Gauntlet Gallery — Complete KAWS Index
Kaws: Holiday Hong Kong (Brown Plush)
Work Summary & Collector Notes
This brown plush rendition of KAWS's Holiday Companion commemorates the KAWS:HOLIDAY installation staged in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour, where a giant inflatable Companion floated reclining on the water. The figure is the signature Companion: a Mickey-Mouse-derived character with crossed X eyes, gloved cartoon hands, and a downcast, resting posture. Rendered in soft plush as a collectible-scale toy, it translates the monumental floating sculpture into a domestic, huggable object. The downturned, supine pose carries the melancholy and tenderness that defines the Holiday series, where the world-traveling Companion appears to rest, reflect, or grieve at each global stop.
Collector notes: Edition label was not stated, and total quantity was not documented in the saved record. Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition.
Why It Matters
The KAWS:HOLIDAY world tour is one of the defining projects of KAWS's late-2010s and 2020s practice, transforming the studio-bound Companion into a touring public spectacle that drew massive crowds across Asia, the UK, the US, and beyond. The Hong Kong edition is significant because Victoria Harbour was an early and iconic stop, with the reclining floating Companion becoming a widely photographed image that cemented the Holiday brand. The accompanying plush figures functioned as accessible souvenirs of these ticketed, time-limited events, and they sold out rapidly through KAWSONE and partner retailers. For collectors, these city-specific plush releases form a sought-after sub-collection, each tied to a particular installation and color. They embody KAWS's core strategy of collapsing the boundary between fine art, public art, and mass-market collectible, letting an audience own a fragment of a monumental experience at toy scale.
Collector Perspective
These plush figures attract a broad collector base, from dedicated KAWS completists chasing every Holiday city to streetwear and designer-toy enthusiasts who buy for the brand and the soft, tactile presentation. The Hong Kong brown plush sits comfortably in a Holiday-focused collection alongside the other city releases, where displaying the set as a row of resting Companions reinforces the world-tour narrative. As a plush rather than vinyl, it reads as warmer and more approachable, appealing to those who want a piece of the installation without the cost of a sculpture or print. Condition and complete original packaging matter heavily to value, and provenance tied to the actual Hong Kong event adds appeal.
Historical Context
Within KAWS's arc from subway graffiti to vinyl toys to fine art to monumental public installations, the Holiday plush sits firmly in the monumental-and-Holiday phase. It is the merchandise echo of the public sculpture, continuing the toy-making logic KAWS pioneered with OriginalFake and his early Companion figures, now scaled to commemorate ticketed global events. The Hong Kong stop helped establish the template that later Holiday cities followed, making this plush an early entry in a series that would expand to Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, Indonesia, Singapore, the UK, and outer space themes. It demonstrates how KAWS converts ephemeral public spectacle into ownable, repeatable collectible form.
Documented Release Details
- Object type
- Editioned print or object
- Release date
- 2019
- Release-date note
- Catalog-listed release year from the saved secondary record; primary release-page confirmation remains pending.
- Series
- Holiday Series
- Medium and materials
- Medium and materials were not documented in the saved record.
- Edition details
- Edition label was not stated, and total quantity was not documented in the saved record.
- Signature and marks
- Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition.
Documented History and Meaning
History note: This page treats KAWS's broader career as background context, not proof that this specific edition belongs to any single exhibition or event. Release-level facts here come from a saved secondary catalog record.
Meaning / interpretation: No per-work artist statement is recorded for this edition. Any thematic reading should be treated as interpretation of the imagery, not a documented statement of the artist's intent. This interpretive note follows the cited artist or publisher context.
Release context: The saved catalog lists 2019. It is grouped under Holiday Series in the saved record.
Authentication, Presentation and Provenance
- Original presentation
- Original packaging or presentation was not documented in the release sources reviewed.
- Authentication note
- Compare the support, dimensions, edition number, and signature against a documented example of this edition. Gauntlet Gallery does not authenticate works purchased from third parties.
- Provenance note
- Edition origin is attributed in the saved record to the release source named in the saved record. That does not establish the ownership history of an individual copy: retain the original invoice, reseller or gallery paperwork, labels, correspondence, and condition photographs.
Sources and Verification
Verification status: Secondary catalog snapshot; artist-level context added
- KAWSONE — official site — KAWS studio · primary artist source · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Official artist site; career context, not an individual-edition record.
- KAWS — Wikipedia · reference encyclopedia · Accessed 2026-07-13 · General artist-level biographical and career reference.
- KAWS (Q3194367) — Wikidata · reference knowledge base · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Structured identifier used for the artist across catalog metadata.
Market Context
- Estimated value. The median of recorded public sale prices for this piece, matched by title and colorway. We use the median (not the average) because it resists outliers.
- Min / max sale. The lowest and highest individual recorded sale prices; the range shows dispersion, not a guaranteed band.
- Recorded comps. The number of independent comparable sales; reliability rises with sample size (1–2 sales are indicative only).
- Liquidity & sales volume. Our liquidity rating reflects sales velocity — the number of recorded comparable sales and how recent the latest sale is. More frequent and more recent sales rate as more liquid (Highly Liquid → Liquid → Moderate → Thin → Very Thin); a piece with no recorded public sales is Extremely Rare.
- Estimate confidence. A traffic-light read on how well the data supports the estimate: green high, yellow medium, red low / indicative.
- Data source & currency. Compiled from recorded public marketplace and auction sales of US$200 or more, in US dollars, as of the latest recorded sale shown. Coverage is not exhaustive.
- Not financial or investment advice. For collector reference only — not an appraisal, offer, or guarantee of resale value. Art is volatile and illiquid; do your own research. Use is subject to our Terms & Conditions.
FAQ
What does the Hong Kong Holiday plush commemorate?
It commemorates the KAWS:HOLIDAY installation in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour, where a giant inflatable reclining Companion floated on the water.
Is this a vinyl figure or a plush?
It is a soft plush version of the Companion, in brown, distinct from KAWS's vinyl Companion figures.
Why are the Holiday city plush figures collected as a set?
Each is tied to a specific global installation stop, so collectors assemble them to represent the full world tour.
What affects its value?
Condition, complete original packaging, and the desirability of the specific city release all influence value; we avoid stating exact edition figures here.
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