Rajo Laurel was always very fond of Hello Kitty growing up. Hello Kitty was his favorite among all the Sanrio characters.

He recalls, though, that his parents always bought Hello Kitty for his sisters, even as he specifically wanted the stationery for himself.

Instead, they would buy Patty & Jimmy for him from the Sanrio store—which was cool, but it just wasn’t the same.

Since he couldn’t have it, the more he longed for it.

Today, Laurel unveils his collection in collaboration with Hello Kitty.

Twenty pieces of the Rajo! X Hello Kitty Collection will be shown at the Fountain 2, Greenbelt 5 tonight, Nov. 23. It will be exhibited there for two weeks.

Laurel uses four different techniques—laser cutting, embroidery, silk screen alibata, and digital print—in the collection. He showed sketches exclusively to Inquirer Lifestyle.

For the collaboration, Laurel was asked to create a “style guide”—not exactly a product or an object, but “essentially an idea that the Hello Kitty community can pick up from and put into products.”

He gave the brand graphics that they can attach to any of their merchandise, a design detail that you’ll eventually see on a T-shirt, pencil case or umbrella.

You’ll see his inspirations from the Cordillera alibata, translated into modern symbols. He rendered the patterns using a brush.

Laurel will now be a part of the Hello Kitty archives. His graphics may be used by the brand over and over in the future. –CONTRIBUTED