Ashley Eckstein Previews SDCC 2024’s Her Universe Fashion Show & Looks Back On The Last Ten Years

San Diego Comic-Con is the biggest entertainment event in the world, an annual celebration of all things pop culture, from upcoming movies to retro throwbacks across film, television, video games, and, of course, fashion. Over the past decade, the Her Universe fashion show has established itself as a key component of the SDCC experience.

Created by Star Wars: The Clone Wars actor Ashley Eckstein, Her Universe is a fashion line with its own annual fashion show at San Diego Comic-Con every year. This year’s event lands on Thursday, July 25. The line is dedicated to geek couture, featuring style that goes beyond mere cosplay and incorporates fandom into fashion in a way that is both stylish and endearingly nerdy.

In celebration of ten years of the Her Universe show, Ashley Eckstein sat down for an interview with Screen Rant, in which she discusses the secret to the brand’s longevity, as well as reflects on her role as Ahsoka Tano and how the character, and her performance, has grown and evolved over the course of the last sixteen years.

Ashley Eckstein On Star Wars, Fashion, And A Full Decade Of The Her Universe Show

Screen Rant: Tell me about Her Universe. What first inspired you to start this project? And did you think that it would be around 10 years later?

Ashley Eckstein: I can definitely say that the Her Universe fashion show has wildly exceeded my expectations. I had definitely hoped that the Her Universe fashion show would become a must-see event at Comic-Con. I always dreamed of it being, like, THE event to kick off Comic-Con on Thursday night that everyone would talk about. And I didn’t want that for me or for Her Universe; I wanted it for the designers. That has been my goal since day one. I’ve been attending San Diego Comic-Con since 2007, and the one thing that always blew me away is that the fans would use the hallways of San Diego Comic-Con as their runway to show off their beautifully made couture-level designs.

I’m not talking about just cosplay. I’m talking about fashion-inspired designs. And I always felt that their designs were so amazing that they actually needed a proper runway to walk on. And so I always wanted that spotlight for the fans to show off their amazing work. And I’m so, so proud of the incredible design community that we’ve created that has exceeded my expectations, because it’s really changed people’s lives. And it’s even launched the career of several designers. So it’s something I’m very proud of.

Can you tell us a little bit about how the show has grown over the last 10 years? How it’s evolved and how it’s even bigger and more inclusive than when you started?

Ashley Eckstein: Yeah, absolutely. When we started, the term ‘geek couture’ didn’t even exist. I literally made it up. And it was kind of one of those fake it till you make it moments. I talked about the term geek couture. It was totally a thing. It’s like, oh yeah, this is geek couture. It’s the emerging new trend. Little did they know that I’m behind the scenes being like, oh, I made this up. Will people believe me? Even though it was really a thing, I just gave it a name. And now I’m really proud because geek couture is a thing. It is something that people talk about. They know what it is now. But our show has definitely grown and become way more inclusive. We started out as just a show for female fashion. And now our show includes menswear. It includes all sorts of unisex characters and unisex trends and fashion.

We have everything: womenswear, menswear, unisex, we have models in wheelchairs, we have drag queens, we have the entire spectrum of fandom on the runway. And the thing that’s always been so important to me is that everyone is welcome. If you are a fan and if fashion is your thing, then you’re welcome on our runway. That’s how I wanted our show to be different. Back when we started, I wanted our show to feel like it was plucked out of Fashion Week in New York or Paris or Milan.

I wanted to create a fashion show of that caliber, but I always wanted the focus to remain on the fans. I wanted that to be a reflection of what you see on the floor at Comic-Con. And that’s everyone; just literally taking the floor, taking the halls of San Diego Comic-Con and putting that on the runway. And I think, you know, we’ve done that. We’ve had models of all different ages and sizes and race and gender and abilities. And it’s something I’m extremely proud of.

It’s fantastic. That’s the perfect antidote to, you know, it’s so bizarre that Star Wars has become so fiercely debated online, I guess we could say. There is an element of toxicity. I like to think that it’s from just a very outspoken minority of whiners, because I always think of, even though it’s not my favorite of all the Star Wars movies, my favorite line, maybe my favorite line in all of Star Wars is Lando in the Rise of Skywalker, when Poe is feeling helpless and he says, “There’s too many of them.” And Lando says, “But there are more of us.” And shows like yours represent that to me, you know?

Ashley Eckstein: Well, thank you for saying that. I love that line as well. You know, for me, I can’t speak to, you know, projects that I’m not involved in, but what I can say, you know, specifically to the Her Universe fashion show or, you know, anything I’ve had the privilege to be a part of with Ahsoka, it’s very important to me that we always create a safe space for everyone. And, you know, that space is always a place where everyone just feels loved. And I do my best to just listen. And, you know, everyone’s there for a reason. You know, one of the biggest lessons my grandfather taught me as a kid is, he always said, “Don’t judge a person until you put yourself in their shoes.”

