Meet the Daddy of Cute
Dance cute! Dancers at debut of Rune Boutique. Photo credit Diane Garcia
Blame it on Rune Naito.
The Japanese illustrator became the inspiration for seemingly thousands of T-shirt, fashion and toy brands when he started drawing pictures of wholesome, cartoon girls with big eyes in the 1960s.
His drawings launched the cult of Kawaii, translated as cute in Japanese. They've has been a touchstone for brands both annoying and awesome, such as Hello Kitty,Pokemon and Los Angeles-headquartered company Tokidoki.
In 2011 there have been many retrospectives of Naito's work in Japan, one retrospective was held Dec. 9 in Royal/T, a Japanophile café in Culver City. Reportedly 4,500 people passed through the debut of Royal T’s Rune Boutique, and many people could not resist the urge to dress like Rune Naito characters. How cute. The exhibit/boutique is scheduled to be up until Jan. 9
Cute style at Rune Boutique. Photo credit Diane Garcia.
Photo credit Diane Garcia.
One of Rune Naito's cute creations. Photo credit Diane Garcia.
