From planners to backpacks to blankets to jewelry, Hello Kitty merch is all over campus.
The little 50-year-old icon has become popular—again—with college students.
“I think it was, like, embedded in me,” dual enrollment student Olivia Howard said. “Like, I’ve always liked Hello Kitty because of my mom, and just like, growing up with it, it’s always been a thing.”
Hello Kitty debuted on a coin pouch designed by Yuko Shimizu in 1975, with her signature red bow and overalls. The character quickly gained popularity in Japan before worldwide audiences embraced the brand, according to Jill Cook, one of the executives at Sanrio, the Japanese entertainment company that invented the Hello Kitty brand and makes the merchandise.
AACC students are buying, wearing, carrying and displaying the merchandise, even though the brand’s target audience is children.
Business professor Stephanie Goldenberg said the reason Hello Kitty’s popularity is ongoing is because it makes people feel nostalgic.
“It’s just one of those icons that brings back memories,” Goldenberg said. “So you have that good memory to be tied onto. On my desk right now, I’ve got Mickey and Minnie Mouse hands, like, Disney has that thing for me. So Hello Kitty is going to have that same draw, but in a different way.”
That’s the case for second-year communications student Skyler Wood, who said she grew up with Hello Kitty.
“I think for me personally, it started in my childhood. My parents were always buying me Hello Kitty clothes and Hello Kitty toys,” Wood said. “My dad is part Japanese, so my Asian relatives would always send me Hello Kitty merch as a kid. And I think it just stuck with me as I grew up, like I just kept being interested in it.”
First-year psychology student Fatuuma Shareef said she got back into Hello Kitty because a co-worker “was really into Hello Kitty, so she kind of got me into [it].”
Shareef said buying Hello Kitty merch is like “healing” her inner child.
“I had, like, a bunch of stuffed animals as a kid, and then, like, my dad threw them away when we moved,” Shareef said.
Second-year psychology student Narayana Rheiner said he likes Hello Kitty because of the marketing.
“I like their advertising, so I’ve always been, you know, into [popular] companies. … So [Sanrio is a] very popular company … you know, … [and] Hello Kitty’s probably like No. 2 when it comes to, you know, notoriety in the world, especially in places like Japan and stuff like that.”
Rheiner said his wife is the one who got him into Hello Kitty 10 years ago.
