It’s not so much a prediction as a simple fact: 2024 will be the year of Hello Kitty. Parent company Sanrio is putting Kitty's mark on everything from McDonald’s meals to UNIQLO clothes to celebrate the cute cat character’s 50th anniversary.
Especially for a girlish character whose primary shtick is adorable pink stuff, Hello Kitty's UNIQLO collab is unusually retro.
The inspiration is the '70s, the decade when Kitty was "born," translating into soft t-shirts and pajama pants printed with tie-dye text and summery patterns that do feel very Summer of Love, in a Hello Kitty kinda way.
Hello Kitty and UNIQLO's 50th anniversary shirts star characters like Kitty herself, My Melody, Cinnamoroll, and Kuromi, a variety of cute characters who comprise the Hello Kitty universe.
The bottoms are drawstring pajama-style pants in varying pinstriped or checkered patterns and one blue cloudlike motif with Hello Kitty heads floating all over them. It’s all dreadfully cute, presumably designed to help the wearer fit into the idealized Hello Kitty lifestyle. No complaints here.
Now, the Hello Kitty and UNIQLO Collab won’t be available until March 2024, but there’s no harm in browsing early, is there?
The UNIQLO jammies fit right in with the celebratory McDonald’s meals and Hello Kitty merch that will inevitably roll out over the 50th anniversary year.
Hello Kitty might not be for everyone — eve when it feels like everyone in fashion is falling for the most adorable cartoon cat that ever was — but her vibe, like this UNIQLO collection, is all about color, comfort, and cuteness.
That’s a 2024 vibe that’s hard not to get behind.
