What is the KAWS Accomplice figure? Accomplice is a rabbit-eared character created by KAWS (Brian Donnelly) and introduced in 2002, depicted with the artist's signature X-eyes and paws raised in a soft, plush-like pose. Released as a vinyl figure in pink, brown, and white colorways, Accomplice sits among the rarer characters in the KAWS catalog and trades on a documented secondary market alongside Companion and BFF.
A Quick Orientation: Where Accomplice Fits in the KAWS Universe
KAWS, born Brian Donnelly in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1974, built his early reputation through subverted bus-shelter ads and graffiti interventions before pivoting in the late 1990s to vinyl figures. His most recognized character, Companion, debuted in 1999 and became the gravitational center of his collectible practice. Accomplice arrived three years later, in 2002, as part of an expanding cast that would eventually include BFF, Chum, Bendy, Pinocchio, JPP, and Astro Boy reinterpretations.
Where Companion borrows from Mickey Mouse and BFF reads as a furry plush hybrid, Accomplice draws on the rabbit archetype — long ears, soft silhouette, the visual language of a childhood toy reinterpreted with the X-eyed melancholy that defines KAWS's vocabulary. Within the broader Gauntlet Gallery 160,000+ comparable sales database, Accomplice consistently appears as a lower-supply, higher-character-variety entry compared to the artist's flagship releases.
Release History: The 2002 Debut and the Colorway Trilogy
Accomplice was first issued as an 11-inch vinyl figure in 2002 through Medicom Toy, the Tokyo-based manufacturer that has produced the majority of KAWS's collectible vinyl since the early 2000s. The release rolled out across three documented colorways:
| Colorway | Year | Manufacturer | Size | Relative Scarcity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pink | 2002 | Medicom Toy | 11 in / ~28 cm | Most iconic; strong demand |
| Brown | 2002 | Medicom Toy | 11 in / ~28 cm | Quieter market; collector favorite |
| White | 2002 | Medicom Toy | 11 in / ~28 cm | Lowest visible secondary supply |
The pink Accomplice is the version most casually associated with the character — it shows up most often in archival auction catalogs and editorial features — while the brown and white colorways tend to attract dedicated KAWS completists who are building character sets rather than chasing the single recognizable colorway.
The Original Fake Era (2006–2013)
KAWS launched his own retail label, Original Fake, in Tokyo in 2006 in partnership with Medicom Toy. The store operated until 2013, and the Original Fake era is now treated as a closed chapter: anything released through that label exists in a permanently finite pool. Accomplice figures and adjacent character drops that passed through Original Fake distribution carry that closed-era provenance, which the documented secondary market consistently rewards.
Why Accomplice Is Collected
1. Scarcer Than Companion or BFF
Companion has been re-released, re-scaled, and re-colored across dozens of editions — from 4-inch keychains to 16-foot inflatables. BFF, introduced in 2017, benefited from Uniqlo UT collaborations and AllRightsReserved Hong Kong events that pushed the character into mainstream awareness. Accomplice never received that scale of redistribution. Its primary 11-inch vinyl run remains the canonical reference, and supply on the secondary market has not been refreshed by later mass-edition reissues.
2. Character Variety Within a Tightly Curated Catalog
KAWS's catalog is intentionally small. Holding Companion alone tells a partial story; holding Companion, BFF, Chum, and Accomplice together tells the full arc of how KAWS reinterprets archetypal pop characters — mouse, plush, balloon man, rabbit — through a single visual grammar. Accomplice is the rabbit chapter, and serious collectors building character sets treat it as non-substitutable.
3. Closed-Era Provenance
Because the figure originates in 2002 and traces back through Medicom Toy and the Original Fake distribution era, examples in collector-grade condition carry the kind of vintage-of-the-2000s provenance that newer KAWS drops cannot replicate. Time is doing work that no marketing can replace.
The Current Secondary Market for Accomplice
The documented secondary market for Accomplice figures sits in the broader KAWS vinyl tier — below the headline figures (Companion BLACK, KAWSBOB sets) but firmly within the territory that auction houses and verified resale platforms catalog by name. Phillips, Sotheby's, Christie's, Heritage Auctions, and Bonhams have all transacted KAWS vinyl across the last decade, and Accomplice has appeared in those rotations alongside Companion and Chum.
For context on what anchors the upper end of the KAWS market: The KAWS Album, a painting that reinterprets Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band through KAWS's Companion and Chum figures, sold for HK$115.97 million (~US$14.7 million) at Sotheby's Hong Kong in April 2019. That auction reset the institutional ceiling for the artist and pulled valuations across the vinyl secondary up with it.
For Accomplice specifically, condition and completeness are the two variables that move price hardest:
| Condition Tier | What It Means | Market Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Sealed / Unopened | Original Medicom Toy box, factory tape intact, no shelf wear | Top-tier comp; the reference price |
| Opened, Mint Figure + Box | Figure displayed but unhandled; box clean | Marginal discount from sealed |
| Loose Figure, No Box | Figure intact but no original packaging | Significant discount; box matters |
| Damaged / Yellowed Vinyl | UV yellowing on white or pink; paw rubs; sticker loss | Heaviest discount; restoration risk |
White Accomplice in particular is sensitive to UV exposure — the vinyl can yellow over two decades of display — which is one reason sealed white examples carry a disproportionate premium relative to pink and brown.
Authentication: What to Look For
KAWS is one of the most counterfeited living artists. Industry estimates place the fake rate on open marketplaces between 40% and 60% for KAWS vinyl, with reproductions appearing within days of any new drop. For Accomplice, the authentication checkpoints we work through inside the Gauntlet Gallery 160,000+ comparable sales database include:
- Medicom Toy box markings. Original 2002 boxes carry Medicom Toy's standard printing of the era — font, color registration, and barcode placement all have known references.
- Vinyl weight and seam quality. Counterfeits frequently use lighter resin and show visible seam misalignment at the ear and paw joins.
- Paint application on the X-eyes. Genuine Accomplice X-eyes are crisp, evenly weighted, and centered. Fakes commonly show paint bleed or asymmetric strokes.
- Colorway accuracy. The pink, brown, and white colorways have documented Pantone references in the collector community; off-shade examples are a fast disqualifier.
- Provenance chain. Original Fake retail bags, Medicom Toy receipts, and known dealer chains add material confidence; absence is not disqualifying, but it shifts the burden.
For a broader walkthrough of KAWS authentication across characters, see our KAWS Collector Guide.
How Accomplice Fits Into a Collection Strategy
Three buyer profiles tend to acquire Accomplice:
- Character-set collectors who want one of each canonical KAWS figure — Companion, BFF, Chum, Accomplice, JPP — rather than multiples of a single character.
- Vintage KAWS specialists who concentrate on the 1999–2013 Original Fake era and treat post-2013 mass releases as a separate category.
- Aesthetic buyers drawn specifically to the rabbit silhouette who may not own any other KAWS work but want the pink Accomplice as a singular statement piece.
If you are building a position in KAWS vinyl, Accomplice rewards patience: the supply is fixed, the character is non-substitutable inside the catalog, and the closed-era provenance only deepens with time.
Working With Gauntlet Gallery
Gauntlet Gallery has been authenticating and brokering contemporary art and collectibles since 2012. Our 160,000+ comparable sales database spans KAWS, Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Death NYC, BE@RBRICK, and the broader street-art and designer-toy market — meaning every Accomplice we list, source, or appraise is benchmarked against the deepest dataset available outside the major auction houses themselves.
Looking for an Accomplice, or want a second opinion on one you already own? Browse the Gauntlet Gallery collection or reach out for a private sourcing consultation.