5 of Some of the Most Expensive Bearbricks in the World
5 of Some of the Most Expensive Bearbricks in the World The world of streetwear doesn’t just encompass sneakers and apparel. Any streetwear aficionado will tell you there’s another world beyond wearables. Just look at brands like Supreme or Stussy. They sell not only clothing but also their own co-signed hardware, skate decks and accessories (anyone remember the Supreme brick?). But that’s a topic on its own. Instead, we will be diving into the topic of Medicom’s Bearbrick (Be@rbrick to those who want to be precise), figurines that you may have seen lined up nicely on shelves on your Instagram’s Discover feed.
Bearbricks first made its debut in the figurine scene back in 2001 and each one produced and designed in Japan. Highly coveted among streetwear enthusiasts and art collectors, Bearbricks come in various sizes from 100% to 1000%. For those who don’t know, 1000% is the largest at 70cm while the 100% is the smallest at 5cm. Since we are talking about the most expensive, we will only be mentioning the 1000% only because it makes sense, right? After all, size does matter.
5. Karimoku Bearbrick 1000% (2018)
You are probably wondering, “Who the heck is Karimoku? !” One of the more frequent collaborators with Medicom, Karimoku is a Japanese wood furniture company that’s been around for 80 years and the Bearbricks produced in their collaboration is fully made from beautifully, hand-crafted wood. This particular version was made of walnut wood and had horizontal stripes with different shades of brown. Retail was $5,380 but according to StockX, this was sold at $13,000 with the lowest ask at $22,000. If you think this is expensive, wait till you see the others on the list.
4. Swarovski x colette Bearbrick 1000% (2009)
These figurines were only available in 2 sizes: 400% and 1000%. First previewed at colette Paris for their Swarovski Exhibition and part of colette’s ‘White Crystal Christmas’, it retailed for a whopping $22,180. Some of you may be aware that they released a 400% model back in 2018 but everyone knows the first release is usually the more coveted one. The 2009 figurines are hard to come by whether through 3rd party sellers or auctions so if you ever see one and you have a HUGE wallet, you’d better grab that opportunity.
3. The Contemporary Fix x SENSE Stainless Steel Bearbrick 1000% (2009)
Also from 2009, No.3 in this list is this metallic figurine. Coming in at a hefty weight of 14kgs and made of stainless steel, retail for this was £34,000 or approximately $58,000 back in 2009. Born from the collective minds of boutique The Contemporary Fix and SENSE Magazine and also made to commemorate SENSE’s 9th anniversary, this figurine is highly sought after by die-hard Bearbrick collectors. Beware of the after-sale prices, you have been warned
2. Yue Minjun ‘Qiu Tu’ 1000% Bearbrick (2008)
Back in 2008, this Bearbrick was created to celebrate Chinese artists by Yue Minjun and used his signature art form. The figurine with it’s wide open gaping mouth and cheerful demeanour is a depiction of Minjun’s artwork of himself with the expression of frozen laughter. Yue Minjun of the most famous artists to hail from China, which no doubt contributed to the sky-high price this Bearbrick fetched. It was auctioned off for a crazy price of $160,000 and remains one of the most expensive Bearbricks ever sold.
1. Coco Chanel Bearbrick 1000% (2006)
Proving that high fashion and streetwear have collaborated way back before a certain collaboration (ahem, Supreme x LV), this figurine was originally used at Chanel window displays before becoming available in 2007 for the ‘Love Is Big, Love is Bearbrick’ charity event in aid of the Hong Kong Blood Cancer Foundation. Signature Chanel can be seen all over the figurine such as the tweed black suit, Camellia flower and pearls. Designed by the late Karl Lagerfield, only 1000 of these Bearbricks were ever made and the asking price on StockX is currently (at this time of writing) at $250,000! Definitely a holy grail worthy for the collectors.