by There was one sight of fluffy, sugar-covered shavings on the terrace of Somerset House on Wednesday night (January 24) to enjoy.
The tall building was lit up pink. Drinks infused with rhubarb were passed around. And as for the guests – well, they were a veritable sea of all things adorable. Pikachu tees, strawberry knit beanies, lilac tutus and giant Hello Kitty phone cases (passed as handbags) were de rigueur. It was the opening night of the super cute London show, which was open from today, and it signaled something of great clothes in the capital. Across town, Claudia Schiffer brought an actual cat to the premiere of the film Argylle.
“Cute is undeniably one of the most prominent aesthetics of today,” says the curator of the cute exhibition, Claire Catterall. “And it’s not just aesthetic. It makes you feel things, and it makes you do things.” It is for this reason that everything candy-coated has been chosen by the industry most dedicated to stimulating appetite.
No prizes for guessing, but the cult of Hello Kitty is ahead. As it turns out, Kate Moss isn’t the only girl turning 50 this year – the Sanrio cat is also celebrating half a century, but doing so with a stream of fashion collaborations, not a Mustique retreat.
The GCDS’ is the best found among the fashion series, featuring Hello Kitty crocheted on a bikini, worn by Dua Lipa. “In today’s internet-centric age, these long-lost pieces of fun are obsessions for many,” says the brand’s designer and co-founder Giuliano Calza, who is also known for embroidering SpongeBob SquarePants with crystals on his dress part. “I love creating for the future and not just looking at the past, feeling an excitement that is deeply rooted in the culture I experience. I think it’s this energy that draws people in.”
In 2024, expect Hello Kitty sightings on Crocs and Cambridge Satchel Company bags, both of which launched collaborations early this year. Carine de Koenigswarter, CEO of the ultimate team, says, “just like Hello Kitty brings back memories, our Cambridge Satchel bags are meant to be loved for a lifetime.”
It’s nostalgia and it seems to be the fuel behind the funny. So much is true for the influence of Magda Kaczmarska, who was first to the private scene of the cute exhibition and which regularly incorporates in her life. “Cute fashion is everything that makes me nostalgic, from Hello Kitty to the current Pokemon x Fendi collaboration,” she says. “People are obsessed with it because it takes them back – it makes everyone feel fuzzy and nice inside. Who doesn’t want to be cute? I’m 28 but I’m still a child sometimes.”
This was the idea of Harry Lambert (stylist of Harry Styles) when he designed his Cutie Chaos collection called Zara last November, and SSDaley’s concept behind the fixed count sheep cardigan in his AW24 collection, shown this year. There is a subsection of the sexy-cute fad, perhaps best embodied in the Betty Dsquared2 collaboration – all cartoon charm. “To us, Betty Boop is an iconic pin, an icon of ageless sensibility and an animation legend,” say founders Dan and Dean Caten.
There also seems to be a capital gain – Emma Hill, Founder & Managing Director of Damson Madder, the brand best known for its ribbon and floral print shirts as well as frill collar shirts, is opening a pop-up in Soho in February. “People want to have more fun, explore and reclaim more feminine elements within fashion,” she says, as the trend takes off. “Experimenting with oversized collars, bows, ribbons and other ultra-feminine elements makes people happy and somehow feels empowered – embracing femininity instead of shying away from it.” The company ended 2023 with an increase 400 percent on web sales.
When wearing it yourself, “bring a modern approach that doesn’t feel too theatrical. I think most women like the mix of masculine & feminine when dressing like this. A fierce skirt from Cecilie Bahnsen can be accentuated with an oversized knit, or you could style a taffeta blouse from Molly Goddard with wide leg denim from Raey,” says Liane Wiggins, Head of Womenswear at Matches Fashion.
But remember, in fashion, as in life, – too much of anything can make you sick. One woman wearing a Hello Kitty PVC skirt was carried away by two security guards, out of the cute couple after too much fizz. Although that was, as Daniel Lismore put it, “the cutest thing I’ve seen all night.”
