KAWS, Murakami and Art Toys

KAWS

KAWS (Brian Donnelly) started as a New York graffiti artist who painted over bus-shelter ads. His signature character, Companion, is a cartoon figure with X’d-out eyes.

• Collabs with Uniqlo sold out in minutes, and he’s worked with Dior and Nike.
• A giant inflatable Companion floated in Hong Kong’s harbor in 2019.
• He proved a toy could be fine art and fine art could be a toy.

Takashi Murakami

Japanese artist Takashi Murakami calls his style Superflat: bright, flat, anime-inspired art that mixes high and low culture. His smiling rainbow flowers are everywhere.

• He redesigned Louis Vuitton’s monogram in bright colors in the 2000s.
• He made the cover of Kanye West’s Graduation (2007).
• He worked with Billie Eilish on a music video in 2019.

Art toys

Designer toys are limited-edition figures made by artists, sold in blind boxes so you don’t know which one you’ll get. That turns collecting into a game.

• Bearbrick: bear figures in endless collab designs.
• Labubu: Pop Mart’s toothy little monster became a global craze in 2025, clipped to designer bags and resold for wild prices.