Fanatics & Complex present KAWS x MLB Collection
Baseball just got its most important art collab of the decade. On July 8, 2026, Fanatics and Complex dropped the announcement the streetwear and collector world had been anticipating: the KAWS x MLB Collection, created in partnership with Major League Baseball and two of its most iconic franchises, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees, celebrating their highly anticipated three-game series at Yankee Stadium from July 17 to 19, 2026. This is not a licensed merch cash-grab. This is a full-bore collectible event. If you have tracked KAWS figures from the early Bounty Hunter era through the Dior era, you already know what a drop like this means for the secondary market. Here is everything serious collectors need to know.
Collector update, August 2026: the Yankee Stadium series and the drop weekend are now behind us, and the collection lives on the secondary market. The playbook below still applies. The Topps cards remain the piece to grade and hold, sealed beats opened, and provenance matters more than hype. If you missed the drop, that same logic is why early sealed KAWS vinyl keeps its place in serious collections: pieces like the KAWS x BAPE Dissected Milo are what the last cycle’s buyers wish they had picked up at retail.
Why KAWS x MLB Is a Legitimate Cultural Moment
The Artist Behind the “XX” Eyes
KAWS, the moniker of New Jersey-born graffiti artist Brian Donnelly, is known for reimagining famous cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse and SpongeBob with X’s in place of eyes. However, his trajectory has been anything but predictable. Few contemporary artists move as freely between art, design, and popular culture as KAWS. Over the past two decades, his figures, instantly recognisable for their crossed-out eyes, rounded forms, and emotional ambiguity, have shifted from niche vinyl releases to major institutions. Additionally, in 2025 alone, the artist was the subject of multiple major museum presentations, including ‘KAWS: FAMILY’, which travelled from Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, marking his first major West Coast museum survey.
First, understand what makes KAWS culturally bulletproof right now. He recently joined UNIQLO as artist in residence for a global push, cementing a mainstream reach that few serious fine artists maintain without sacrificing collector credibility. With their broad appeal, KAWS’ artworks are highly sought-after by collectors inside and outside of the art world, establishing him as a uniquely prominent artist and influence in today’s culture. That dual legitimacy, street and institution, is exactly why a Major League Baseball collab lands differently than a standard team apparel drop.
Explore the full collection
Figures, art toys & limited editions — shipped across Europe from France.
The MLB Context: Why Dodgers and Yankees?
Timed to one of baseball’s most storied rivalries, the collection brings KAWS’ distinctive visual language to the diamond, reimagining classic Dodgers and Yankees iconography through his signature “XX” motif and COMPANION character. Leaning into the success of last year’s Takashi Murakami x Dodgers drop, Major League Baseball, Fanatics, and Complex are teaming up again, and this time the stakes are higher. Takashi Murakami‘s Dodgers World Series collection sold out immediately, validating the formula. However, KAWS commands a broader global collector base, which means secondary market pressure will be significantly greater.
Topps World Tour Tokyo Series Trading Cards Box Set | Takashi Murakami x MLB
The Takashi Murakami + MLB World Tour Tokyo Series – TOPPS Trading Cards Box Set is a standout collectible that unites two worlds: the vibrant, iconic artistry of Takashi Murakami and the global excitement of the MLB World Tour Tokyo Series.
This limited-edition box set features exclusive TOPPS cards redesigned through Murakami’s unmistakable visual language, bold colors, playful characters, and his signature “flowers,” transforming each card into a mini art piece. The fusion of professional baseball stars with one of the most influential contemporary artists creates a product that appeals not only to sports fans, but also to art collectors and trading card enthusiasts.
What’s in the KAWS x MLB Collection: Full Product Breakdown
Apparel and Hard Goods
The KAWS x MLB Collection includes Nike jerseys, T-shirts, hoodies, fitted and snapback caps featuring his X graphic along with Rawlings baseballs and Marucci bats. For serious collectors, the hard goods are the priority. A Marucci bat signed with KAWS’ visual language, or a Rawlings baseball bearing the Companion motif, is the kind of object that crosses categories. It attracts both the baseball memorabilia market and the art collectible market simultaneously. That dual demand is what creates price divergence on the secondary market.
