Her Universe Fashion Show 2021

Jul 26

Jul 26 Her Universe Fashion Show 2021

The Her Universe Fashion Show has done it again. As a part of the ComicCon@Home programming, the geek couture show kicked off at 5 pm PT on the San Diego Comic-Con YouTube channel. Hosted by Her Universe founder Ashley Eckstein, the show featured 25 fashion designers who all designed around this year’s theme of community.
The show included a clip of Her Universe ambassadors (you might see a familiar face) speaking on what being a part of the HU Community means to them in the clip below:

Eckstein talked about missing the show last year due to the pandemic and wondered if anyone would miss it. Unknown to her, the designers from previous shows sent a surprise gift - a unity quilt with Ahoska Tano’s quote “You don’t have to carry a sword to be powerful.” embroidered on it, with each individual square featuring art from previous designs.

Eckstein has always opened the show with an amazing outfit. This year was no different. Donning a shimmery white cloak with the symbol of the Fulcrum and a white jumpsuit with a intriqute silver belt buckle. Designed by Andrew Maclaine who has been designing Eckstein’s gowns since 2017. Maclaine also designed his own suit, inspired by Morai (complete with eye makeup). Eckstein also had the perfect accessory to go with her look, an Ahsoka-themed clutch made of Legos.

This year’s judges include Adria Renee (Judge’s choice winner 2019), Ed Labay of Hot Topic, and Sarah Hambly (Audience choice winner 2019).

Winners will design a Jurassic World collection to debut in 2022. There’ll be a judge’s choice winner and an audience choice winner, where the voting for the Audience Choice took place after the fashion show.

The show kicks off with the latest collection from Her Universe featuring fandoms such as Star Wars, Marvel, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Jurassic World, and The Umbrella Academy.
You can view the entire collection on Her Universe’s website.

Traditionally, the in-person show has each geek couture design strut down the catwalk. This year, the designers filmed their own videos to showcase their work. I especially enjoyed this as it gave us a better look at the details of each design. During the live show, the audience may miss smaller details such as jewelry, shoes, or accessories. The same can be said about the feedback from the three judges. It gave the audience the opportunity to hear which element caught their eyes such as a specific technique or fabric used. It really gave the show even more depth and personality.

I loved hearing each designer talk about their piece and seeing their designs “walk the catwalk”. All of the designs were so unique and amazing this year. Here are some of my favorite:

This there was a tie for Judge’s choice! The winners are Teighlor Johnson and Skyler Barrett

The Audience Choice winner was announced on July 28th with the win going to Vivien Lee’s “This Is The Way” design inspired by The Armorer from The Mandalorian.