redefining the cute culture

Nice and naughty. Cute and creepy. That's Tokidoki.

See the Tokidoki Soccer Bearbrick (with fangs, and a pirate symbol on its chest). Spot the gentle-looking Japanese girl (with red horns and funky tattoos).

At the center, a cute-ified grim reaper offers a skull lollipop to the skull girl in pink. By the side, a devil boy cooks a hotdog in an open fire. (While devil girl listens to an iPod.)

What else? Flying candy bats. Bullet buddies. And red-hot chili peppers from hell.

Plus cute but thorny (ouch!) vinyl toys named Sandy, Bastardino (little bastard) and Sabochan. (Not for little kids, that for sure!)

Toy: Moofia's Mozarella, a machine gun-toting cow-girl.
Tote: A skull head vinyl charm decorates a colorful Le Sportsac bag.

It seems that with Tokidoki, cute has become more cutting edge. Simone Legno, the creative mind behind the extremely successful brand (above, left, at the Le Sportsac Store in Hawaii), says that "Tokidoki is a happy world. It is a cute, playful – pure yet provocative – and sophisticated world that I imagine, live in, and dream of."

From what I see, it's a place where the good, the bad, the feared, and the friendly live in harmony. Sounds like heaven to me. :-)

Catch Simone Legno at the Gaphika Manila 08, an International Multimedia Design Conference on September 20, 2008. Venue: SM Mall of Asia, Manila, Philippines

Info from Josh Spear, Star Bulletin, Wikipedia / Tokidoki art and product pics from Tokidoki, Nicknite, Strangeco