From a special set celebrating BTS’ hit single “Dynamite” to teaming up with Sega for the 2023 Sonic the Hedgehog collection, LEGO has been the master of collaborations with their playful takes on all things pop culture. Here’s a peek at the most famous LEGO collaborations to ever exist.
With more than 90 years of glorious history, the Denmark-based LEGO Group is considered the quintessential toy manufacturer in the world — one that represents creative excellence in the most imaginative and entertaining ways.
LEGO: Origin and history
Named after the Danish phrase leg godt (play well), The LEGO Group was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen and is currently operated by his grandson, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen.
Their signature LEGO brick, which is made with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, was patented in 1958. Since then, it has been used to create a multitude of fan favourites — from LEGO sets of monuments such as the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal to artworks like the LEGO® Ideas The Starry Night.
Over the years, the group has successfully established itself as one of the most valuable toy brands, thanks to its minifigures and sets centred around the Harry Potter books, the Star Wars movies and Marvel Comics characters. Adding to its popularity are its numerous exciting collaborations with the most loved pop-culture names such as Levi’s, Dungeons & Dragons and NASA.
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LEGO had BTS fans swooning when they collaborated with the South Korean band on a BTS Dynamite set in 2023. It is inspired by an Army-made design that was selected by LEGO Ideas back in 2021.
With blocks that replicate the group’s music video for the Grammy-nominated track, “Dynamite,” the set features miniature figures of the seven members that can move in sync when positioned on a dynamic stage. Recommended for adults, the 749-piece set also includes a doughnut shop, a record store, an ice cream shop, and a basketball court.
(Image credit: LEGO/Twitter)
Expanding the scope of their creations beyond high-end collectables, the LEGO x IKEA collection gave us BYGGLEK — a range of storage boxes that create more room for your minifigures and bricks.
Released in August 2020, the BYGGLEK boxes combine storage and play. The iconic collection features one set of three small boxes, two sets of bigger boxes and one set of LEGO bricks, with the boxes being compatible with all other LEGO bricks. They also come with LEGO studs on their top and front.
According to IKEA designer Andreas Fredriksson, the collection is designed to “match perfectly with other IKEA products, making it possible to have your children’s creativity becoming a nice and unique piece of decoration at home.”
(Image credit: LEGO/Twitter)
Inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s iconic artwork, LEGO® Ideas The Starry Night is one of the most prized possessions of the brand. The 2022 creation was designed by LEGO fan Truman Cheng and brought to life in collaboration with MoMa.
The set comes with 2,316 bricks and reimagines Gogh’s famous 1889 painting as a 3D depiction. It also includes a minifigure of Gogh, a mini easel, a mini version of the painting and a paintbrush.
One of the most intricate LEGO sets, LEGO® Ideas The Starry Night can either be mounted on the wall or displayed freestanding.
(Image credit: LEGO/Twitter)
Almost every gaming geek is awaiting the release of Dragon’s Keep: Journey’s End. The upcoming set, created by LEGO builder BoltBuilds’, was selected as the official winner of the LEGO Ideas Dungeons & Dragons challenge in 2022.
The model will be released by LEGO as a part of the 50-year anniversary of the popular fantasy tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons and aims to give a 360-degree experience, depth of detail, and dynamic composition.
In keeping with its official description to “truly bring all the famous characteristics of Dungeons & Dragons to life”, this nearly 3,000-piece set includes landmarks such as Witches Tower, the Dungeon, the Tavern, and the Crypt. It will also come with a Beholder concealed in the dungeon below, five minifigs, and a pub.
(Image credit: LEGO)
As part of the Artemis 1 mission, LEGO Education collaborated with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and designed a 10-week digital adventure called ‘Build to Launch: A STEAM Exploration Series’ in 2021. Its interactive episodes and open-ended prompts were meant to help students with their queries about the Artemis 1 mission.
In August 2022, Lego Education offered to bring the ‘Build to Launch’ series to life and came up with a special interactive exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Along with bringing a unique hands-on building and learning experience, the exhibit tasked participants with helping two LEGO Education minifigures, Kate and Kyle, prepare for the Artemis 1 launch. The series features four mini figurines and life-sized versions of the LEGO Space Team characters such as Flight Director Maria, Program Manager Daniel and Engineer Avery.
Besides this, NASA also teamed up with LEGO in a Moon to Mars online build challenge in 2019. They had also teamed up on an online summer activity for kids with the ‘Mission to Space’ in 2016.
(Image credit: LEGO/Twitter)
The LEGO and Sega collaboration was first announced in 2021 as a part of the 30th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog — one of the most popular characters of the latter.
Taking a cue from their first successful stint together, the premium brands are teaming up once again to launch an exciting range of new dynamic Sonic the Hedgehog products. The upcoming collection will include four sets — Sonic’s Speed Sphere Challenge, Tails’s Workshop and Tornado Plane, Amy’s Animal Rescue Island and Sonic’s Green Hill Zone Loop Challenge. Players will also be able to enter Blue Blur’s iconic red sneakers and get a hold of figures like Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Dr. Eggman.
As per the company website, the collection will be available for sale on authorised retailers from August 2023.
(Image credit: sonic_hedgehog/Twitter)
It was in October 2020, that leading sportswear brand Adidas and LEGO started their long-term creative partnership by dropping a funky ZX 8000 sneaker silhouette. Since then, there has been an abundance of chic designs in LEGO’s signature red, blue, green and yellow colours.
One of their most famous collaborative flairs to date is the Adidas Originals LEGO Superstar Sneaker. The brick model of the pair, a buildable plastic shoe trainer, also came with wearable sneakers. The collection was a masterwork by The LEGO Group’s senior designer, Florian Müller.
A few more standouts from the Adidas x LEGO collection include Adidas x LEGO® Racer TR Shoes, Adidas x LEGO® Sport Pro Shoes and Adidas Forta Run x LEGO® Baumhaus Shoes.
(Image credit: LEGO/Twitter)
LEGO collaborated with Levi’s for the first time in 2020 to release an exclusive collection that featured outerwear pieces for men and women along with the very first flexible LEGO baseplate.
As per sources, Karyn Hillman, chief product officer for Levi Strauss & Co. said in an official statement, “With the customizable baseplates, Levi’s is now literally a new blank canvas for LEGO play.” She called the effort a celebration of “self-expression, creativity and nostalgia.”
The baseplate was made available to be used as a customisable patch on the collection’s pieces such a vintage stonewash Levi’s® Trucker Jacket, a Dad Crop Trucker Jacket, 501® ’93 Straight Jeans, accessories, hoodies, crewnecks and sweatshirts.
(Image credit: LEGO/Twitter)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
LEGO has collaborated with various brands and pop-culture artists over the years. Some of them are BTS, IKEA, Museum of Modern Art (MoMa), Nintendo, Epic Games and Dungeons & Dragons (DnD).
Some of the most popular themes created by the LEGO brand include Beauty and the Beast, Town, Castle, Space, LEGO Batman, LEGO BrickHeadz, Friends, LEGO Avatar, LEGO Sonic the Hedgehog, LEGO Jurassic World, LEGO The Lord of the Rings and LEGO Star Wars.
Some of the biggest LEGO creations are the LEGO Art World Map (11,000 pieces), the LEGO Eiffel Tower (10,001 pieces), LEGO Titanic (9,090 pieces), the LEGO Colosseum (9,036 pieces), UCS LEGO Star Wars™ Millennium Falcon™ (7,541 pieces) and LEGO® Star Wars™ AT-AT™ (6,785 pieces).
