adding all the family members from The Monsters series, which includes the now world-famous Labubu.

Still, despite dominating the global conversation this year, few actually know the full story behind the fluffy figurine with a grin of spikey teeth.

The exhibition, titled “Monsters by Monsters: Now and Then” and co-curated by How2Work and Pop Mart, kick-started its world tour in Shanghai during the local fashion week. It’s aimed at creating a space for visitors to meet all the characters and the story behind them in an immersive setting.

It would be hard to miss the 6-meter-tall Kingmon statue pointing at Shanghai’s landmark Oriental Pearl Tower in the courtyard, a wall made of 1,100 Pop Mart-made Labubu plush dolls, and a wonder room at the end of the tour with all the Labubu-adjacent creations in one place.

But more importantly, the experience is about education, as it showcases Lung’s creative process with close to 300 of Kasing Lung’s unpublished manuscripts and original artwork presented to the public for the first time.

Lung created The Monsters universe in 2015 with other characters such as Mokoko, Spooky, Tycoco, Yaya, Puca, Pippo, Vos, Monster Boy, Pato, and Zimomo, who is the leader of the Labubu clan.

How2work, a design production house in Hong Kong’s Kwun Tong district, manufactures most of the plastic renditions of the characters from The Monsters series. Lung started working with How2work in 2011 as a book illustrator for the release of a series of children’s storybooks and figurines.

In 2019, he signed a licensing agreement with China‘s Pop Mart, and just like most of Pop Mart’s popular toy ranges, the mischievous-looking Labubus became furry plush dolls and blind box collections, meaning the customer receives a random product from a themed series. It often includes standard styles that are revealed on the packaging and hidden styles that are highly sought after by collectors.

The global rise of Labubu this year can be largely attributed to the success of Pop Mart’s third generation of Labubu plush doll blind box series, Big Into Energy, released in April.

Lung told WWD earlier that he was amazed at how Labubu, a “side character” in The Monsters series, has emerged to become a global phenomenon. By his own admission, “the story is really, really dark. It’s not for children, but children can read it.”

The artist said he draws inspiration from Nordic folklore and mythology for his intricately illustrated books, populated by his original characters.

“When I was young, I used to read many comic books, including The Smurfs. In my mind, a Smurf is a monster, but it’s a very cute monster,” said Lung, who was born in Hong Kong and currently lives in Belgium. “And there’s the reason I created Labubu, because I’ve had many inspirations from when I was young, and many inspirations from The Smurfs.”

The Shanghai exhibition, running until Nov. 8, has an online reservation system on WeChat miniprogram and the ticketing platform Damai.

There will also be almost daily drops of rare Labubu collectibles, produced by How2Work, via a raffle system. Two sets of Shanghai-exclusive goodie bags are also on offer. Both come with a black fur Labubu plush doll wearing a T-shirt with the number 10.

Coinciding with the exhibition, Moynat debuted its handbags and small leather goods collaboration with Lung in Shanghai. Lung had said many people have been asking when he might do a luxury collaboration — and Moynat was a top target.

The brand hosted a meet-and-greet at its Pudong IFC store on Sunday afternoon, with a long line forming outside. Fans came with their favorite plush charms and solid figurines and their latest purchase from the collaboration for Lung to sign.

Later in the evening, Moynat hosted a dinner at the Michelin-starred Fu 1015 with friends of the house.

Following traditional Shanghai cuisine, such as braised pork belly with bamboo shoots, deep-fried fish in sweet soy sauce, and soy milk ice cream, with crispy fried dough, Lung patiently signed all the Labubu dolls brought to the table and had prolonged exchanges with the guests.

After Shanghai, Lung and Moynat’s next destination will be Art Basel Paris in two weeks, and the collaboration will be sold at other Moynat boutiques in select cities over the coming months.

At the same time, Lung is working on his next picture book, slated for release in 2026, with a host of new characters inside, and with Labubu getting a big upgrade, becoming the main character at last.