Ashley Eckstein celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Her Universe Fashion Show celebrating the past, embracing the present and walking forward to the future. For many long-time fashion show attendees this show felt like coming home, returning as it did to the Ballroom of the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel. The excitement of this special anniversary and this years show sponsor Mattel lead fans to start lining up for wristbands at 8.00am.
As the audience streamed in their were joyous reunions of friends as the Her Universe staff buzzed around getting everyone seated for the main event,
While everyone waited for Ashley’s outfit reveal, returning co-host Michael James Scott wowed the crowd in a stunning pink ensemble opened the show with an opening song before introducing Ashley.
Once again Ashley pushed fashion and design boundaries as she revealed herself in a Barbie box that projected various images of Barbie’s outfits throughout the years before revealing herself in a stunning pink gown similar in color to Michael’s outfit.
Michael & Ashley spent the evening dressing in similar outfits inspired by Barbie, Uno Games and Hot Wheels.
The 25 designers were equally inspired by Barbie and other Mattel products, as well as Bluey, X-Men, Beetlejuice, Dune and many more.
Throughout the different rounds of design viewing Michael and Ashley handed out a variety of Mattel items to audience members. The evening had a few minor bumps including a wardrobe malfunction during Ashley’s reveal of a Polly Pocket inspired look, but Ashley forged on reminding the audience to always move forward no matter what life brings you.
As the final batch of entrants shared their designs Ashley revealed that in addition to the opportunity to work on a line with Hot Topic there was also $10,000.
The fan favorite part of the show was Ashley’s invitation to the audience to walk the runway themselves showcasing their own creations and fandom clothing. Ashley also spotlighted the company Magical Wheelchairs and the dreams they fulfill for young disabled children.
The Judges Winner Wes Jenkins from Orlando, FL, created a stunning dress celebrating 65 years of Barbie while the Audience Winner Candice Miller showed her technical skills in a dress inspired by the Princess in Dune.
Ashleys passion and innovation continue to make the Her Universe show a fan favorite part of San Diego Comic Con, and as Michael shared in his closing remarks “Ashley stands fully formed in her light and lets it shine upon others”.
You can listen to Ashley and Michael on a special episode of Making Tracks.
Article by @YogiKai Be sure to follow Kai as she navigates SDCC for Fantha Tracks.
Her Universe Fashion Show images by Brian Sims. You can follow Brian on Twitter @BrianMSims.