They appear from all over the angel cutting her accoutrement or alike dressed as her lookalike.
It is, afterwards all, the aboriginal assemblage for an figure whose angel of irrepressible cuteness can accelerate its worshippers swooning.
Hello Backing is adulatory its 40th year in admirable actualization in one of city Los Angeles' classiest museums, and there are so abounding exhibits and so abundant commodity for auction in the Museum of Contemporary Art that Hello Backing admirers are award it adamantine to say goodbye.
Even songstress Katy Perry fabricated an actualization to accept a Hello Backing boom on her finger.
As celebratory as it is, the owners of Hello Backing forbid any use of Blessed Birthday Backing salutations.
Instead, they assert on calling the aboriginal "Hello Backing Con" an ceremony party. Though the icon's official "birthday" is November 1, the affectionate never use an age for her, explains Harvard assistant Christine R. Yano, who's accounting a book about Hello Kitty.
"We are adulatory Hello Kitty's 40th anniversary, and it's aloof a all-around acquisition of Hello Backing admirers from about the angel to bless their adulation for Hello Kitty," said Dave Marchi, chief administrator of business for the Japanese close Sanrio, buyer of the appearance and its all-around merchandising.
"Hello Backing agency so abundant to so abounding bodies in abounding altered ways," he added. "But I anticipate it's calmly explained she's aloof an agent of happiness, and she connects with bodies emotionally so she's all about beatitude and accord and fun."
Hello billion of dollars in sales
Hello Backing is additionally big business: she did added than $8 billion in retail business in 2013, Marchi said.
That's a lot of T-shirts, purses, notes, stickers, backpacks, academy supplies, pencils and so on -- all address the icon's image.
And added is actuality added to the advantageous backing with $30 tickets for adults and $20 tickets for accouchement 6 to 12 for the festival.
"Hello Backing is a aborigine of the world, we like to say," said Janet Hsu, admiral of Sanrio Inc. "I anticipate her bulletin of apery friendship, kindness, is absolutely catching and it's growing. "
Not surprisingly, enthusiasts are stampeding to the appointment site, which includes the accord of the Japanese American National Museum in the adjacent Little Tokyo neighborhood, area an display shows the brand's access on art and culture.
"This has been overwhelming," Hsu said. "Over the advance of the four days, we accept awash over 25,000 tickets. We admired we could of absolutely had added bodies come, but the blaze align gave us the no, no!, and it's aloof 100,000 aboveboard anxiety of aloof eye candy."
Alexis Hernandez, who's been accession Hello Backing items back childhood, said she acquainted like she was in a fantasy land.
"It's aloof amazing to airing about actuality and see alone Hello Kitty," Hernandez said.
The backing appeals to men, too.
Gary Slaughter, who catholic added than 100 afar from San Diego, became a Hello Backing fan about two years ago back one of his accompany alien him to the character.
"Hello Backing makes anybody happy. She makes me happy, so it was a accustomed thing," Slaughter said.
Another gentleman, Allan Tea, got a chargeless boom address the character's angel on his bicep.
"Hello Backing is forever. She absolutely doesn't accept no gender. As you can see from the Con, millions of bodies adulation her," Tea said.
He additionally bought commodity with an abnormal pairing: Hello Backing with a snake.
"What I got was a Hello Backing captivated about with a snake," Tea said. "The acumen I like the snake is because I'm a snake in the Asian ability (calendar), so I anticipate it was a acceptable fit with Hello Kitty."
Hello from addition continent
Jessica Perez, 40, flew about 8,000 afar from Lima, Peru, to appear the appointment because she's been absent about this event.
"She's my friend, my companion. She's with me at home, at the appointment and bodies who apperceive me apperceive that I'm her fan," Perez said.
The accident comes two months afterwards the Hello Backing angel was rocked with the adumbration that the figure isn't a cat at all.
The angel is absolutely a animation appearance of a little babe with able artful features, according to Yano, who is visiting assistant of Japanese studies at Harvard and an anthropologist at the University of Hawaii.
The anthropologist's acknowledgment was, let's say, "cataclysmic" for the all-embracing icon.
Yano, who's amid the bedfellow speakers at the conference, approved to explain the body of the character. She wrote a book aftermost year advantaged "Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty's Trek Across the Pacific."
"Hello Backing acutely takes the anatomy of a cat but in spirit, she added inhabits the attendance -- and the centralized of the heart-felt attendance -- of a girl. A little girl. Your best friend. And now a affectionate of all-around figure celebrity," Yano said.
"Hello Backing is declared to be a abiding third-grader. She's actual friendly, she brand to travel, she brand her mother's angel pie, so she's affectionate of like a acquaintance but has an adventuresome spirit," Yano said.
Perhaps, it's a acceptable affair that Hello Backing represents a little babe and not a little cat.
Hardly a backing any more.
