Pop Rock

Move over, Hello Kitty. Italian pop artist Simone Legno’s Japanese-inspired L.A.-based “Tokidoki” brand is officially Asia’s latest craze. Offering a variety of apparel, toys, skate decks and accessories that feature cute and eclectic animated characters, this lifestyle brand perfectly combines the asthetic elements of pop art with the practicalities of product design. And despite Japanese anime’s obvious influence on the brand, Legno insists Tokidoki can’t be labeled so simply. “It is not Disney and it’s not just cute—it’s kind of punk rock as well. It’s a whole mixture of things and this is what makes it original,” he says.

Legno is a natural when it comes to art, as he has never had any lessons. ”My mom is a painter but I was just drawing all the time as every kid does. I think I just had more passion than the average kid.” He started a website (tokidoki.it) which eventually became an online phenomenon in 2001.

Emerging as one of the most prominent artists in the field of contemporary pop art, Simone was picked by Karl Lagerfeld and his team to create a limited edition Karl Lagerfeld toy. “I'm a small guy compared to Karl, who is a fashion icon, a genius and a piece of history! I felt extremely lucky,” Legno exclaims. “It was such a good experience because it is often difficult trying to reach a compromise between two companies. But Karl Lagerfeld and his team were humbled enough to say, ‘He knows what he's doing, so let him do it.’” Aside from the Lagerfeld project, Legno has also collaborated with Sephora, Marvel, Hello Kitty, Xbox and LeSportsac, and is currently working on a tattoo-covered Tokidoki Barbie.

Meanwhile, Legno is hosting a Tokidoki pop-up store at K11 Mall, with more than 50 exclusive items for sale. The products are packed full of color and energy, from uniquely patterned zip-up hoodies to trinkets that feature popular characters like Legno’s bunny-eared Cactus Friends.

Legno has also specially designed two sculptures for Hong Kong in an unprecedented collaboration with K11. “Caesar,” a cute five-meter-tall lion and “Kikko,” a sculpture conceptualizing coffee tasting (don’t ask), have already been attracting massive crowds in the mall. Adults and children alike are stopping to admire them.

“I am always looking for ideas and I usually try to interpret what's around me in my own way when designing my products,” Legno says. For instance, he found inspiration for his Cactus Friends characters when vacationing in Southern Italy. “Everything was so slow, there was nothing but sand and cacti to look at. So I suddenly got an idea. The cacti kind of looked like bunnies and that's how I came up with the characters.”