The KAWS Bearbrick is one of the most recognized art-inspired vinyl toys, moving from retail shelves to auction rooms and museums. KAWS and Medicom Toy released their first Bearbrick together in 2002, one year after the figure launched. By September 2018, Phillips was selling four-foot KAWS Companion figures for up to $150,000, and in June 2025, a Beijing auction house sold a one-of-a-kind Labubu figure for about $150,000.
Updated October 16, 2026. Prices are reported results from the sources listed, not current valuations. Nothing in this article is investment advice.
Who are the key names in the KAWS Bearbrick story?
The table defines familiar names in the KAWS Bearbrick story.
| Name | What it is | Source |
|---|
| Medicom Toy | Tatsuhiko Akashi founded Tokyo Toymaker in 1996. It makes Bearbrick and manufactures many KAWS figures. | Sotheby's, Highsnobiety |
| Bearbrick (BE@RBRICK) | A bear-shaped figure first released in 2001 whose body stays the same while its surface design changes | EPR Bearbrick guide |
| KAWS | Brian Donnelly, an artist born in Jersey City in 1974 | SFMOMA |
| Companion | The X-eyed character KAWS introduced in 1999, made in sizes from hand-held to monumental. | Artsy |
| OriginalFake | A Tokyo brand and store run by KAWS with Medicom Toy from 2006 to 2013 | Highsnobiety, Complex |
| Labubu | A character created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung and sold mainly by Pop Mart | Reuters |
How did the KAWS Bearbrick partnership begin?
The KAWS Bearbrick partnership began in 2002, when KAWS made his first Bearbrick with Medicom Toy, and it continued through at least four more releases over the next decade. Each release kept the bear body while changing its surface. For the format, sizes and prices, see EPR's Bearbrick guide.
| Year | KAWS Bearbrick release | Detail | Source |
|---|
| 2002 | First KAWS Bearbrick | Released a year after Medicom introduced the figure | Artsy |
| 2003 | Chomper, 100% and 400% set | Edition of 500 | Sotheby's |
| 2005 | BBWT | Made of Karimoku wood | Artsy |
| 2008 to 2010 | Dissected Companion | Bearbrick body with one side showing the figure's insides | Artsy |
| 2012 | BBWW Tour | Patterned edition | Artsy |
The Chomper set is the release most collectors point to. Sotheby's describes it as the second KAWS and Medicom collaboration, made in an edition of 500, and credits it with setting the stage for the high-end Bearbrick market.
The model behind it came from Asia. Designer toys began in the mid-1990s with a simple method: take a character children like, make it edgier and more adult, and limit production (according to Artsy's history of designer toys).
What did OriginalFake change for KAWS toys?
OriginalFake gave KAWS a store and brand he controlled, allowing him to release toys, clothing, and editions on his schedule. The brand launched in 2006 with KAWS designs and Medicom Toy manufacturing, and its first release was a replica of KAWS's original Bearbrick, according to Highsnobiety.
The store closed on May 31, 2013, after seven years, according to a notice on Medicom's website reported by Complex.
The lesson for brands is about releasing channels. An artist-run store controls timing, edition size, and launch story, while a third-party retailer controls none of it.
When did auction houses start pricing KAWS toys as art?
By 2018, auction houses were pricing KAWS figures. At the Phillips New Now sale in September 2018, six four-foot Companion figures sold for two to four times their presale estimates, and a brown version reached $150,000 with fees. Two months later, the 23-foot fiberglass Companion Clean Slate sold for more than $1.9 million at a Phillips evening sale.
Amanda Lo Iacono, head of evening sales at Phillips, credited demand in part to "his democratic approach to artmaking." The bronze Companion (Passing Through) from 2011 sold for $836,000 at Phillips New York in November 2019.
Currently, Sotheby's online marketplace lists ten black KAWS and Medicom Companion figures for $12,000. In June 2026, Los Angeles Modern Auctions sold a 2009 Four Foot Dissected Companion (Black) for $28,160, within its estimate. Medicom Toy made that figure in a 100-piece edition.
How do museums present KAWS toys?
Museums display KAWS toys alongside his paintings and bronzes. The Brooklyn Museum's 2021 survey KAWS: WHAT PARTY included smaller collectibles among more than 100 works, alongside graffiti drawings, paintings, and large Companion installations.
The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) set an early example. It added Kidrobot's Dunny and Munny toys to its permanent collection in 2008, according to Artsy. In May 2017, its Design Store sold 11-inch KAWS Companion figures for $200 each, and the demand crashed the store's website, Artsy reported. EPR's profile of Kidrobot's boutique toy model covers that company's history.
The museum store has become part of the exhibition. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art ran KAWS: FAMILY from November 15, 2025, to May 3, 2026, with a pop-up store offering exclusive toy drops. SFMOMA said the free KAWS: HOLIDAY inflatable installations had drawn more than 20 million people worldwide. In May 2026, the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum installed SHELTER, a 14-foot bronze of two Companion figures commissioned for its sculpture garden, Washingtonian reported.