When it comes to the fashion show, especially, everyone has their own journey on how they got to our runway. And everyone’s journey is important. And so, you know, I just consider myself so fortunate that I get to give these designers a chance to walk on that runway. I get to hear their stories about what their journey has been like to get to that stage. I just always try to lead with love. And specifically,
what Ahsoka has taught me is kindness
. You know, Ahsoka’s true power is her kindness. And, you know, that doesn’t get enough credit, not just for Ahsoka, but for people in general.

As a little girl growing up, I was always kind, but I always looked at it as a weakness. But as an adult, I’ve learned that kindness is actually quite the opposite. It’s quite powerful. As silly as it may sound, it’s not silly to me. I put on my armor every day, and it’s an armor of kindness. I just try to greet everyone with love and kindness. And I try to listen as much as possible.

It sounds like you’ve described the Light side of The Force, ya know? In a certain respect, if you’re fighting, you’ve already failed, kinda. To me, that’s the whole message of the Clone Wars at the end of the day.

Ashley Eckstein: Yeah. Well, I will say definitely I’ve always admired Ahsoka and everything she stands for. In many ways, she is just the Light side of The Force. And that’s why I say Ahsoka lives in all of us now, because after almost 16 years of this character, we all have taken a piece of her. And even beyond Ahsoka, we have a piece of The Force with us in our hearts and in our souls.

But specifically, Ahsoka is my guide. I was cast as Ahsoka to be myself. Like, they literally didn’t know what they wanted for her. And when Dave Filoni and Henry Gilroy, when they met me, they were like, oh, we like you. We want you to just bring your own voice and bring your own personality and your own humor to this character. And so I did that in the beginning. But over time, Ahsoka inspired me. And this is not just a line. This is not an exaggeration. I promise you with every ounce of my being, I ask myself on a daily basis, “What would Ahsoka do?” You know, what would Ahsoka do in this situation? How would she respond in this situation? And I try to live my life by that. And so she’s definitely been my guide.

It’s incredible. Ahsoka is such an integral part of Star Wars. When you think of Star Wars, she’s one of the first things that comes to mind. And I remember when she first popped up, people were like, “When did Anakin have time to have a Padawan?” Did you think that she would have such a huge, profound impact on the whole Star Wars galaxy?

Ashley Eckstein: I’ve been a lifelong Star Wars fan. I first watched Star Wars on VHS when I was a toddler in my living room. And so I’ve always loved Star Wars. But I was definitely more of a casual fan… Because once I met Dave Filoni, (laughs) then I quickly understood like, oh, this is a much larger world that I have so much to learn about. I look back to the Padawan that I was when I became Ahsoka, and I realized how naive I was. But I say that in the best way. I actually think that it was the best thing that I kind of came into this very naive, eyes wide open, and with so much love and excitement. And I had two years to spend with Ahsoka before the rest of the world met her.

We were well into season 2 before the movie came out. I had already fallen in love with Ahsoka. And by no means did I think Ahsoka would be the character that she is today. Once again, like the Her Universe fashion show, she wildly exceeded all of my expectations. But what I did hope was that all Star Wars fans would grow to love Ahsoka like I do. And I feel like, for the most part, that’s come true. And it’s been a journey. She wasn’t beloved by all in the beginning (Laughs). And I know that, and even I’ll be the first to say that she came on a little strong, a little snippy.

Kids do!

Ashley Eckstein: Yes, exactly! Exactly! But, I feel very fortunate that I had two years on everyone. And so I knew how far she had come. And I also appreciate that I was naive. Actually, in many ways, I still am. I just see the good. And I’m not naive. I’m not naive to the negative. I’m not naive to the bad. But my view of the good and my hope in the Light is stronger than the Dark, than the negativity. And so my belief in this character was stronger than the doubters. And I just begged fans for their patience.

Fortunately, everyone kind of went on the journey with us. And so much credit goes to George Lucas, because he was making this show no matter what. That’s very rare nowadays, where you don’t know if you’re going to get a second season or a third season. And George Lucas said, you know what, I’m making this show because I love it. And I’m going to do it no matter what. And he afforded us the time to develop these characters, the time to get to know these characters. And because we’ve had so much time with Ahsoka, that’s truly why people love her.

About Her Universe

The iconic Her Universe Fashion Show will return to San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) for a celebratory 10th anniversary with host Ashley Eckstein (voice of Ahsoka, Star Wars & Founder, Her Universe) and returning co-host Michael James Scott (Broadway star, Aladdin, The Book of Mormon, Something Rotten) on Thursday, July 25 at 6 p.m. PT in the Harbor Ballroom of the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel San Diego. Additionally, award-winning director Jeremy Merrifield joins the celebration as the show’s director.

This year’s show is presented by Mattel, leading global toy and family entertainment company, and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world.

Her Universe is known as the groundbreaking fandom fashion company and lifestyle brand originally founded by Ashley Eckstein in 2010. Her Universe strives to cultivate a fandom-centric community powered by women to be authentically themselves and celebrate what they love by designing quality, fandom-centric, size-inclusive, stylish merchandise. For more information, visit heruniverse.com and follow @heruniverse on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and @officialheruniverse on TikTok.