EXCLUSIVE: Moynat Unveils Latest Collaboration With Labubu’s Creator Kasing Lung

PARIS – Moynat, the LVMH Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy-owned luxury handbag maker, on Tuesday will unveil the latest installment of its collaboration with Labubu‘s creator Kasing Lung, WWD can exclusively reveal.

The new limited-edition range features more of Moynat’s signature M Canvas styles, including Mini 48h and tote bags in small, medium, and large sizes – available in black, blue, green, orange, red, and yellow – as well as cardholders, passport covers, and charms bearing motifs of Lung’s popular characters Labubu, Zimomo, and King Mon from “The Monsters” series.

The new capsule will launch in select Moynat boutiques globally from Feb. 6, just in time for the upcoming Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day.

For the latest batch, the brand conscripted an eclectic cast of celebrities, including Brooke Shields, Angela Bassett, Fran Drescher, Lucy Liu, and Martha Stewart, as well as Grace Burns, Jordan Clarkson, and Selah. Chinese photographer Theo Liu shot the high-spirited images.

Moynat announced its collaboration with Lung last September with a campaign starring Michelle Yeoh and Tony Leung, and debuted its first drop the following month in Shanghai, in tandem with the kickoff of the 10th anniversary exhibition for the Monsters series, which drew the attention of local and global visitors, including Apple’s chief executive officer Tim Cook.

The exhibition included nearly 300 of the artist’s unpublished manuscripts and original artworks presented to the public for the first time.

It also featured a 6-meter-tall King Mon 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.

Following more stops in Taipei and Hong Kong, it’s understood that the exhibition will travel to more global destinations, including Paris, this year.

Lung’s tie-up with Moynat has recevied postive feedbacks from Labubu fans, as well as Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH, who stopped by the launch event during Art Basel Paris.

In an earlier interview, Lung said many people have been asking when he might do a luxury collaboration — and Moynat was a top target.

In 2024, he alighted upon Moynat’s capsule collection with renowned Japanese graphic designer and printmaker Kazumasa Nagai, and marveled how nearly every hair of Nagai’s quirky cartoon animals was discernible on luggage tags and card wallets.

“The reason I accepted is because they are making such high-quality products, made by hand like my paintings. I think it’s very matching,” he told WWD.

His collaboration with Moynat marks the first time Lung’s artwork has appeared on leather goods, and he confessed he could never in his wildest dreams have imagined a collaboration with a top French luxury house.

“I love storytelling,” Lung stressed. “The ‘Monsters’ series is storytelling. My art is storytelling, the project with Moynat is storytelling. All my picture books and figurines are storytelling.”

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 in 2025 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 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.”