Chatting With Ashley Eckstein About 9 Years Of The Her Universe Fashion Show, Ahsoka, And More!
2018 Her Universe fashion Show/Image Fashion and Fandom
“I hope the lasting legacy of the Her Universe Fashion Show is that it leaves people with the belief that anything is possible. It’s never too late to make your dreams come true.”
The Her Universe Fashion Show is one of the highlights of San Diego Comic-Con each year. Since it’s debut in 2014, the annual event gives aspiring fashion designers the chance to showcase one-of-a-kind, geek couture designs on the runway all for the chance to design a special Her Universe collection for fashion retailer, Hot Topic.
Fashionistas heading to the show at San Diego's Manchester Grand Hyatt July 20 at 6 p.m. PT are in for a lot of new surprises this year. There will be special giveaways and prizes for audience members throughout the show, along with new product reveals and for the first time ever an entire Nightmare Before Christmas experience set up in the lobby!
Her Universe founder, Ashley Eckstein (voice of Ahsoka Tano, Star Wars), will be hosting the show again this year. Joining Eckstein as cohost will be Broadway star MIchael James Scott (The Genie in Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway)
Ashley Eckstein/Image Her Universe;Michael James Scott/Image James Lee
It’s always a treat to speak with Eckstein, who was kind enought to take the time to talk with Fashion and Fandom before the 2023 Her Universe Fashion Show. We talked about what attendees can expect from this year’s Disney-themed show, what she hopes the lasting legacy of the Her Universe Fashion Show is, the biggest lesson Ahsoka taught her and more!
Fashion and Fandom: Congratulations on 9 years of the Her Universe Fashion Show! Before we talk about this year’s show I’d like to talk to you about what inspired you to create the show back in 2014.
Eckstein: The Her Universe Fashion Show was inspired by the fans. I've been going to San Diego Comic-Con since 2007, and I founded Her Universe in 2010. So I've really been paying attention to the Comic-Con fans for a very long time. And what I noticed was that fans were using the halls as their runway to showcase these gorgeous one of a kind, geek couture designs. Not just for cosplay, but for fashion. The phrase ‘geek couture’ didn't even exist at the time, I just came up with it to describe the level of of design that I was seeing at Comic-Con. I just felt like it was such a shame that there wasn't a proper runway for these fans to showcase their incredible work on. So I came up with the idea to bring a Fashion Week level fashion show to Comic-Con to really showcase the talent that was there. We did our inaugural show in 2014 with the goal to just highlight the incredible talent that was there.
2022 Her Universe Fashion Show/Images:Mark Edwards
Eckstein: At the foundation of Comic-Con is education, so I wanted to provide an educational opportunity for the fans. We decided to make it a competition, inspired by a shows like “Project Runway”, or back in the day there was a show called “Fashion Star.” We have an audience winner and a judges winner and they would win the opportunity to design a collection with Her Universe to be sold at Hot Topic. We really take these designers on a journey and teach them the fashion industry. It's a real paid opportunity, you know, they they are paid for their work and we show them every step of the way. It's been an incredible journey and the show has grown beyond my wildest expectations. It's actually launched several careers for some of these designers — designers that didn't even win our show, they just have participated and it's truly launched their careers. The Her Universe Fashion Show really means something if it's on your resume now. Several designers have have been hired for jobs because they've been a designer in Her Universe Fashion Show. So it’s absolutely exceeded all of my expectations.
Fashion and Fandom: I’ve been going to Comic-Con for a lot of years myself, both as a journalist and before that as a life-long nerd. I think I’ve been at all but one of the Her Universe Fashion Shows since you started. Watching the growth, not just of the Her Universe brand, but of the show over the years has been pretty spectacular. So congratulations for that!
Eckstein: I'm so excited for you to see the show event this year. I can't wait. It really is going to be the biggest and best yet. invest yet. What's new to the show this year is we're actually giving away prizes. So we're gonna be giving away like mega prizes all throughout the show. Exclusive prizes that are debuting at our fashion show, and first of its kind prizes. Trust me, not only is our show free, everyone gets a gift bag. It's it's free for all ages, and then you have the chance of winning incredible prizes, so you don't want to miss it.
