How long has it been since we last loved something for a long time?
How long has it been since we last cherished something for a prolonged period?
In this fast-consumption era where attention spans are drastically shortened and aesthetic dividends vanish in the blink of an eye, the depreciation rate of novelty is astonishingly rapid. Swapping a new phone, diving into a new fandom, or binge-watching several short videos, our attention gets fragmented completely in no time, making even fondness feel fleeting and rushed.
Yet in this lively yet forgetful environment, there exists an unexpected exception — a silent trendy figurine that never even smiles has been quietly adored by people for a full two decades.
Why are people of all ages and backgrounds willing to form emotional bonds with her? Why does she seem slightly different in everyone's eyes, yet make everyone feel she has always been by their side?
With these questions in mind, let's look back together at the 20-year journey of MOLLY, this iconic trendy figurine.
The Unapologetic "Non-Conformity" That Defies Labels
The exhibition hall at Beijing's 798 Art District is more crowded than expected.
Take a closer look at the crowd of visitors, and you'll find they come from vastly different worlds: a grandma in her 60s, dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt, looking incredibly stylish, has been a fan of MOLLY for over a decade. Upon entering the exhibition, the works that catch her eye the most are the collaborative pieces between MOLLY and artists from various fields. When she spots the intangible cultural heritage Shu-embroidered MOLLY, she follows the docent to search for the tiny mole on MOLLY's face; when she sees the ceramic MOLLY displayed as a decoration in the hall, she can't help but exclaim to the guide: "This is beautiful! So much material must have gone into making this merchandise!"
In her eyes, this little girl with tightly pursed lips is not some fleeting trend exclusive to young people, but rather a kindred spirit who can engage in spiritual conversations with her and refuses to be defined by age.
The Intangible Cultural Heritage Shu-embroidered MOLLY
There are also two girls who flew all the way from Thailand to Beijing specifically for this exhibition. They don't speak Chinese, yet they enthusiastically repeat the "birthday wishes for MOLLY" after the guide to collect stickers, and mimic MOLLY's classic expression of biting her lower lip to show their affection for her.
They hold up their phones the entire time to record every detail of the exhibition, stopping to take photos repeatedly and discuss the pieces they love. Language never became a barrier; this little girl biting her lip was enough to make them travel across mountains and oceans to get here.
Most pop culture has its natural "audience boundaries" — be it the youthful memories of a certain generation, the secret code of a specific niche community, or an outlet for a particular emotion. But in front of MOLLY, this pouting little girl, those boundaries no longer hold.
From a tiny ornament on a desk to a cross-niche public art symbol standing tall in the heart of the city, the path she has traveled is longer than many people could have imagined.
The Giant MOLLY Outside the Exhibition
Every year, artist Kenny releases anniversary sculptures, such as Boxing MOLLY symbolizing fighting spirit, the tribute piece "My 1/2", the first-generation SPACE MOLLY, and the Cloud Princess, among others. In June 2021, the MEGA Collection series was launched, successfully breaking into the high-end trendy collectibles market and becoming "the very first collectible for many young people". In January 2025, SPACE MOLLY was carried into space aboard the Ceres-1 launch vehicle. Beyond that, MOLLY has also been featured in art exhibitions, completing cross-disciplinary collaborations with creators from all walks of life; she keeps appearing in people's travels, collections, and daily lives.
What intrigues the public even more is her fanbase. Some have followed her for 20 years, others got to know her when Pop Mart's MOLLY Zodiac series sold out in just 4 seconds in 2016, and even little kids came to the exhibition with their moms, seeing her up close for the first time and deciding to love MOLLY alongside their parents.
New fans and long-time fans stand in the same exhibition hall, looking at the same little girl biting her lower lip. Many visitors told the "TIDE" team that MOLLY feels like their daughter, like their younger selves, or like someone they know. It's hard to put into words, but she just feels familiar.
Perhaps this "hard-to-explain" feeling is where MOLLY's true charm lies.
In real life, every relationship comes with the pressure of self-expression. But in front of her, you don't need to explain your exhaustion, prove your success, or even force a perfunctory smile.
Rather than saying people are gazing at a symbol that has been popular for 20 years, it's more accurate to say that over these two decades, every person who has grown to love her, through her turquoise eyes, has been gazing long and affectionately at their most authentic self; expressing their own uniqueness through her.
This story itself is well worth telling.
Change and Permanence
Few IPs can truly thrive for 20 years. In the business world, trends can be manufactured with capital, but long-lasting connections between people can only be nurtured through companionship and time.
Looking back at MOLLY's growth trajectory, she was no overnight sensation. If you understand where she came from, you will realize that this is essentially a story about "change and constancy".
The story began in the summer of 2006. Designer Kenny Wong attended a children's painting charity event on Victoria Peak, where a little girl with big turquoise eyes and short blonde hair caught his attention: she was so focused while painting, almost oblivious to the world around her, gently biting her lower lip.
This scene instantly touched Kenny, and became the creative inspiration for the original "Little Painter MOLLY".
The Original "Little Painter MOLLY"
Yet for the first three years after her debut, MOLLY was almost completely overlooked. Kenny recalls the first time he brought MOLLY to an exhibition, only one little kid stopped by the shop window to look at her curiously. He said that even that single visitor made him feel deeply moved. Back then, MOLLY was just a niche work circulating within the art circle, far from being seen by the general public.
It wasn't until 2010 that MOLLY met her first significant "friend" in life — Ashin from Mayday visited Kenny's studio in Hong Kong and invited him to collaborate. The moment Ashin walked in, he spread out his palm, with a MOLLY figurine resting quietly in it.
That marked MOLLY's first true breakthrough beyond her niche. Kenny gained 2,000 new followers overnight, and the public realized for the first time: toys could be collected like works of art.
