DID YOU KNOW?®
👼 When Sonny Angel Meets Another Brand: The Surprisingly Rare World of Sonny Angel Collaborations
A Sonny Angel wearing a strawberry hat is cute.
But a Sonny Angel created with a famous fashion magazine, French pâtisserie, cosmetics company or internationally known artist?
Now we have entered a completely different corner of collecting. 👀
Welcome to the world of Sonny Angel collaborations.
Dreams Inc. has produced Sonny Angel since 2004, but not every special or limited-edition Sonny is technically a collaboration. Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Cherry Blossom and other limited series were created by Dreams itself.
A true collaboration brings Sonny Angel together with an outside brand, designer, artist or company.
And compared with the enormous number of Sonny Angels produced over the past two decades, official collaborations have been relatively uncommon.
So…
Who was first? How often do collaborations happen? And could some of these be the Sonny Angels collectors should be watching?
Let’s investigate. 🔎👼
📰 2014 — NYLON JAPAN: The First Documented Brand Collaboration
Here’s a piece of Sonny Angel history that can easily get overlooked.
The earliest commercial Sonny Angel brand collaboration I could document in Dreams’ official archives was announced on April 4, 2014.
And it wasn’t Ladurée.
It was NYLON JAPAN.
Sonny Angel and the fashion magazine were both celebrating their 10th anniversaries, so they teamed up for a very limited commemorative release.
Five Animal Series 1 characters were dressed in little T-shirts bearing the NYLON initials.
But here’s where collectors should pay attention:
Only 1,000 pieces were produced.
Dreams also stated that the figures would not be sold through its normal online or retail stores and would not be distributed outside Japan. They were tied to the June issue of NYLON JAPAN and available through selected Japanese book retailers.
That’s the collector’s perfect storm:
Early + collaboration + documented production number + Japan exclusive + limited distribution.
Dreams would eventually return to NYLON JAPAN in 2019 for a second anniversary collaboration, but that original 2014 release represents an important moment in Sonny Angel history.
🍰 2014 — Then Came Ladurée
Only a few months later, Sonny Angel entered a completely different world.
French luxury pâtisserie Ladurée collaborated with Dreams on the:
Sonny Angel Ladurée Pâtisseries Collection
Announced in June and released July 15, 2014, the collection dressed Sonny Angel in elaborate designs inspired by Ladurée’s famous pastries.
This collaboration is particularly interesting today because it wasn’t a one-and-done partnership.
Ladurée returned.
In 2015, Sonny Angels appeared inside Christmas ornament balls, and in 2016 Dreams released a limited-edition Ladurée Snow Globe Pâtisserie Collection, which Dreams identified as its third collaboration release with Ladurée.
But there’s another reason vintage Ladurée Sonnys deserve caution.
They were counterfeited.
By March 2015, Dreams was already warning collectors that counterfeit Ladurée Pâtisseries figures were circulating.
Dreams confirmed that production of the original series had ended in late 2014 and specifically advised collectors to be cautious when buying them from unofficial sources.
More than a decade later, that warning is even more relevant.
💅 2014 — Sonny Angel Goes Into Cosmetics
Sonny wasn’t finished collaborating in 2014.
In November, Dreams announced a partnership with Korean cosmetics company Amorepacific and its nail brand MODI.
Six Flower Series Sonny Angels wore shirts that spelled:
B-E-A-U-T-Y
And these weren’t widely distributed worldwide.
Dreams stated that the figures were available only in Korea and only to Amorepacific members who obtained them using Beauty Points.
Then MODI returned in 2015.
The second collaboration used special pink, white and gold coloring and again was restricted to Amorepacific Aritaum stores in Korea and its members.
That regional distribution is exactly the kind of detail collectors should document.
A Sonny doesn’t necessarily have to be a Secret to be difficult to find.
Sometimes the rarity comes from where—and how—it was originally distributed.
🎨 Sonny Angel Meets the Art World
As Sonny Angel matured as a collectible, collaborations expanded beyond commercial brands.
Dreams developed its Artist Collection, allowing Sonny to essentially become a tiny three-dimensional canvas.
In 2020, Dreams collaborated with Taiwanese entertainer and creator Kangyong Cai (Kevin Tsai).
Then came several especially notable partnerships.
🦋 ANNA SUI ACTIVE — 2021
The Angel in the Bird Garden collection incorporated ANNA SUI ACTIVE’s colorful Bird Garden imagery.
Dreams described this as the first brand collaboration within its Artist Collection.
🌸 Jimmy Liao — 2021
Sonny Angel was transformed using the artwork of celebrated Taiwanese illustrator and picture-book author Jimmy Liao in A Garden in My Heart.
Only Rabbit and Elephant designs were included.
And then came the collaboration that modern collectors REALLY know…
🧶 2022 — Donna Wilson’s Creatures Arrive
London textile artist and designer Donna Wilson brought her wonderfully odd knitted Creatures into Sonny Angel’s world in 2022.
The collection included:
12 regular figures + 1 Secret.
Cyril
Rudie
Richie
Digby
Mono Cat
Charlie
Pia
Rusty
Bibi
Rill
Cilla
Brian
And hiding among them…
🥜 Peanut — SECRET
Dreams didn’t simply place Donna Wilson colors onto existing figures. The company explained that considerable work went into translating the unusual eyes and personalities of Wilson’s knitted Creatures into three-dimensional Sonny Angel designs.
Some were even given tails.
Today this collection has become one of the most recognizable examples of what can happen when an older discontinued collaboration collides with the modern Sonny Angel craze.
Brian and especially Secret Peanut have developed enormous collector followings.
But be careful with values.
