“I wanted Hello Kitty to become more energetic,” she said. “And since she was the face of Sanrio, and was born as a symbol of friendship, I wanted to make lots of friends for her.

She wears a big red bow on her cat-shaped head, her face has whiskers, and her name is Hello Kitty. But once again the iconic character’s parent company is saying she’s no feline.

Today you can wear her face on your hands, with OPI fake nails, or your feet, in the form of Adidas trainers. You can wash yourself in a Hello Kitty shower and dry yourself with a Hello Kitty towel.

After Sanrio introduced her adorable face on a coin purse in Japan in 1975, Hello Kitty became a global merchandising superstar, appearing on kids notebooks, lunchboxes and clothing — and later ...

“I wanted Hello Kitty to become more energetic,” she said. “And since she was the face of Sanrio, and was born as a symbol of friendship, I wanted to make lots of friends for her.” While Hello Kitty’s ...