Wednesday, May 1, 2024

The Official Home of Hello Kitty & Friends

hello kitty original design

They believed it was a bad idea to impress young children invested in the character and that the character should have a mouth to represent one’s right to expression. She wasn’t merely a child’s toy––she was shown on purses, children’s and adult clothing, car accessories, and even stationary. Everyone could use Hello Kitty, and due to this, everyone grew to love her. Originating in Japan, Hello Kitty swiftly became a sensation among girls everywhere.

Sanrio Store - Japanese Village Plaza

He is one of the few characters with a scowl but he is still one of Hello Kitty's friends, but sometimes, he likes to play for the wrong side. Yuko Shimizu (清水 侑子, Shimizu Yūko, born 1 November 1946) is the Japanese designer who created Hello Kitty. Besides their own original characters listed here, Sanrio also owns the rights to the Mr. Men characters and Japanese licensing rights to the Peanuts characters. The characters listed here are shown with the year in which they first appeared. Natsume Publications released a book featuring Hello Kitty residing in a Japanese-style home, surrounded by a family fluent in Japanese, further complicating the narrative. Although we can’t be sure about the origin because her story has many misleading elements, we know that wherever Hello Kitty is shown, she is sure to win hearts and make an impact.

Top Ramen riding a cultural moment with Sanrio's ...

Japan even launched a tiny Hello Kitty figure (about 1.6 inches tall) aboard a satellite in 2014, to promote the country's "high-tech industry and economic growth." While you can still purchase supercute items from the Hello Kitty clan, the brand has evolved to offer much more than retail since it debuted 45 years ago. Since the first Hello Kitty Cafe opened in Rancho Cucamonga in 2017, Southern California has been graced with a Sanrio resurgence that’s treating Hello Kitty fans to a variety of one-of-a-kind experiences. Now celebrating her 45th anniversary, we’ve got your guide to must-see Hello Kitty experiences in LA. Of course you can't be this popular without a few people jumping on the bandwagon. There are thousands of unofficial Hello Kitty products, like Hello Kitty bongs, Hello Kitty gas masks, and Hello Kitty handguns and assault rifles.

hello kitty original design

Today, there are around 50 Sanrio characters gracing over 22,000 officially-license products.

Stussy worked with Hello Kitty on a collection focusing on the Hello Kitty character with Stussy signature graphics. As of 2009, Bank of America began offering Hello Kitty-themed checking accounts, where the account holder can get checks and a Visa debit card with Hello Kitty's face on it. MasterCard debit cards have featured Hello Kitty as a design since 2004.

In truth, I can’t really figure out why Hello Kitty is as wildly popular as it is or why it’s achieved cult status like no other animated character. But I do suspect that the simplicity of its execution—two dots for the eyes, three lines for the whiskers on each side, and a red ribbon—have given it enduring influence. Certainly, the sheer numbers and complexity behind her kitsch kitty empire stand in stark contrast to her quiet, simple design. There is some debate as to how she got her nickname, though one theory points to her 1974 debut on a clear coin purse with her picture under the word “Hello.” Teenage girls were immediately drawn to “the Hello Kitty,” and the purse became a best-seller.

At that time, several celebrities, such as Mariah Carey, had adopted Hello Kitty as a fashion statement.[15] New products featuring the character were made available in a large variety of American department stores. It’s safe to say everyone would learn proper dental hygiene techniques if we were taught by Hello Kitty and her supercute Sanrio friends. Well, at Parklane Dental (9636 Las Tunas Dr, Temple City 91780), you can learn how to brush with My Melody, floss with Little Twin Stars, and rinse with Keroppi. That’s right, Hello Kitty and her friends are moonlighting as dentists and hygienists at the first-ever Hello Kitty-themed dental office in the U.S. Her owners Sanrio have backtracked from saying she is human, but have said that her identity is Kitty White, who hails from the London suburbs has a twin called Mimmy and her own pet cat called Charmmy Kitty.

Animated series

She is also the main protagonist of the franchise that was named after her. She is portrayed as a female anthropomorphic white Japanese Bobtail cat with a red bow worn on her left ear and often wears blue overalls with a yellow shirt. Hello Kitty was created on November 1, 1974 and her first appearance was on a vinyl coin purse introduced in Japan on March of the following year. In the anime shows Hello Kitty's Paradise, Hello Kitty & Friends, and Growing Up With Hello Kitty, she has gray paw pads.

Yuko Shimizu

hello kitty original design

There are also two high-end boutiques called Sanrio Luxe in New York's Times Square and in Manila, Philippines, which feature exclusive, expensive, rhinestoned-out products. “Kawaisa” (“cuteness”) appeared on the cultural landscape in the 1970s, when teenage girls began adding hearts, rainbows, and smiley faces to their writing, and even spoke in a sort of baby talk manner. This fad caused quite a bit of controversy among adults, but was adopted by companies so they could connect with young people just as they were becoming a force in the consumer market. As people realized kawaisa wasn't going to bring the downfall of society, it became accepted and is now integral to Japanese culture. This fall, Hello Kitty fans will be able to view the legendary coin purse when Sanrio flies it in for display at the first-ever official Hello Kitty Con, taking place at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA October 30 through November 2. In addition, a replica of the original purse (pictured above) is included in JANM’s Hello!