Fashion and Fandom: It's become one of the must attend events of Comic-Con, and his year's theme is is celebrating 100 Years of Disney. Can you tell me a little bit more about that?
Eckstein: Yeah. For me personally, it's a dream come true. Because I am such a massive Disney fan. Since you've been coming to our shows for quite a while, you know that there's oftentimes a Disney design that I wear, or a Disney theme. But I grew up in Orlando, Florida. My dad was a Disney cast member. I was a Disney cast member. Disney is very special to me. So with a celebration like 100 Years of Disney I was honored when Disney came to us and said, ‘Hey, how about we make the entire show Disney this year?’ It was really a dream come true. When you have an umbrella that is 100 years, and then you have so many properties under that umbrella — obviously, Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Studios Animation. But then you have Pixar and Star Wars and Marvel and National Geographic and Fox — so many things under that umbrella. There's no shortage of things to celebrate. So not only is what I'm wearing inspired by Disney, what my co-host, Michael James Scott is wearing is also inspired by Disney. All of the designers looks are inspired by Disney. The entire show is going to be one big celebration of Disney! So I can't wait, And we definitely have lots of surprises.
Fashion and Fandom: Well, your looks during the show have become one of the highlights each year, at least for me. Can you give us a little preview of one of the looks you're going to be debuting on the runway.
Eckstein: I’m once again working with Andrew MacLaine. We spent the entire weekend together working on, I should say ‘looks’. It's different. I don't so much have changes other than it will be changing. But it's it's very much inspired by 100 Years of Disney. It's incorporating technology this year in a way that I've never seen done before. So it's a first of its kind, and it's infusing couture fashion with technology in a one of a kind way. So that's all I can really say. It's definitely an ambitious project, and one that I've never seen before.
Images: Mark Edwards
Fashion and Fandom: One of the other new elements in this year's show is that the lobby of the Harbor Ballroom at the Manchester Grand Hyatt is going to be transformed into an immersive The Nightmare Before Christmas fan experience for people to enjoy while they’re waiting to enter. What inspired that to happen this year?
Eckstein: Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is such a beloved movie and franchise. It's absolutely a fan favorite, and one that's near and dear to our hearts over in Her Universe, and also Hot Topic. So to celebrate 30 years of this iconic film which is a favorite of pretty much any fan that's attending Comic-Con we wanted to do something. Since you've been to our show you know the experience starts with the lobby. So much time is spent in the lobby before you go into the ballroom or the fashion show takes place. So everyone should show up early this year to get a wristband to guarantee you entrance into the fashion show. But then take some time to experience this lobby activation that Hot Topic is doing. It's going to take you through the winding path of “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. We really wanted the Her Universe Fashion Show to start with our lobby and then extended to the ballroom with the show. So I'm very, very excited to honor this incredible film, and everyone should for sure make that a part of their plans.
Fashion and Fandom: That sounds really exciting! I can’t wait to see that, and to see the excitement of the people lining up before the show. That’s one of the fun things to see when you go to the Her Universe Fashion Show — everyone waiting to get inside the ballroom and all of the great geek fashion on display. It’s going to be fantastic. What a great idea!
Eckstein: Come as early as 11am, get your wristband and check out the activation, and then come back for the show.
Fashion and Fandom: One of the things that differentiates your fashion show from most of the others I've attended over the years is that you incorporate the fans into the show. Not just by having audience participation during the show by voting for a winner, but also giving them the chance to walk the runway, I’ve seen what an empowering experience that is for so many of the people that get up there. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
Eckstein: Well, that was important to me from day one, and it started with the designers. Because Comic - Con, at its core, and at its heart is all about the fans. Yes, there's all sorts of flashy and exciting experiences. But at the end of the day, Comic-Con would not be what it is without the fans. So I never wanted to lose sight of that. Even with the designers we give them the option to provide a model. And a model can wear their design, or the designer themselves can model their own design. That's really important to me, and then that also extended to the audience. We said let's give the audience a chance to come up on the runway, because that's the mission of Her Universe. You know from day one, my goal for Her Universe was that it would always be two parts. It's a merchandise line. But more importantly, it's a community. And it's a place where fans can step into the spotlight and be celebrated. And so I wanted to give the fans the opportunity to step into the spotlight and be celebrated. It is probably one of my favorite parts of the Her Universe Fashion show, and it is something that we'll be doing again this year. I wanted our show to have the essence of Fashion Week. But what does set us apart is that anyone can participate, and that's the magic of Comic-Con. You don't have to be a professional model or a professional designer to participate. Anyone is welcome. And you're going to see that this year up on our runway. The diversity that you're going to see on our runway, between all of our models and designers is just so inspiring. And I can't wait.
