Exhibition - The Monsters 10th Anniversary: LABUBU comes to Paris for a retrospective event

By Mulder, 18 february 2026

From March 4 to March 29, 2026, Paris will host a highly symbolic stop on the world tour Monsters by monsters: now and then (The Present and the Future), an exhibition celebrating ten years of The Monsters, the universe imagined by Kasing Lung, a major figure in contemporary designer toys, and promoted internationally by POP MART in collaboration with How2work. Located at 60 Rue de Turenne, in the heart of the Marais, the exhibition promises much more than just a display of figurines: conceived as a narrative journey, it brings together graphic archives, unpublished sketches, and immersive scenography to retrace a decade of creation since the emergence of The Monsters in 2015, a pivotal year in which Kasing Lung published his seminal illustrated books inspired by Norse mythology. After Shanghai, Taipei, and Hong Kong, this Parisian stopover is part of a unique cultural dynamic: that of a city where art, fashion, and collectibles interact freely, an almost natural terrain for LABUBU, the mischievous nine-toothed, pointy-eared “monster” that has become a global icon.

Founded in 2010 in Beijing by Wang Ning, POP MART has gradually redefined the codes of collecting thanks to its blind box model, transforming the act of purchasing into an emotional experience where surprise and rarity intertwine. Long analyzed by the international economic press, the brand has established itself as a key player in the designer toy market, combining original IP and prestigious collaborations. This strategy is fully illustrated by The Monsters, of which LABUBU is the central figure. Introduced in 2015 in the form of figurines via How2work before experiencing a decisive acceleration in 2019 thanks to the partnership with POP MART, LABUBU has seen its status evolve from an illustrated character to a cross-cultural phenomenon.

The Parisian scenography should highlight Kasing Lung's artistic trajectory. Born in 1972 in Hong Kong, raised in Utrecht, and now based in Antwerp, the artist has been developing a hybrid imagination for more than two decades, nourished by European and Asian influences. Winner of the 2003 European Picture Book Competition with Oki, he then turned his attention to designer toys in 2011 with How2work. The Monsters was born from this alchemy between illustrated narration and sculptural materiality. The sketches presented in Paris should reveal this rarely exhibited process: the emotional genesis behind the exaggerated expressions, the tension between gentleness and strangeness, and the paradoxical ugly-cute quality that partly explains the fascination exerted by LABUBU, often described as both disturbing and irresistibly endearing.

Beyond celebration, this Parisian stage acts as a revelation of the changing relationship with cultural objects. Designer toys, long confined to a niche market, now interact with fashion, contemporary art, and even certain social or symbolic practices observed in Asia. LABUBU perfectly illustrates this porosity: figurine, style accessory, talisman for certain audiences, subject of study for researchers analyzing the psychological mechanisms of rarity and compulsive collecting. Paris, a city historically sensitive to visual avant-garde movements and manifesto objects, is thus a fitting setting for this retrospective, which offers a glimpse into the evolution of a creative industry that has become a societal phenomenon.

Practical information:
Dates: March 4 to March 29, 2026
Opening hours: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Address: 60 Rue de Turenne, 75003, Paris
Online ticket office: https://www.popmart.com/fr/exhibit/detail/4vCZ2fjGxq

(Source: press release)