Hello Kitty has no shame. First appearing on a vinyl wallet in 1975, she’s gone on to become one of the most popular, most licensed, characters in the world. Last year alone she brought in over a billion dollars thanks to the sort of cross-promotional activities that would make Lady Gaga blush. We’re talking everything from home appliances and school supplies to Boeing 747s and theme parks. Oh, and a vibrating ‘neck massager'.
If the official stuff is diverse, the bootlegs are straight dumbin’. There’s the AK-47s, the bongs, the various sexual aids, the contact lenses, and the knock-off tees you can pick up at any Sunday market.
Anyway, thanks to New Zealand’s Joseph Senor, the Hello Kitty franchise has now hit another cultural milestone – the Star Wars crossover. While the images are just concepts thus far, we quite like the idea of a Darth Vader Kitty. And Robocop Kitty, even a Hello Gangsta Kitty. And hey, if George Lucas is prepared to put his name on
Phantom Menace (and Hello Kitty already has a toilet paper range), we can’t see why these genuinely awesome designs can’t be made official. Someone sort it out.
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myspace.com/yodanz.