Fashion and Fandom: How many designers a designers are competing this year?
Eckstein: We have 25 designers, and their designs run the gamut. Some of them are very unexpected. 100 Years of Disney is a broad range, and so I'm excited. I can't wait for everyone to see when they've what they've dreamed up.
Fashion and Fandom: What do you hope the lasting legacy of the Her Universe Fashion Show is for anybody who is fortunate to to attend this year?
Eckstein: You know, I hope the lasting legacy of the Her Universe Fashion Show is that it leaves people with the belief that anything is possible. It's never too late to make your dreams come true. You know, we have designers that taught themselves to sew from YouTube. They didn't go to fashion school, they just decided one day that they wanted to learn to sew, and so they started looking at some videos on YouTube and now they're couture designers. We've had designers that just stumbled upon our panel at WonderCon and decided, “I want to start something new, I want to have a new dream.”And next thing you know, they're they part of our show. We've had people attend the fashion show who didn't want to be designers. But they were so inspired by the designers on the runway that they decided to pursue a new dream. And I've heard countless stories of people saying, “You know what? I was so inspired by your show I decided to go for it.” And that's what I hope. And you're going to see that inspiration in our show this year. I make a wish as I kick off the show for the entire audience to make a wish. And I hope that by the end of the show, everyone that watches our show will be inspired that the dreams that they wish can, and do come true.
Fashion and Fandom: You are such an inspiring person to speak to — your entrepreneurship, the community of inclusivity you've created with Her Universe, your advocacy for mental health, your books… It’s just really a treat to speak with you, and thank you for all that you do. I can't speak with you and not ask an Ahsoka question. What is one of the biggest lessons that Ahsoka has taught you over the years?
Eckstein: I would say the biggest lesson that Ahsoka has taught me is that kindness is powerful. Ahsoka has shown that her true power, the thing that makes her most powerful is her kindness, and her desire to help people no matter what, Ahsoka has a line in the final season of “Clone Wars”. She says, “In my life, when you find people who need your help you help them no matter what, I guess it's just who I am.” And for me, growing up my parents really instilled this in us, because the number one rule in our house growing up was to treat others as you would want to be treated. My parents really stressed kindness. So I was raised to be kind.
Image: Lucasfilm
Eckstein: But on the flip side, growing up, I was always told, not by my parents, but the outside world…they would say, “Oh, you're too kind, you need to be tough.” So I never associated kindness with being powerful. In fact, I associated kindness almost as a weakness. It didn't stop me from being kind, but I never viewed kindness would be powerful. And it was Ahsoka that gave me that “aha” moment. That was like, oh, my gosh, it's so much harder to be kind and to do the right thing, to be honest, than it is to do the wrong thing and not be kind. So when I had that “aha” moment, I kind of stepped in into my power. That is how I realized, oh, my gosh, I can be tough by being kind. And I can be powerful, and help others and be kind just like Ahsoka. So that is my mission. It has absolutely changed my life, and she's changed my life, because I asked myself every single day, “How can I help others?” and, “How can I be kind?” So that is what I would say is the biggest lesson she's taught me and it's she's changed my life, and I tried to spread that message however I can. So thank you for asking.
Image: Her Universe
The 2023 Her Universe Fashion show will take place Thursday, July 20 at 6 p.m. PT at the Harbor Ballroom of the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel. It’s free and open to all ages attending SDCC. Check-in begins at 11 a.m. and doors open at 4:15 p.m., with the show beginning promptly at 6 p.m. The 9th annual Her Universe Fashion Show is free for San Diego Comic-Con attendees and all ages are welcome!
You can also catch Ashley’s work as the voice actress of Ahsoka Tano on Disney+ where all seven seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and all four seasons of Star Wars Rebels are streaming now.
Marena Bronson is an award-winning journalist, a life-long nerd, and the Editor-in-Chief of Fashion and Fandom. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.