The hottest party in New York right now? Labubu raves.

Labubus are small, grinning plush gremlin toys that originated in Hong Kong and are sold by a Chinese company for about $28 a pop. They’ve also become the guests of honor at some of New York’s hottest new raves.

At these parties, typically held from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. at East Williamsburg’s Brooklyn Monarch, hundreds of young adults flock to the dance floor for Labubu mystery unboxing giveaways, a dance party with a host of DJs or a show featuring a K-Pop dance crew. A recent rave in June attracted 800 people.

Many young people clip the Labubus to their pants, carabiner-style, to show off their most impressive scores.

“It kind of blew up,” admitted Jacketta Collins, 30, who founded the raves and owns a Labubu collection herself. She said she has so many she’s lost count.

Attendees also have the opportunity to purchase collector’s items — which describes basically any Labubu, since they are sold in drops. Previous Labubu collections include the “Wacky Mart” series, which are convenience store-themed dolls, or the “Big Into Energy” series, where each Labubu represents an emotion like happiness or love.

Although the toys have baseline prices at Pop Mart, their resale prices can surge much higher. One Labubu recently sold for $150,000.

Labubus surged in popularity late last year when New Yorkers began sharing their tips and tricks on how to acquire the best, most collectable dolls. One girl even posted a viral TikTok buying one in a bodega. They’re sold in “surprise boxes,” meaning buyers don’t know exactly which toy they’ll get. Fans say that’s part of the fun.

They’ve since become one of the city’s biggest trends. Step onto any subway platform and you’ll see one of the smirking figures dangling from a purse or clipped to a backpack — unless of course, you’re seeing a Lafufu, which is a fake Labubu.

In the last few months, there’s been a Labubu Pride event at Bushwick’s 9 Bob Note, a Labubu link-up in Washington Square Park, a Labubu paint-and-sip night, an ice cream social and more.

Collins said she never expected how quickly her love of Labubus would evolve into a source of community. She said there have been three raves so far at Brooklyn Monarch, a staple of the nightlife scene in East Williamsburg. She said she hopes the next party sells out the 1,200-person venue.

Still, not everyone sees the Labubus as simple fun. Some macroeconomists and sustainability organizations have denounced the “Labubu fever.” One economist from the Bank of China wrote on LinkedIn that “with emotional connection comes ethical responsibility,” and that they “can promote compulsive buying behaviour.”

Collins knows that some view Labubus as mere consumerism, but she said their appeal goes deeper than that: People are longing for a more lighthearted and carefree time.

“If you think about a lot of the nostalgic toys that you collected Beanie Babies or Furby dolls," she said. "I think there’s always going to be some cute little thing to kind of make you forget about life around you.”

This isn't the first doll craze, notes Joshua Fogel, a marketing professor at Brooklyn College. He cited previous crazes for Cabbage Patch dolls, Tickle Me Elmos and Hatchimals.

But Fogel said there's a difference with Labubus.

“People can still be recovering from the psychological trauma of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “It is possible that this community seeking for Labubu is a way to address some of these post-traumatic issues by finding a way to be part of a community.”

Emily Balcetis, a psychology professor at New York University, agreed the toys are tapping into a yearning among many of their fans.

“Great marketing helps, but marketing alone can’t manufacture this kind of cultural energy,” she wrote in an email.

“Humans are wired to seek social identity and group belonging,” Balcetis added. “Owning Labubu dolls — especially rarer editions — becomes a way to signal taste, status, and membership in a distinct community. When people find others who ‘get it,’ it cements a shared identity.”

Dr. David Bosch, a psychology professor at New York University, has spoken at length about Labubus and their impact on helping young people cope with anxiety. In many ways, he said, opening an unpredictable mystery box out of your own accord gives you a sense of stability, autonomy and control over a surprise you choose — unlike being subject to the unpredictability of reality in 2025.

Collins described herself as thriving in the Venn Diagram “overlap” between Labubu-lovers and Brooklyn party people.

“In a sense with both, you’re going back to a time that was nostalgic, fun, lighthearted with minimal risk, like your childhood,” she said. “I think that's where you have that beautiful overlap.”