Footballers have entered the Labubu Era

Just a few weeks ago, in this article, we talked about how much footballers' style has changed in recent years. They've inevitably opened up to new trends and overseas influences—especially on an aesthetic level—reflecting them in their everyday looks and outfits. Some of them, like Marcus Thuram, Hakan Çalhanoğlu Paul Pogba, and Rodrigo De Paul, are part of a group experimenting with a new style. What do they have in common? All of them have shared a photo on their social media featuring themselves — so to speak — with a Labubu: Thuram and De Paul during their clubs’ U.S. tour for the Club World Cup, and Pogba just a few days before officially announcing his return to professional football with AS Monaco. Joining them is the latest addition, Dele Alli: vacations on Lake Como are long, and there’s plenty of time to dive into new forms of collecting. Unsurprisingly, among the athletes mentioned, Alli is the one with the most diverse Labubu collection so far.

What is Labubu?

The plush toy brand created by Sino-Belgian designer Kasing Lung is growing more popular by the day: from cleaning kits to keep their fur intact, to a new service that helps verify authenticity — a sort of Certilogo, like for Stone Island — Labubu figures are becoming a trend taken very seriously. An object halfway between a collectible and a charm, perfect to attach to your bag (available in various sizes) or simply to keep at home, maybe beside your bed. Several footballers are embracing a far more refined style, moving away from the stereotypical wardrobe of the classic player.

Hypebeast Era 2.0

The discovery of Scandinavian brands (Edoardo Bove, Markus Solbakken, Mads Bistrup, just to name a few) has played a significant role in this slow revolution. But it’s also true that many other footballers don’t want to, can’t, or simply don’t care enough to “give in” to this shift in style. Instead, they prefer to enhance their looks with a Labubu. It’s not exactly shocking, of course, but it’s still quite unusual to see a footballer with a pastel-colored plush toy hanging from their bag. Can we say, in a way, that this trend challenges the stereotypical and traditional image of the footballer? Absolutely. At the same time, we should also acknowledge that collectibles of this kind — which are genuine trends — might pave the way for a Hypebeast Era 2.0: from Bearbricks (which never really made it into the streetstyle world since they weren’t wearable) to Off-White’s industrial belts, even footballers during the first Hypebeast Era showed off eccentric accessories and items. Excess was the key word, and there was a tendency not to minimize any piece or silhouette, as seen with the zip-ties on The Ten by Virgil Abloh.

The rise of the Labubu trend could be a premonitory sign — a kind of teaser announcing the comeback of a new wave of maximalism that’s ready to make headlines again.