THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT

Despite Hello Kitty’s consumerist ubiquity, she also often rocks up in the ‘cooler’ corners of culture. Dua Lipa recently sported a GCDS crochet bikini, and Saweetie wore a Laser Kitten bralette with kitty charms. Frank Ocean is a fan, giving the cat a starring role in two lyric videos, later performing in front of a giant Hello Kitty face at Lovebox. This ability to straddle both high and low culture can be exemplified by her being the reference point for tracks by Alice Longyu Gao and this somewhat offensive, Asian-fetishising song by Avril Lavigne.

Martin/Kitty, 2024