Sean D'Anconia x Hello Kitty “The World of (Hello) Kitty Wong”

For those of you that remember the book “The World of Suzie Wong”, written by Richard Mason, or the film of the same name starring William Holden and Nancy Kwan – you will understand the history behind this piece. I wanted to pay homage to the old Hong Kong that I loved from the novel/film and also the HK that I lived in right before moving to Los Angeles.

Above – you can see a more or less traditional HK taxi (I have had my share of HK taxi adventures), Kitty Wong carries her Chanel shopping bag, wears a kawaii jade bracelet, and is decked out in a silk cheongsam, as she should be!

You can see some of the 8 (good luck!) kitties presented at the forefront of the piece. They are in order from left to right: Dim Sum Kitty, Taxi-Kitty-Panda-chan, Har Gao Kitty, Ti Lung Kitty, Cheng Pei Pei Kitty, Char Siu Bao Mimi and Pink-Kitty-Leung (dragon). Yes – lot’s of Shaw Brothers Kung Fu references – love those films, and I included a film strip at the bottom with lobby cards along with multiple Shaw easter eggs throughout the piece.

A couple other notes of interest: Original Hong Kong naval flags in the top-right corner, New Hong Kong Flag on the top left mixed with the Union Jack flag in the back, Lily Ho in the Lady Professional banner above hanging from the Temple. A HK-Hello Kitty buy destined for Lan Kwai Fung (which I personally found too touristy when I lived there). Tai Pan by James Clavell sits next to a Shawscope logo at the bottom left.

Old Hong Kong is not as evident any longer when you visit, but the films and novels still exist that showcase this magical place as it once was. And now Kitty-chan has her place in it as well (as she always has, from every visit I have made there for the past 15 years).