First, it was Labubu, now the UTONNE doll by Éki Kéré is getting occultism allegations.

Labubu is a popular collectible toy created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung and sold primarily through the Chinese retailer Pop Mart.

Labubu transcended to a global cultural sensation when K-pop sensation Lisa (BLACKPINK) unveiled it as her secret obsession in a Vanity Fair interview. Since then, it has made appearances at fashion events like Paris Fashion Week and been adorned by celebrities like Rihanna and Dua Lipa.

Rihanna with a Labubu

It has been the subject of several thinkpieces, with some describing it as a modern-day Beanie Baby, others desperately trying to convince the public that it is a satanism psyop. 

While this obsession plagues the Eastern and Western hemispheres, an equally polarising doll is brewing in the Southwest area of Nigeria.

WHY SO SCARED OF UTONNE?

In June of 2025, Nigerian brand Éki Kéré made rounds on the internet for its UTONNE Raffia Doll collection. It was met with backlash on the social media platform X, with some calling it occultism. 

The occult allegations are due to its faceless appearance and the use of raffia. Raffia is an extremely functional material in Nigeria, but despite its uses, the only picture the doll ignites is that of a masquerade.

Masquerades are a tradition found across many ethnic groups in Nigeria, particularly among the Igbo, Yoruba, Edo, and Cross River peoples. It involves elaborately costumed, often with raffia, and masked figures who embody spirits, ancestors, or deities, and perform in various ceremonies and festivals.

For many, this made the doll uncomfortable to look at, but this is an initial move by Éki Kéré. After all, it’s their very signature, one they’ve had since its inception.

Founded in 2020, designer Abasiekeme Ukanireh revolutionised the concept of how raffia is worn and introduced it into high-fashion spaces. When Parisian designer, Jacquemus, dropped his SS23 collection (December 2022), Le Raphia, it further solidified raffia as en Vogue. But before Jacquemus of Paris’ raphia, there was Éki Kéré of Ikot Epene’s raffia. 

Le Raphia by Jacquemus.

It is typical for fashion pieces that reference traditional African culture to be looked at with conflicting interpretations. From Michèle Lamy’s black painted fingernails, inspired by the Amazigh, a nod to her Algerian genealogy, to the waist beads of West Africa.

Manon from Katseye has faced criticism concerning her love for Waistbeads. (Photography by Bea Oyster).

So Ukanireh’s use of raffia on garments was always going to strike up conversations. Nevertheless, Ukanireh insists on reminding people about the soul of her project, the story behind it…

In an email, Éki Kéré explained to us, saying, “The idea behind the doll was to create something fun, but intentionally imperfect. One evening, while walking past a playground, I noticed a little boy who was autistic struggling to fit in. The other kids thought he was “too rough” and excluded him. That moment stayed with me.”

Further expanding the UTONNE isn’t their first doll, and their debut was in September 2022. “It struck me how children are being taught French, Spanish, even coding in school, but not sign language. Most public spaces still lack wheelchair access. It felt like children with different abilities were being left out of the world they live in. That’s when we decided to make our first doll—with only one limb—as a reflection of the world we often choose not to see.”

This personal connection highlights why Éki Kéré has slowly expanded to include kidswear. Personal stories have been a huge part of the brand’s story, with several collections being inspired by Ukanireh’s childhood.

The acknowledgement about its imperfections also raises another aspect of the UTONNE that might make people uncomfortable is its facelessness.

FACES + PLACES:

In 2014, Psychology Stack Exchange put out a question, “Why is an image of a face without features disturbing?”

The piece tries to understand why, when we see familiar objects with faces appear faceless, we feel uneasy. It reads, “Is facial recognition so deeply embedded into our subconscious that the inability to distinguish any features alerts us in some way?”

Cognitive psychologist Donald Norman published a book titled Turn Signals Are The Facial Expressions Of Automobiles, and in an article, Skeptical Inquirer explains that the opposite— facial expressions are the signals of humans— is true. “Even without opening our mouths to speak, our facial expressions communicate volumes about our emotions and our reactions to events around us.”

The Labubu is deemed creepy because of its smile partnered with its shark-like teeth, and thanks to Jaws, that’s troubling for some people. But the UTONNE has no face, and with the raffia hair, it is akin to a straw effigy.

The fear of faceless things stems from the lack of a face, which disrupts our ability to recognise and understand the entity, leading to feelings of unease and potential fear. 

Faces are crucial for social interaction and understanding emotions, so a faceless figure can be perceived as unpredictable and suspicious. This is amplified by our innate tendency to seek patterns and familiarity, and the absence of that can trigger a sense of the “uncanny valley,” where something appears almost human but not quite, causing discomfort. With this in mind, it is understandable why the UTONNE did not translate as a friendly object.

Éki Kéré hopes to reframe this fear of the different, saying, “The faceless design is intentional. It allows every child to project their own feelings, stories, and identity onto the doll. It’s a reminder that beauty doesn’t always need perfect symmetry—and that everyone deserves to be seen, even without features that fit the norm.”

According to the brand, the X outrage is an isolated incident, stating, “Children absolutely love the dolls. They’re especially drawn to the raffia hair—it’s playful, textured, and different from anything else out there. We received incredible support, especially from Reni Folawiyo of Alara, who was deeply fascinated by the idea. Interestingly, the only group that seems to have a critical eye toward the dolls are Gen Z. And that’s okay. Éki Kéré isn’t meant to be universally accepted—it’s meant to provoke thought and inspire empathy.”

UTONNE, like the Labubu, might be unsettling for Gen Z, but at its core, there is a dedication to sustainability and culture preservation. For some, it is uncomfortable; for others, it is innovative, but it forces you to stop, stare, and acknowledge a heritage.