The Beginnings of Cute?

I've been wanting to write an article about "cute" in this day and age, but I haven't found time to. First and foremost, I am not trying to offend anyone or defame anyone's own creative art. Everyone is entitled to their own creative opinions, albeit controversial or not, and I always encourage creative and constructive feedback. I respect everyone's work here, and am only trying to draw upon comparisons based on observations.

So Japan has always been revered by me as the birthplace of what I call "happy-go-lucky cute". What this means is big shiny eyes, super cute animals, pastel colors, hello kitty, you get the picture.

Now I'm a big fan of the community on flickr, as most people know, and it by far hold some of the greatest talents on the planet. Upon my browsing, I've noticed a common trend, and I just want to prsent some candidates below before continuing. The question here is "who started it?"



Yo Amo La Leche


Andres Guturo


Marcelo Pellizo


Fo-Fotz


Tokidoki

Ice and Kream

Ok, so now that you have seen the subjects of my discussion, I am wondering your thoughts and where I am going with this. There are many similarities of course, and some are more well-known and iconic as others. The more obvious choice is TOKIDOKI, which has a worldwide reach, and a similar brand is TADO(below). Let's not forget KID ROBOT, with their endless supply of vinyl cute. This is all an established market.


Now my point here is simple and quite clear, do the similarities warrant artistic license and respect for originality, or is a style warranted creative freedom? There are BAPE wannabe's out there but they're far and few, because they don't survive long enough. As for the state of the cute industry, that's a different story. I personally all categorize them under the same genre, but I feel there is a means to carry out the same message, while not directly 'copying' or imitating.

Is there nothing harmful about a case such as this, or is this considered cashing upon someone else's market they've taken years to establish?

For me, I think its too similar. I feel there is so much room for growth and innovation, but its probably going to be explored by an industry leader for they have the experience and "opportunity" to explore what succeeds and what does not.

Beginnings of cute? Who came first? I don't know, but this is all something I'd like to hear about and explore further.