Written by Prashanti Mohanan

Hello Kitty — whether you love her or hate her, there must be something pretty remarkable about this anthropomorphic cat for it to be as adored and world-renowned as it is today. While her Sanrio friends have their own appeal, Hello Kitty’s story is truly unique. So, how did she come to be?

The Birth Of Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty was the brain child of Japanese designer Yuko Shimizu who was an employee at Sanrio, a company that designs and manufactures Kawaii or cute products. In 1974, Shimizu created Hello Kitty, said to be a little girl, but in the motif of a bobtail cat. Hello Kitty was designed with black eyes, a small round nose and no mouth. She has three whiskers on each side of her face as well as an iconic bow on her left ear.

Kawaii Culture

The term “Kawaii” refers to a “Japanese artistic and cultural style that is predominated by cuteness, vibrant colours and characters with a youthful and innocent appearance”. The Kawaii craze was so pervasive in Japanese pop culture in the 70s that Sanrio founder, Shintaro Tsuji found that adding cutesy images and graphics on everyday products helped to improve their sales. As such, he hired designers, such as Shimizu, to create cute graphics that he would imprint on his products. At present, Sanrio rakes in several billion dollars a year from Hello Kitty alone.

Rise in Worldwide Popularity

The 90’s saw a rise in Japanese pop culture in other East and South-east Asian countries and Hello Kitty soon entered the realms of fashion, cosmetics, jewelry and food. Big brands initiated collaborations with Sanrio to come up with a host of Hello Kitty Merchandise.

In October 2005, Taiwanese Airline Eva Air began a campaign with Sanrio, featuring a Hello Kitty themed jet. Not only was the exterior of the jet painted with Hello Kitty graphics, the theme pervaded every single aspect of the flight from in-flight merchandise to the stewardesses’ aprons. While originally used to serves flights to and from Japan, it soon also started serving other destinations such as Taipei and Hong Kong where Kawaii culture and Hello Kitty were relatively popular.

Numerous Hollywood celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Rihanna, Mariah Carey and Katy Perry have also been spotted wearing clothing, jewelry or other accessories incorporated with Hello Kitty motif and in 2013, Avril Lavigne went as far as to ditch her punk rocker image to release a song called ‘Hello Kitty’ with an accompanying Kawaii-themed music video.

It is apparent that Hello Kitty is now one of the most identifiable icons in the world. From its humble beginnings in Japan, as a product of a young designer’s creativity to the global phenomenon that it is has evolved into today, Hello Kitty is definitely here to stay.

Are you a fan of Hello Kitty and Kawaii culture? Which of the Sanrio Merchandise are your favorites? Share with us in the comments section!