San Diego Comic-Con is right around the corner, and one of the events I am most looking forward to is the ninth annual Her Universe Fashion Show 2023, which this year will be celebrating 100 years of Disney with designs focused on Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and more. The “geek couture” show, which will be held on July 20 at 6 pm in the Harbor Ballroom, Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel and is presented by Her Universe and Hot Topic, was created by Her Universe founder Ashley Eckstein. Actress and entrepreneur Ashley is well-known as the voice of Ahsoka Tano on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, and in 2010 founded Her Universe – a groundbreaking fangirl fashion company and lifestyle brand. (Groundbreaking is not an exaggeration, either – just over eleven years ago I was writing about how it was hard to even find a geeky shirt in a women’s cut. Now, thanks to Her Universe and other brands, there are many more, and more fun and fashionable, ways for us to flaunt our fandom!)
Shortly after the founding of Her Universe followed the fashion show, an immensely fun and stylish event held yearly at SDCC, which I have had the privilege to cover several times in the past. There, models walk the runway to display original geek couture created by talented designers from around the country. The judges and audience then vote on winners who will go on to design a special fashion collection with Her Universe (now a stand-alone subsidiary of Hot Topic, Inc.). Continue reading “Pop Culture SquadCast: The Runway to the 2023 Her Universe Fashion Show: Interview with Co-Host Michael James Scott”
I was a wee child, a kitchen table conversation happened that, I gather, was not meant to include me. My sister, seven years my senior, was talking about some sort of a problem with body tenderness. My mother suggested perhaps she should use a training bra.
As I grew into my role as a hyper-involved pop culture historian, I came across various articles and resources that explained to me that “training bras” were sold to girls so that they might grow into the self-image of womanhood while they were awaiting the more physical image of womanhood. Like it or not, they were gonna become consumers and that was what the “training” part was all about.
