Exhibition - POP MART – The immersive SKULLPANDA experience The Feast Begins comes to Paris

By Mulder, 24 october 2025

The POP MART phenomenon arrives with great fanfare in the French capital. For the very first time, the international collectible toy and entertainment brand is offering an immersive exhibition in Paris dedicated to SKULLPANDA, its iconic character, through the new series “The Feast Begins.” From October 31 to December 23, 2025, visitors to 15 rue du Louvre (Paris 1st arrondissement) will be able to discover a unique artistic universe where everyday objects become expressive creatures. This temporary experience, which is also open in London, marks a major step in POP MART's European expansion and celebrates the meeting of contemporary art, pop culture, and collectible design.

The exhibition “The Feast Begins” goes beyond the simple pleasure of the “blind box” to invite a deeper contemplation of the creative process behind each figurine. Fans will be able to wander through an immersive scenography, explore the secrets of the manufacturing process, interact with visual and photographic devices, and understand the artistic vision of SKULLPANDA, POP MART's true muse. Each creation in the series revisits tableware—knives, forks, plates, and cups—as anthropomorphic entities, each with its own distinct personality. Behind their apparent lightheartedness lies a reflection on everyday life, consumption, and the obsession with beauty in the ordinary. This attention to detail and visual irony have helped transform SKULLPANDA into a global icon of designer toys, a symbol of the intersection of art, fashion, and introspection.

At the official announcement, Peter Shipman, POP MART's European Director, emphasized the importance of this milestone: "The launch of a new series is always a special moment, and the SKULLPANDA series ‘The Feast Begins’ is no exception. Our teams have worked passionately to bring this immersive universe to life, and we are delighted to offer fans the opportunity to discover it, immerse themselves in it, and experience it in a whole new way." This enthusiastic tone reflects POP MART's ambition to anchor its brand in the European cultural landscape by going beyond the realm of simple collectible toys.

Behind this artistic expansion lies a true Chinese success story. Founded in 2010 in Beijing by Wang Ning, POP MART has transformed collectible toys into a generational phenomenon thanks to its concept of “blind boxes”—surprise boxes containing figurines with exclusive designs. Having become a major player in visual entertainment in just a decade, POP MART now has more than 288 stores and 1,800 vending machines (“roboshops”) across China. In 2020, the brand went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a valuation of $7 billion, driven by massive popularity among young adults and collectors.

The brand has built its reputation on a clever mix of rarity and desire. The “blind box” format creates a tension between chance and collection, a mechanism similar to gambling or betting, which fuels fan passion and stimulates the secondary market. This model has transformed purchasing into a cultural act, almost an initiation, as described by the Financial Times, evoking “a new connoisseurship trending among affluent young consumers.” POP MART has also forged prestigious collaborations with Kasing Lung (creator of Labubu), Kenny Wong (Molly), Disney, DC Comics, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Harry Potter, while developing its own artistic universes.

In recent years, SKULLPANDA has become one of the brand's pillars, symbolizing the fusion of fashion, introspection, and experimental design. In 2025, plush toys from this universe grew by 1,200% compared to the previous year, accounting for more than 21% of POP MART's total revenue. This success demonstrates the emotional attachment that these characters have on a generation marked by visual culture and the search for identity through objects. Researchers also refer to a “gamer mentality” and a “herd effect” specific to Millennials and Gen Z, contributing to this international fervor.

This first Parisian exhibition illustrates POP MART's desire to reposition its creations as true works of contemporary art. The Feast Begins experience is intended to be a sensory celebration, but also a reflection on how design transforms our perception of everyday life. Behind the stylized faces of SKULLPANDA, we find a range of human emotions: loneliness, wonder, gluttony, and introspection. It is this subtlety, combined with a keen sense of staging, that makes this exhibition an event not to be missed.

Between art, commerce, and popular culture, POP MART carves out a unique path, blending the rigor of industrial design with the poetry of childhood dreams. Through SKULLPANDA, the Chinese brand is no longer content to simply sell figurines: it invites the public to rethink the boundary between collection and contemplation. Paris, with its taste for art and eccentricity, seems the ideal setting for this “celebration” of the senses and forms, which promises to appeal to the curious as well as to discerning collectors.

Information:
Location: 15 rue du Louvre - Paris 1er
Dates: October 31, 2025, to December 23, 2025

(Source: press release)