Hello Kitty turns 50… and is still in great shape

Fifty years and not hearing it. This saying is perfectly suited to the iconic Hello Kitty, the ‘CEO of Cutness’ who is celebrated from Tokyo to Rome for her 50th birthday. Born on November 1, 1974 with the name of White Kitty, when the designer Yuko Shimizu included her in the creation of a vinyl bag for the Sanrio company, ‘Le Petit Purse’, inspired by the Cheshire Cat, a character invented by Lewis Carroll, who appeared for the first time in 1865 in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Lucky that purse, the first of a long list of merchandising products with the effigy of Hello Kitty which range from the more conventional ones, such as soft toys, key rings, stickers or mugs, to the more original ones, such as hairdryers, televisions or spices, all on display now at the National Museum in Tokyo which pays homage to her with an exhibition. An exhibition that reflects the evolution of the universe around her over the last five decades, entitled “When I change, Kitty changes”. It brings together the largest range of Hello Kitty items ever exhibited and aims to show how the character has adapted to the cultural changes that have occurred from 1974 to today.

A global success for Hello Kitty, a childhood memory for entire generations who grew up with countless gadgets depicting her. A true empire that makes Hello Kitty the second highest grossing media franchise after Pokémon, but ahead of none other than Mickey Mouse, with an annual value of over 4 billion dollars and a total taking of 62 billion. Alone it represents 76% of Sanrio’s revenues. Not only that but Hello Kitty is also social, with her own Tik Tok account with 3.5 million followers and almost 28 million likes.

 

 

 

 

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According to her creators, Hello Kitty “weighs three apples and is five apples tall.” She was born and lives in the suburbs of London, together with her twin sister Mimmy, her parents and her pet, the cat Charmmy Kitty, and is considered the first product of the popular Japanese trend “kawaii”, which means “cute” in mother tongue. She differs from her twin sister in the color of the bow they both wear on their heads – Hello Kitty’s is red and Mimmy’s is yellow – and her parents are called George and Mary. Shimizu originally created the character sitting, looking to the right, and wearing a dark blue jumpsuit.

Over the years, to reach its third and current official designer, the Japanese Yuko Yamaguchi, her figure has adopted multiple poses and infinite clothing. Sanrio explained that she has no mouth because she wants to convey that “kindness and compassion must not only be expressed, but also shown with attitudes”, revealing some details of the beloved little girl-cat, such as the fact that her head is proportional to that of the rest of the body or that your blood type is A.

In the decades since her creation, Hello Kitty has become an ambassador for Unicef, a special envoy of the Japanese Foreign Ministry and the face of bars, restaurants and theme parks around the world. Celebrities love it too: Paris Hilton was photographed with a diamond-encrusted Hello Kitty bag, Katy Perry wore a corset with her face printed on it at the 2009 Brit Awards, and Lady Gaga wore a dress made of Hello Kitty plush that same year.

Wishing @HelloKitty a very Happy 50th Anniversary from the #tokidoki team! pic.twitter.com/pUgs8gY6Tj

— tokidoki brand (@tokidoki)
November 1, 2024

In 2015, the feline-faced character was the subject of a retrospective celebrating her 40th anniversary called “Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty,” which debuted at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. That exhibition made headlines after its curator, Christine R Yano, revealed that the Hello Kitty character was actually a girl and not a cat, as she is never depicted on all fours.

The name Hello Kitty is associated with dozens of brands from the clothing and accessories sector to food and public transport, including Nike, Vans, Converse, Puma, Adidas, Dr. Martens, Blumarine, Balenciaga, John Galliano, Courréges, Tarina Tarantino , Louis Vuitton, New Era, Beams and McDonald’s. In the same anniversary year, the Taiwanese airline EVA Airways also began “dressing up” planes on the Taipei-Chicago route with Hello Kitty. The first to wish him well last June in London, during the state visit to the United Kingdom of the Emperor and Empress of Japan, was King Charles III.

The exhibition “When I change, Kitty changes” can be visited at the Tokyo National Museum until 24 February 2025, and then will move to Okinawa (southern Japan), until 11 May. The Puroland Park in Tama New Town dedicated to her is also celebrating until December 31st. To celebrate her you can also visit the Pop Up Market which will be traveling in Japan until 5 January 2025. Her fans can also celebrate her in Rome, with the interactive exhibition “Art of play” which traces her entire history: recreate her room , “Sweet Bedroom” while in the Hello Kitty Caffe you can taste drinks and sweets in the shape of her pretty face.

“It is an icon loved by different generations that unites mothers and daughters”, explained the twin sisters Elena and Giulia Sella, creators of this Roman installation, in Viale Angelico, in the Prati district. The invitation to adults is to reconnect with their inner child because play has no age. Like Hello Kitty.