Sanrio's cutesy Hello Kitty brand is celebrating its 35th anniversary. And for a pop-up sponsored by Target to honor the occasion, there was perhaps no better-suited venue choice in the land than Royal/T, a 10,000-square-foot art exhibition space, retail store, and Japanese-inspired café, itself bearing the same visual and thematic traits.
Free and open to the public, the pop-up Hello Kitty-related art exhibit and Sanrio retail shop, known as "Three Apples," runs from October 23 through November 15. Sanrio's team unpacked and installed the exhibit, and Japan L.A. shop owner Jamie Rivadeneira curated the Hello Kitty artwork, which is for sale. Royal/T supplied the catering and service staffing for a private, invitation-only grand opening party on October 22 to kick it all off.
For the opening event, a line of eager guests—many in costumes that channeled Hello Kitty's look—stretched clear down the block. Sanrio V.I.P.s, featured artists, media, and celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Kimora Lee Simmons, Dave Navarro, and Pete Wentz flooded the space, where they browsed the art, sipped Sapporo, sake cocktails, and Hello Kitty champagne served by Royal/T's maid-costumed servers, and scooped up items from the shop.
Sanrio's Los Angeles and San Francisco-based team led by president of global consumer products Janet Hsu, brand marketing and retail development director Jill Koch, associate marketing manager Susan Tran, and brand marketing manager David Marchi are overseeing the pop-up. Confirming and coordinating the project were Royal/T owner Susan Hancock, events director Nina Savill, and general manager Rocco Somazzi. Wagstaff Worldwide (the venue's PR agency), and Orsi PR and Griffith Marketing & PR (agencies for Sanrio) are handling PR.