Products

There is also a Sanrio theme park called Sanrio Puroland where adults and kids can meet their favorite Sanrio characters. They each have a different kind of sparkling jewel for their eyes, used for casting special magic called "Jewel Flash". According to fiction, they belong to magicians and live in a mystical place called Jewel Land, attending a school to learn more about magic and each of them are paired with their own human partners. Charmmy Kitty (チャーミーキティ, Chāmīkiti) is a white Persian cat character that is depicted as Hello Kitty's pet. She resembles Hello Kitty but has more cat-like behavior and features.

Daniel moved to Africa with his father, who is a photographer, and traveled the globe before returning to London to reconnect with his dear friend. He has ultra-spiky hair, loves cheesecake and yogurt, and enjoys dancing and playing the piano. Merchandising may be a dog-eat-dog world, but for Sanrio, one top dog proved key to Hello Kitty's future. In Japan in the 1960s, bureaucrat Shintaro Tsuji quit his job to found Sanrio, a company producing tiny gifts based on the cultural tradition of thanking a host or a guest with a trinket. The company's motto, "Small gift, big smile," continues to reflect this history. It was a practical time, but as Tsuji says on the company's website, Sanrio nevertheless thought people would "find joy and hope in beautiful, fanciful things."

Interview: Third Hello Kitty Designer Yuko Yamaguchi [2/2] Featured News - Tokyo Otaku Mode, Inc.

Interview: Third Hello Kitty Designer Yuko Yamaguchi Featured News.

Posted: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 07:00:00 GMT [source]

As Yano writes in her book, "The wink creates the possibility of two-way interactions whereby cute might be cool and vice versa, kitsch might be art and vice versa, Hello Kitty might become anything at all and vice versa." Hello Kitty is leaving on a jet plane and she doesn’t know when she’s coming back again. She’s coming back to LA for her Friends Around the World Tour and bringing some of her besties with her. Hello Kitty’s tour lands for one month only from September 20 through October 20 at the new LA Plaza Village in Chinatown (555 N Spring St, Los Angeles 90012). Fans can immerse themselves in five different destinations across the 10,000 square-foot pop-up, including Hello Kitty’s London house, a Parisian bakery, and some of Hello Kitty’s favorite travel spots, including New York, Honolulu, and Tokyo. You’ll visit "baggage claim" at the end of your trip for limited-edition souvenirs and special merchandise.

The Hello Kitty café in Las Vegas is one of the best places for a Hello Kitty enthusiast to visit. All the food and drinks are made with adorable cute patterns and Hello Kitty merchandise is sold there as well. These are just a few of the many characters that are part of the Hello Kitty franchise. There are many more characters in the Hello Kitty universe, each with their own unique personality and appearance.

This caused so much controversy because it was a new concept brought up after the brand had gained immense popularity, and the loyal fans who had always identified and believed she was a cat felt led astray. An alternative Hello Kitty knock-off conspiracy theory proposes that Hello Kitty is not a knock-off of Miffy, but rather, Belgian cartoonist Ray Goossens's character Musti. In May 2008, Japan named Hello Kitty the ambassador of Japanese tourism in both China and Hong Kong, which are two places where the character is exceptionally popular among children and young women. This marked the first time Japan's tourism ministry had appointed a fictional character to the role.

Shimizu drew inspiration from the beloved Japanese concept of kawaii, which celebrates all things cute and endearing. In 2016, she, alongside other fellow Sanrio characters, made a playable guest appearance in Sega's mobile app game Sonic Dash of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, during a collaboration with a Sanrio event. In Spring 2005, Simmons Jewelry Co. and Sanrio announced a co-branded jewelry licensed partnership. "Kimora Lee Simmons for Hello Kitty" was launched exclusively at Neiman Marcus prices ranging from $300 to $5000, Designed by Kimora Lee Simmons and launched as the initial collection. The jewelry is all hand-made, consisting of diamonds, gemstones, semi-precious stones, 18K gold, Sterling silver, enamel and ceramic.

This unique feature allowed people to project their own emotions onto the character, making her relatable and lovable. Back when Hello Kitty debuted, England was the aspirational place to be. "Her life is set just above that of Japanese girls," explains Hello Kitty's head designer Yuko Yamaguchi, who started at Sanrio in 1978. "Around the time Kitty was born, England was the dream country of all the girls in Japan. So we fit her in English life." Officially, the character's full name is Kitty White. She lives in suburban London with her parents, George and Mary, and she has a twin sister, Mimmy, who wears a bow on the opposite ear.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Six California House races that could determine control of Congress Los Angeles Times

Table Of Content oil + cream duo definition-duo WELCOME TO Beauty Touch By Liana shop sets CA - 41: Rep. Ken Calvert versus Will Rollins LGB...