What does the toy-to-art price ladder look like?
The toy-to-art price ladder is EPR's name for one character sold at every price level, from a $15 Uniqlo T-shirt, per StockX, to a $14.8 million painting, per Artnet News.
| Rung | KAWS example | Reported price | Source |
|---|
| Retail collaboration | KAWS x Uniqlo T-shirt, June 2019 | $15 retail | StockX |
| Open-edition vinyl | 11-inch Companion, MoMA Design Store, 2017 | $200 | Artsy |
| Limited Bearbrick | Chomper set, 2003 | Edition of 500 | Sotheby's |
| Large limited vinyl | Four Foot Dissected Companion, edition of 100 | $28,160 (June 2026) | LA Modern Auctions |
| Large vinyl at auction | Four-foot Companion, brown | $150,000 (September 2018) | Artsy |
| Bronze sculpture | Companion (Passing Through), 2011 | $836,000 (November 2019) | Artsy |
| Painting | The KAWS Album, 2005 | $14.8 million (April 2019) | Artnet News, via EPR |
Each rung sells to a different buyer, and each one advertises the others.
A low-priced shirt teaches millions of people to recognize the X eyes, and a record auction result gives that shirt a story to tell. EPR's KAWS artist profile and auction record cover the painting market in detail.
Is Labubu repeating the KAWS Bearbrick path?
Labubu was given its first dedicated auction about a decade after Kasing Lung created it, while KAWS's Companion took roughly two decades to go from its 1999 debut to the 2018 Phillips results. On June 10, 2025, Yongle International Auction in Beijing held what Reuters called the first auction dedicated to Labubu, and a 131-centimeter mint green figure sold for 1.08 million yuan, about $150,000, Reuters reported.
The Reuters report also shows the edition logic at work. A "Three Wise Labubu" set, limited to 120 sets in 2017, sold for 510,000 yuan at Yongle, and another sold for HK$203,200 at Sotheby's in Hong Kong. Labubu blind boxes in Pop Mart stores start at around 50 yuan, so the ladder runs from pocket money to six figures, as it does for KAWS.
New characters face similar questions about edition sizes, authenticity, and cooling demand. EPR's analysis of how collectibles brands burned trust covers what goes wrong when those questions go unanswered.
What risks arise when toys are priced like art?
The main risks are falling prices, weak provenance or proof of authenticity, and shifting scarcity claims, and each has an example in the KAWS market.
Prices can fall. ArtLife Gallery, a Miami dealer that sells KAWS work, writes that top KAWS prices fell after 2019 and have stayed down. Citing Artprice, ArtLife reports that a monumental KAWS sculpture sold for $371,500 in Tokyo in May 2025, against $1.5 million for a comparable piece at Phillips in 2019.
Proof is thin on the low end. ArtLife notes that editioned KAWS toys often ship without signatures or certificates, so the box, receipt, and ownership history serve as proof.
Scarcity claims consistently change. KAWS announced the June 2019 Uniqlo collection as his last with the retailer. Uniqlo then released KAWS collections in 2021, 2023, and 2024 and named him its first artist-in-residence in September 2025.
EPR's reading is that buyers price a "final" label into what they pay, so a brand that uses the word should be ready to explain any return.
What can brands copy from the KAWS Bearbrick model?
Brands can copy six moves from the KAWS Bearbrick model, each with a documented example and a cost.
| Move | KAWS example | Why it works | Risk |
|---|
| Partner with an existing format | KAWS on Medicom's Bearbrick, 2002 | The format brings its collectors; the artist brings new ones | The format owner controls production |
| State the edition size | Chomper set, edition of 500 | Buyers can judge scarcity for themselves | Unstated sizes leave prices to rumor |
| Own a release channel | OriginalFake store, 2006 to 2013 | The brand controls timing and the launch story | A store carries rent and staff costs |
| Sell at several price points | $15 shirt to $836,000 bronze | Low-priced items recruit buyers for higher rungs | Too much low-end supply dilutes the top |
| Put the character in public | KAWS: HOLIDAY inflatables | Free viewing produces photos and shares. | Large installations are costly one-off builds |
| Earn museum context | Brooklyn 2021, SFMOMA 2025, Hirshhorn 2026 | Coverage moves from shopping pages to arts pages | Museums choose; a brand cannot buy the result |
Who handles PR for artist collaborations and collectibles?
An artist collaboration or collectibles line needs a communications partner who understands edition sizes, authentication, and collector communities, as well as museum and arts press. EPR's guide to art PR covers the culture and commerce side, while its explainer on what a collectibles PR agency does focuses on drops and authenticity. Disclosure: Everything-PR News, LLC and 5W AI Communications share a common ownership group, and Everything-PR's editorial team makes its own editorial decisions. 5W runs a collectibles PR and digital marketing practice for brands in this category.