The Topps Trading Cards: The Collector Grail
The collaboration also includes a limited run of Topps trading cards that will sport his Companion character, a Mickey Mouse-style figure with X’s for eyes and inflated skull-and-crossbones features. That release will include special editions and randomly inserted KAWS autographs. This is the most important detail in the entire drop for collectors to absorb. Randomly inserted autographs on a KAWS x MLB Topps run means pull rates become critical. First, the card pool is limited. Beyond that, KAWS autographed material on any medium commands significant premiums. Expect PSA 10 graded examples of the autograph variants to perform extremely well at auction.
| Product | Category | Collector Priority | Secondary Market Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topps Trading Cards (Autograph Variants) | Trading Cards | Highest | Strong, PSA 10 premium expected |
| Nike Jerseys (Dodgers / Yankees) | Wearables | High | Solid, especially deadstock |
| Rawlings Baseball | Hard Goods | High | Strong crossover demand |
| Marucci Bat | Hard Goods | High | Limited supply, durable interest |
| Hoodies / T-Shirts / Caps | Apparel | Medium | Moderate, size-dependent |
Where and When to Buy: Drop Logistics
Physical Launch Points
The collection will launch in-person at Fanatics Fest in New York City from July 16 to 19, at the Yankees stadium team stores on July 16, and at Dodgers Stadium on July 31. Fanatics Fest is the highest-pressure drop point. Inventory at stadium team stores tends to be allocated conservatively. The Dodger Stadium date on July 31 is the West Coast second chance, but expect allocations to be significantly tighter after the New York launch.
Online Availability
The collection will also be sold on the Complex, MLB, and Fanatics e-commerce sites, at the MLB flagship in New York City, and on the Nike site and at its physical stores. Online drops for KAWS collabs move at extraordinary speed. When first released, these sculptures often sell out in just seconds. Additionally, when the Museum of Modern Art promoted KAWS’s toys in its design store, collector demand was so high that the museum’s website crashed multiple times. Prepare accounts in advance, have payment details saved, and prioritise the Topps card SKUs first if your goal is maximum secondary market upside.
Explore the full collection
Figures, art toys & limited editions — shipped across Europe from France.
KAWS Figures Market: Secondary Value Context for Collectors
Understanding KAWS Pricing Tiers
While his small-scale toys, cast vinyl figures released in open editions, can be bought on the primary market for prices between $500 (about €445) and $1,000 (about €890), with a resale value between $10,000 (about €8,920) and $15,000 (about €13,370), KAWS’s four-foot-tall sculptures, released in editions of 100, enter at the higher end of the market and sell for at least $100,000 (about €89,170). That gap between entry price and resale value is not accidental. Edition sizes for KAWS vinyl toys are never announced, and although they are technically open editions, once a drop is sold out, no more versions of that toy will be made. Scarcity is structural, not theatrical. Furthermore, auction data shows that the sales volume for KAWS has increased by 44% since 2014, driven largely by editioned figures and multiples that have expanded his collector base over time.
For those building a KAWS collection alongside the MLB drop, the KAWS Dissected Milo 2011 Vinyl Figure White and the KAWS Dissected Milo 2011 Vinyl Figure Brown, Limited Edition of 500 represent exactly the kind of dated, limited secondary market pieces that appreciate with each major KAWS cultural moment. The Brown edition, capped at 500 units, is particularly important for any serious collection.
KAWS x BAPE Dissected Milo 2011 Vinyl Figure (Brown) | Limited Edition 500
Official KAWS Dissected Milo vinyl figure released in 2011. One of the most iconic KAWS companion pieces ever produced, the Dissected Milo exposes the internal anatomy of the beloved character through KAWS’ signature dissection aesthetic. Painted cast vinyl with exceptional detail and finish.
