Kasing Lung brings Labubu’s Monsters universe to Milan design week with USM

Kasing Lung is taking Labubu out of the blind box lane and into one of design’s biggest stages. At Milan Design Week, the Hong Kong-based artist is teaming up with Swiss modular furniture brand USM on Wonderland of the Monsters, a presentation built around Beautiful Thing!, a collection that includes a limited-edition collectable piece and a special USM furniture line dressed in Lung’s illustrations.

That matters because USM is not treating Labubu like a disposable trend. The brand says Labubu is the most famous collectable in The Monsters, calling it a global icon and a coveted fashion accessory. For collectors, that language is the signal: this is no longer just toy-market heat, but creator-led IP with enough cultural weight to sit inside a serious design fair without feeling out of place.

The installation is listed at Via San Marco 26 in Milan and is set to run during Milan Design Week, with the event shown by Fuorisalone for April 20 to 25, 2026. USM says the presentation will be open daily, putting Lung’s work in front of the steady foot traffic that design week draws across Brera. Dezeen also included the collaboration among its 29 unmissable Milan Design Week highlights, which pushes the project into the mainstream design conversation rather than a niche collectible corner.

The bigger story here is what this says about Labubu’s future. Lung’s monsters have already moved well beyond a single character. The Monsters universe includes Labubu, Spooky, Tycoco, Zimomo and Pato, and USM says the creatures were inspired by Nordic folklore. That backstory gives the line more depth than a typical hype toy, and it is exactly why collaborations like this land with collectors who care about provenance, not just resale.

Labubu’s value has always come from scarcity, but also from the world around it. Kasing Lung’s presence at Milan Design Week suggests the next premium releases may be judged less like toy drops and more like design objects, with display value, artist credibility and cross-category appeal doing as much work as rarity. For serious collectors, that is the lane to watch now.