Current asking prices can be extraordinary. As of September 2026, sellers are asking hundreds for Brian, while some Secret Peanut listings reach into the thousands of dollars. Those are asking prices, however—not automatic market values.
That’s a very important distinction.
📱 2024 — CASETiFY
By Sonny Angel’s 20th anniversary, collaborations had moved directly into modern lifestyle culture.
In July 2024, Sonny Angel teamed with tech-accessory company CASETiFY.
The collection was inspired by the wildly recognizable HIPPERS Harvest Series and appeared on phone cases and other accessories.
Unlike the Donna Wilson collaboration, this was primarily a Sonny Angel-branded lifestyle/accessory collaboration rather than a new traditional blind-box mini-figure series.
CASETiFY and Sonny Angel partnered again for a second edition in 2025.
And that distinction matters to collectors:
Not every Sonny Angel collaboration produces a collectible mini figure.
Some produce clothing, magazines, accessories, towels or other merchandise.
💄 2026 — Sonny Angel × shu uemura
And Sonny Angel collaborations are still evolving.
Dreams announced a major new collaboration on September 17, 2026 with Japanese cosmetics brand shu uemura.
The upcoming:
💄 Sonny Angel Makeup Angel Series
is scheduled for a global release October 22, 2026.
This one returns directly to collectible figures.
The collection contains five designs, with Sonny Angels wearing animal-inspired headpieces based around the collaboration’s colorful makeup concept.
In other words…
The collaboration story isn’t finished.
⏰ HOW OFTEN DOES SONNY ANGEL DO A COLLAB?
There doesn’t appear to be a fixed collaboration calendar.
Dreams does not release one collaboration every year on a predictable schedule.
Instead, collaborations appear selectively.
Some partnerships return—NYLON JAPAN, Ladurée, MODI and CASETiFY are examples—while others appear as individual releases.
And there can be long stretches when Dreams’ major releases are its own seasonal, limited or regular Sonny Angel collections rather than collaborations.
That unpredictability is part of what makes collaboration pieces interesting historically.
Collectors can’t simply assume:
“I’ll catch the next one next year.”
There may not be one.
💰 ARE COLLABORATION SONNY ANGELS MORE VALUABLE?
Sometimes.
But the word “collaboration” alone does not make a Sonny Angel valuable.
Collectors should look for several factors working together:
Age + low production + regional exclusivity + popular character + Secret status + discontinued production + original packaging + collector demand.
That’s why something like the 2014 NYLON JAPAN release is historically fascinating: Dreams actually documented a production run of only 1,000 pieces, with Japan-only distribution.
Donna Wilson’s Peanut has another advantage:
He’s the Secret of an already discontinued and highly desirable collaboration series.
And regional MODI figures have the advantage of originally being distributed only through a restricted Korean promotion.
Those are meaningful forms of scarcity.
🚨 BUT DON’T CONFUSE “RARE” WITH “EXPENSIVE”
Here’s where today’s Sonny Angel market gets tricky.
A seller can ask:
$300… $500… $1,000… even $2,800.
That does not establish the figure’s value.
An asking price tells us what someone hopes to receive.
A sold price tells us what a buyer was actually willing to pay.
And Sonny Angel prices are currently volatile.
For example, recent secondary-market listings show Donna Wilson Brian being offered in the hundreds of dollars and Secret Peanut being offered for thousands. Meanwhile, a 2015 Ladurée Christmas example actually sold recently for only about $30.
Same broad category.
Completely different market results.
That’s why researching the exact figure matters.
🔎 THE VINTAGE SHACK® COLLECTOR TIP
If you want to hunt for Sonny Angel collaborations, don’t only search “rare Sonny Angel.”
Learn the collaboration names.
Search for:
NYLON JAPAN 2014
Ladurée Pâtisseries
MODI / Amorepacific
ANNA SUI ACTIVE
Jimmy Liao
Donna Wilson Creatures
Then look for the details casual sellers may miss.
Check the bottom of the feet, year markings, packaging, series name, regional markings and original accessories.
And if you spot an older collaboration at an estate sale, flea market, antique mall or resale shop…
Don’t assume it’s fake because you’ve never seen it before.
Research it first.
At the same time, don’t assume it’s authentic because it’s old-looking either.
Dreams was publicly warning about counterfeit Sonny Angels as early as 2014, and specifically warned about counterfeit Ladurée figures in 2015.
The best finds are made when you know what everyone else walked past.
👼🔎 Know the collaboration. Know the year. Know the distribution. Check SOLD prices. Verify authenticity.
Because today’s cute little blind-box figure…
may become tomorrow’s tiny piece of collectible history.
The Vintage Shack®
Give the Gift of History.
SOURCES
Sonny Angel / Dreams Inc. — Official Sonny Angel product and historical archives
Sonny Angel — NYLON JAPAN 10th Anniversary Collaboration announcement, April 4, 2014
Sonny Angel — Ladurée Pâtisseries Collection announcement, June 12, 2014
Sonny Angel — Ladurée counterfeit warning, March 27, 2015
Sonny Angel — Amorepacific MODI Collaboration, November 2014
Sonny Angel — MODI Second Collaboration, November 2015
Sonny Angel — Ladurée Snow Globe Pâtisserie Collection, 2016
Sonny Angel — NYLON JAPAN 15th Anniversary Collaboration, 2019
Sonny Angel — ANNA SUI ACTIVE Artist Collection, 2021
Sonny Angel — Jimmy Liao A Garden in My Heart, 2021
Sonny Angel — Donna Wilson Creatures Series, 2022
Sonny Angel — CASETiFY Collaboration, 2024 & 2025
Sonny Angel — shu uemura Makeup Angel Series announcement, September 2026
Secondary-market examples consulted September 2026; values fluctuate and should not be treated as fixed appraisal values.