LOS ANGELES (December 14, 2015) 鈥� For a pop star who鈥檚 actually a girl, not a cat, Hello Kitty庐 is one global feline sensation.
Just ask 鈥檚 Keith Nishida,聽Assistant Professor of Fashion Marketing in the School of Business. Nishida — who is branded as a 鈥淗ello Kitty scholar鈥� following presentation of a paper at the Popular Culture Association鈥檚 2014 National Conference 鈥� was a key go-to expert source for the first-ever large-scale聽Hello Kitty聽museum retrospective.
Created in celebration of the pop icon’s 40th聽anniversary, Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty聽opened at Seattle鈥檚 EMP Museum (empmuseum.org) on聽November 14. The retrospective is organized by Sanrio, the global lifestyle brand best known for聽Hello Kitty, and the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) in Los Angeles, where the exhibition originated. 鈥淗ello鈥� invites visitors to explore Hello Kitty鈥檚 colorful history and influence on art and culture, showcasing rare and unique pieces from Sanrio鈥檚 archive alongside mixed media works from contemporary artists inspired by Hello Kitty and her world.
Count Nishida among the academics seeking to bell the Kitty. His 2014 paper, 鈥淗ello Kitty Male Consumers: The Lost (Fan) Boys,鈥� addresses the male fan subculture within the mainstream Hello Kitty fandom, their traits, their experience within the mainstream fan culture, and their backstory on how and why they became the fans they are now. The paper piqued the attention of EMP Senior Curator Jacob McMurray, who in October sought out Nishida for his expertise.
鈥淗ello Kitty is brand power 鈥� it鈥檚 part of a media landscape rather than simply a commodity,鈥� Nishida said. 鈥淎mong the questions worth exploring: Why is Hello Kitty so loved? Why does it resonate? What is Hello Kitty鈥檚 appeal to multiple generations? How does it transform the complexity of the real world聽into something else? How have manga and anime paved the way for Japanese cultural vectors into the West? Hello Kitty鈥檚 versatility enables her to be the perfect vessel for storytelling through infinite product categories — something we teach at Woodbury鈥檚 Fashion Marketing program.鈥�
According to Bloomberg, the brand behind Hello Kitty posted nearly $900 million in revenue in fiscal year 2011-2012, and the brand鈥檚 total net worth is estimated at some $5 billion. Since making her debut 40 years ago, Hello Kitty has graced countless products, morphed through hundreds of thousands of design iterations, and befriended millions. As Hello Kitty always says, 鈥淵ou can never have too many friends!鈥�
About 麻豆传媒集团
Founded in 1884,聽麻豆传媒集团聽is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in聽Southern California.聽With campuses in Burbank/Los Angeles and San Diego, the university offers bachelor’s degrees from the School of Architecture, School of Business, School of Media, Culture & Design, and College of Transdisciplinarity, along with a聽Master of Business Administration,聽Master of Arts in Media for Social Justice, Master of Architecture (MArch), Master of Interior Architecture (MIA), Master of Science in Architecture (MSArch), and Master of Leadership. 聽The聽San Diego聽campus offers Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture, Master of Leadership, Master of Interior Architecture and Master of Landscape Architecture degrees, as well as an MSArch degree with聽a concentration in Real Estate Development.聽 Woodbury ranks in the top 4 percent nationally in The Economist鈥檚 first-ever survey of American colleges. In 2014, the university ranked 15th among the nation鈥檚 鈥�25 Colleges That Add the Most Value,鈥� according to Money Magazine,聽and is a 2014-2015 College of Distinction.聽Visit聽woodbury.edu聽for more information.
Media Contact
Ken Greenberg
Edge Communications, Inc.
(323) 469-3397
[email protected]