What is KAWS brand?

KAWS brand is a term that some people apply to the pieces produced by the artist KAWS. But technically, KAWS is a person — Brian Donnelly — and not a brand. He creates all kinds of art. There are KAWS figures and toys, sculptures and colorful drawings, paintings and prints that appropriate pop phenomena like the Smurfs, the Simpsons and SpongeBob SquarePants. In 1999, KAWS partnered with Bounty Hunter, a Japanese toy and streetwear brand, to release his first toy. Companion, an eight-inch-tall vinyl reimagining of Mickey Mouse with a skull-and-crossbones head and trademark XX eyes, debuted with a limited run of 500. It sold out quickly. Companion was the first of more than 130 toy designs, which came to include such characters as Chum, Blitz, Be@rbrick, BFF and Milo, each immediately recognizable as KAWS figures by their XX eyes. You will sometimes see people refer to these toys as KAWS brand figurines. Shop a diverse assortment of KAWS art on 1stDibs.