Collaboration Comparables: What Past KAWS Collabs Tell Us
Brands as varied as Nike, Uniqlo, and Dior have tapped him for collaborations in the past. Each collaboration has created its own collector micro-economy. The Dior x KAWS BFF Pink, for example, saw enormous secondary premiums at launch. The UNIQLO collaborations, while accessible at retail, generated lines around city blocks globally. The MLB collab operates at a different axis: it merges sports memorabilia collecting infrastructure, including Topps grading, game-used provenance, and stadium exclusives, with the KAWS fine art collectible ecosystem. That intersection has not existed before at this scale. It creates genuinely new demand from collectors who would not normally overlap.
| KAWS Collaboration | Partner | Collectible Tier | Resale Premium (Secondary) |
|---|---|---|---|
| KAWS x MLB (2026) | Fanatics / Complex / Nike | Sports Art Crossover | TBD, high potential |
| KAWS x Dior (2019) | Dior | Luxury Art | 3x-8x retail on key pieces |
| KAWS x UNIQLO (Multiple) | UNIQLO | Accessible Streetwear | 1.5x-3x retail |
| KAWS x BAPE | A Bathing Ape | Streetwear Collectible | 2x-5x retail |
| KAWS Dissected Milo 2011 | Self (OriginalFake) | Vinyl Figure Art | Significant appreciation since 2011 |
Authenticating KAWS: The Non-Negotiable Checklist
As the demand for KAWS figures has grown, so too has the volume of imitations. Being able to recognise the difference between real KAWS figures and replicas is therefore essential. With authentic KAWS figures, paint application is clean and even, proportions are exact, and finishes are consistent. For the MLB collab specifically, check all hangtags, holograms, and Fanatics authentication seals before buying from the secondary market. Additionally, collectors should always ask for multiple images of the work, box, and packing in different angles, front, side, back, underside, and where it was acquired from along with documentation.
Rare Inventory Recommends: Build Your KAWS Collection Now
The KAWS x MLB drop will create a surge in secondary interest across all KAWS properties. However, the smart move is to position before the wave, not after. The KAWS Dissected Milo 2011 Brown, Limited to 500 pieces, is an early-era, hard-capped vinyl piece that benefits directly from any major KAWS cultural moment. Pair it with the White Dissected Milo for a strong 2011 duo. For collectors who also track anime and cross-cultural collectibles, Rare Inventory’s broader catalogue, including the One Piece Memorial Collection Box, demonstrates how pop culture crossover drives long-term value. Prioritise limited edition, dated pieces. That is where the real value lives.
Where to Buy
Rare Inventory is your trusted source for authenticated KAWS collectibles, shipping across Europe from France. Browse the full selection at rareinventory.com, where each piece is verified and ready to ship to collectors across Europe. For those tracking the KAWS x MLB release and want to complement their collection with confirmed secondary market pieces, Rare Inventory provides the curatorial depth that serious collectors demand.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if a KAWS figure is real?
Authentic KAWS vinyl figures have clean, even paint application with no bleeding at the edges. Proportions are exact relative to official production photos. Every genuine piece carries KAWS’ mark engraved on the underside of the figure or discreetly on the rear. The official packaging includes the model name, series, and production year printed clearly. Request photos from all angles, including the underside, before any secondary market purchase. If the price is dramatically below documented secondary market levels, it is almost certainly a counterfeit.
Why are KAWS figures so expensive?
The question of what KAWS figures are resists a single definition. For some, they are collectibles rooted in the art-toy tradition, while for others they function as blue-chip art. Their ability to hold meaning across these worlds has created an unusually broad audience, spanning institutional curators, auction houses, long-term collectors, and a global pop-cultural following. That converging demand from multiple distinct collector categories, fine art, streetwear, toy, and now sports, compresses supply against a wide and growing buyer pool. The result is structural price pressure at every tier.
Does KAWS have an official website for drops?
Yes. KAWS releases vinyl figures and collectibles directly through his official store at kawsone.com. These editions are released directly from KAWS and he will post on his Instagram, as well as send out a newsletter to his website’s mailing list ahead of a drop. Signing up to the mailing list is non-negotiable for serious collectors. However, for dated secondary market pieces and authenticated vintage KAWS vinyl, specialist platforms like Rare Inventory are the more reliable source.
What does the KAWS Companion figure actually mean?
The Companion figure is central to all of KAWS’s artworks. Based on Mickey Mouse, KAWS reworks the classic cartoon character by adding dark elements such as skulls, X-eyes, and dissected bodies to create his own, now-iconic figure. The question of what KAWS figures are resists a single definition. For some, they are collectibles rooted in the art-toy tradition, while for others they function as blue-chip art. The KAWS x MLB collection extends that ambiguity further, placing the Companion within the highly codified iconography of America’s most historic sport. That tension between pop nostalgia and fine art critique is precisely what gives KAWS his enduring cultural weight.
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