HI PANDA is a brand created by Chinese contemporary artist JiJi. Happy Panda, Wounded Panda, and Evil Panda (pictured above) appear on tees, hoodies, action figures etc. It's been suggested to be the competition to japanese "Hello Kitty", with an edge to it tho. Recently it caught the attention of Antoine Arnault, son of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton founder Bernard Arnault. It all started then, Hi Panda has made its way into hip Paris boutique Colette, the department store Galeries Lafayette, streetwear shops in downtown New York and Harvey Nichols in London and Hong Kong. A Paris boutique is set to open this year. JiJi had his first exhibit in France in January at the Palais de Tokyo contemporary art museum, attracting some major taste-makers like american Vogue editor Anna Wintour, rapper Kanye West and producer super-star Pharrel Williams. I'm kinda all about it. I mean if Anna Wintour and Kanye approve... just sayin'
For an interview with the artist and more info check out this article from the Wall Street Journal
wsj.com
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