The year was 1974. Yuko Shimizu, who was a designer working at Sanrio did something magical with a couple of simple strokes. Two dots for eyes, a tiny circle for a noise — And was born Hello Kitty! Originally called Kitty White, the date of birth was chosen as November 1 as that was the Yuko Shimizu’s birthday. And two days ago, Hello Kitty turned 40!
The personified character’s ‘official records’ lists London as this feline’s place of birth.
Back in 1974, she was a kitty sitting in blue overalls, and wearing a big red bow — she was first spotted on coin purses targeted at Japanese girls.
The cute feline beauty has always been ahead of the curve and has adopted the latest social and fashion trends seamlessly, keeping the basic appearance more or less the same. Back in the 1970s, this Japanese character was defacto gifts among school girls in Japan. Hello Kitty started invading the US, and Europe during the second half of the ’70s. She posed piloting an airplane in 1978 for the opening of Tokyo’s Narita International Airport, symbolizing her dream of going global.
In the 1980s, Hello Kitty’s childish image was shed — it began attracting adults. Her outfits and background shifted from bold red, blue and yellow to hues of pink and blue. Kitty became mainstream during the ’80s — popular items like pagers and hand-held devices had her on them.
By the ’90s, Hello Kitty’s second generation fans were in. Sanrio opened Sanrio Puroland (and later another one, Harmonyland)– a theme park targeting families — in the Tokyo suburbs. A baby kitty was born in 1999. “Kitty-lers” — a new breed of grown-ups devoted to Hello Kitty — became a national phenomenon. A Hello Kitty laptop went on sale, as did a portable karaoke machine amid a karaoke boom.
Japanese animation and comics gained worldwide popularity during the 2000s, and Hello Kitty’s influence grew even larger. This cute-cool character donned a Dior collection in Vogue magazine. She also co-branded with Diesel, A Bathing Ape, Undercover, Reebok and Vans, as well as cosmetics makers Crabtree & Evelyn and MAC.
How popular is Hello Kitty now? 50,000 — that’s the number of items on which you can see Hello Kitty — from cheques, to Visa and Mastercard cards, from jewelry to establishments Kitty is all around. 130 — that’s the number of countries where you can see her. Remember Lady Gaga performance in Hello Kitty costumes? Taiwan’s EVA Air flies Kitty-inspired Airbus jets. Yes jets with Hello Kitty liverie, boarding pass, seat headrest, and even air hostess’ aprons! Bangkok and Dubai have Kitty-themed luxury spas.
Hello Kitty is now safe in the hands of her third designer, Yuko Yamaguchi who’s taking her to newer heights.
Happy birthday, Hello Kitty!