I once met a lady who said she worked in “the” design office that designed every Hello Kitty paraphernalia (I think strictly for the US market, but that’s beside the point), for nearly two years of her life. Hello Kitty this, Hello Kitty that. She said she designed shower curtains, pens, even shoes, all displaying the Hello Kitty icon. Granted, this isn’t a proper Hello Kitty S&M room (not that I would know!), it’s Hello Kitty in that there are icons of Hello Kitty everywhere, and it’s S&M in that there are four shackles for tying up someone on the… mmmph, very comfortable… mmmph queen-size… mmmph bed – ANYHOW! Nonetheless it’s intriguing in its context as a ‘love hotel’, and I wonder if designers are aware of how their work is sometimes appropriated for these other applications.
[Love Hotels by Misty Keasler – Interview by Nicole Pasulka @ The Morning News]
Where’s the Hello Kitty vibrator? I don’t think they make that anymore, but there was a time when every girl I knew had one. Anyway, it’s never been more appropriate than here.