Another turning point that shaped MOLLY's fate came in 2016. Wang Ning, the founder of Pop Mart, ran a poll on Weibo asking fans for their favorite trendy figurine design, and nearly half of the votes went to MOLLY. Wang Ning flew to Hong Kong to meet Kenny, officially kicking off the collaboration between Pop Mart and MOLLY. In August of that year, their first collaborative series, "MOLLY Zodiac", made its debut on Tmall, with 200 pre-ordered figurines selling out completely in just 4 seconds, officially igniting the explosive growth of China's modern trendy collectibles market.
From then on, MOLLY's pace aligned with the times, using her ever-changing appearances to respond to the psychological needs of young people at every milestone.
Over the past 20 years, her looks have been evolving along with the times. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she transformed into an athlete, echoing that era when the whole nation was passionate about sports and believed in dreams. Later, as people began to look up at the stars, she put on a spacesuit and became "SPACE MOLLY". At the age of 5, MOLLY first dreamed of space, and by 2025, MOLLY actually traveled into space aboard the Ceres-1 launch vehicle, becoming the first trendy figurine to enter outer space. In recent years, as more and more young people started talking about emotions and allowing themselves to express anger, the artist launched Angry MOLLY. For the first time, she no longer stood there quietly, but wore her emotions on her face, telling everyone that anger can also be a form of vitality.
MOLLY Traveling Into Space Aboard the Ceres-1 Launch Vehicle
From the underground scene to the spotlight, from a faint glimmer to a defining light of the era, MOLLY's external identities, materials, and sizes have been constantly changing. But if you look closely, whether she appears as the classic little painter holding a palette or the astronaut heading for the stars, her expression of gently biting her lower lip has never changed in 20 years.
This is precisely why people are willing to bring her home again and again.
In the adult world, we face all kinds of workplace dynamics and social relationships every day. To make things go smoothly, we often have to learn to compromise, hold back our tempers, and put on the safest, most neutral smile.
MOLLY's expression represents absolute focus, innate stubbornness, and a rebellious spirit that refuses to cater to the world. And that is exactly the kind of expression adults are no longer allowed to show easily in their daily lives, in the complicated web of workplace and social relationships. The reason people keep loving her, perhaps, is that for 20 years, she has preserved that part of themselves for them.
When people bring her home, placing her on their desk or bedside, they are essentially buying a small corner where no compromise is needed. Seeing that unchanged expression of hers after 20 years makes you realize that the slightly stubborn, yet utterly authentic version of yourself has always been there.
The Long-Lasting Vitality of Sustained Affection
Looking back at MOLLY's 20-year journey, there's an interesting detail: the most core change in her is not the addition of external identities, nor the adjustment of her size, but that she has become less and less like a deliberately designed commodity.
The business world and the market often expect products to be perfect and cater to everyone, but she is deliberately imbued with imperfections and distinct emotions.
At first glance, many people think MOLLY is pouting or throwing a tantrum. But actually, she is biting her lower lip. Kenny explains that this gesture represents absolute focus and unyielding stubbornness.
Yet MOLLY is not just the cold, focused figure. Her personality traits include being afraid of cockroaches, loving chocolate, and daydreaming... These little fears and small joys make her feel like a real friend living in the everyday world. Even last year, she directly wore her "anger" on her face. The 2025 Angry MOLLY series is one of Kenny's favorites. Unlike mindless rage, this "Angry" emotion is interpreted as a fiery vitality, the full dedication to the things you love, and the emotional energy to express yourself sincerely.
Angry MOLLY
From the stubbornness of biting her lip to the anger worn on her face, MOLLY's spectrum of emotions is expanding, but it always revolves around the same core: allowing you to have emotions, allowing you to be imperfect, allowing you to not pretend to be emotionally stable at all times, and allowing you to release your true energy.
Kenny once said a line that has been widely shared by fans: "MOLLY and I are essentially two halves of the same soul." This sentence is the key to understanding MOLLY. She carries the original projection of her creator: stubborn, focused, and unwilling to cater to the world. In a business environment meticulously calculated by various metrics, maintaining this authentic core for 20 years is often more valuable than blindly catering to the market. Over the two decades, MOLLY has taken on countless identities, but Kenny says she is still the same MOLLY he first knew.
This "human touch" that MOLLY possesses comes even more deeply from the fans' unilateral reshaping of her. MOLLY never needs to tell grand, elaborate stories on her own, because the people who bring her home will share their own stories with her.
Fan Sunrise first encountered MOLLY by chance during a shopping trip. Not only did friends say they looked alike, but Sunrise herself felt MOLLY was like another version of herself, eventually even changing her English name to "Molly". For another fan, Junjun, MOLLY serves as a tangible marker of time. The tiny insect-series figurine she bought during her first internship after college is still carefully stored in her bag to this day. Even after moving to a new city and switching jobs, that MOLLY has always been by her side, marking the most crucial milestones of growth in her life.
In these genuine bonds, MOLLY is no longer just a consumer product on the shelf, but a companion who has shared in the journey of life. For 20 years, MOLLY has quietly marked those trivial moments for people, and preserved the pressures and unspoken thoughts that they couldn't even voice to their family and friends.
This is the essence of long-lasting affection.
Many trendy figurines have extremely short lifespans: they blow up through a fleeting gimmick, only to be quickly replaced by new trends. But MOLLY has walked through 20 years, still attracting new fans, because she grows alongside the people of this generation, witnessing the trajectory of their lives together.
When you were 8 years old, you might have loved her for her cute looks and outfits. When you are 28, you might still love her because she has become a source of spiritual comfort in your life. The reasons for loving MOLLY change as you grow older, but the bond between you never breaks — that is the most natural and touching form of long-lasting affection.
