Posted in: Conventions, Events, Pop Culture, san diego comic con | Tagged: Ashley Eckstein, her universe, Her Universe Fashion Show

Her Universe: Eckstein on Universal-Themed Fashion Show & 'Hypefriend'

Ashley Eckstein (The Clone Wars) spoke to Bleeding Cool about the Universal-themed Her Universe Fashion Show at SDCC & HypeFriend podcast.

If there's anyone aware of the loving warmth of the fan community, it's Ashley Eckstein, who developed quite the following as a voice actor with her signature role as the original Ahsoka Tano in the Dave Filoni Star Wars animated universe starting with The Clone Wars since 2008. She's not only embraced the character across several projects as recently as the LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, but she's also tapped into Disney's other biggest IP in Marvel and Warner Bros' DC, voicing various characters. Her passion project is building up Her Universe, which celebrates and nourishes fan creativity, including the annual Her Universe Fashion Show at San Diego Comic Con, she co-hosts with Broadway's Michael James Scott (Aladdin). Eckstein spoke to Bleeding Cool about working with Universal, particularly embracing the Wicked franchise, for the 2025 themed show this past weekend, and her new community-building podcast with Scott called HypeFriend.

Her Universe: Ashley Eckstein on the Universal-Themed 2025 San Diego Comic Con Fashion Show & HypeFriend

BC: What does it mean to have Universal as a sponsor for this year's Her Universe fashion show?

AE: Oh my goodness, it is a dream come true to have Universal as a sponsor of this year's show. I'm a big fan of Universal and all of their properties, but to be during the summer of Wicked is epic beyond anything I could ever imagine. Obviously, Wicked has now become one of my favorite movies of all time, and I am counting down the days until Wicked: For Good. The fact that we get to work with Universal and also play in the world of Wicked is a dream come true.

What are some of the Universal IPs you're looking forward to seeing for this year's fashion show?

Well, it's exciting because the designers had their pick of all the Universal properties, so I don't want to spoil anything. You could probably guess there's going to be some recognizable franchises in there, like Wicked, maybe some Jurassic Park/Jurassic World. DreamWorks is also under the Universal umbrella, so lots of fun properties, including Universal Monsters, so keep an eye out for that. The designers had a lot of fun, and my co-host, Michael James Scott, and I are heavily leaning into Wicked. Our theme is defying fashion, and we've had a lot of fun leaning into Wicked, so expect more from the land of Oz.

Should we expect any surprise guests, like anyone from the cast of Wicked?

We announced that one of our judges is Marissa Bode, who plays Nessarose, so we are thrilled to have Marissa Bode join us this year, as well as Variety's Marc Malkin. We have a stacked all-star lineup, and then of course, our Broadway superstar, Michael James Scott, is joining me once again as my co-host.

Were there any Universal IPs that are off the table, like maybe some of the darker ones like Blumhouse?

No, it was not specific about what was allowed. We kept it very broad to Universal properties. We saw submissions for a wide variety of properties, so you will see that on the runway. We've had hundreds of submissions, and sadly, we could only pick the top 25. It was so difficult. We are quite proud that we picked the top 25 designs to represent the Universal properties on the runway this year, and it is a wide variety, so I'm excited for you to see it.

Was there any consideration to taking this beyond San Diego Comic Con, as far as taking the Her Universe Fashion show to maybe like one other place or is it exclusive to this convention?

The Her Universe fashion show at San Diego Comic Con would not be possible without the team at San Diego Comic Con. They have helped us build this show from day one. They've been an incredible partner, and they've given us the platform here to be able to grow the show. We always plan to keep this version of the Her universe fashion show, at San Diego Comic Con, but one year we did a docu-series on Comic-Con HQ when Comic Con had its own streaming platform, so it's a dream to be able to take the show and maybe produce it as an actual docu-series once again for everybody to be to experience it. I still have that dream, and I hope to make it happen again someday.

I wanted to ask you about, you know, your upcoming podcast with Michael for HypeFriend. Was it something you decided one day to start doing, or was it just something you had planned for some time?

It's something we planned for some time, but our origin story goes back to the fashion show. Michael and I have been friends since high school, and we met in 1996. We like to say HypeFriend was established in 1996, but the first year Michael co-hosted the Her Universe Fashion Show with me was two years ago. We had so much fun working together that we were sad when the show was over, because we wanted to continue to do more together.

We were having a brainstorm and Michael's husband, Jeremy (Merrifield), who is our producer and director, said, "Don't wait around for somebody else to give you the opportunity. Why don't you all create the opportunity yourselves? You two should do a podcast." That's where the idea started. It's taken two years to get this off the ground, and it's something that we're passionate about. We wanted to work together, but do something good, which is the theme of Wicked. We wanted to do something good, and that's where HypeFriend was born.

We both believe in the power of friendship, and I'm also a huge advocate for mental health. We can all help by being good friend, and that's what "HypeFriend" means. A HypeFriend is someone who unconditionally and genuinely cares and is there for you, no matter what. We said, "You know what?! Let's start a friendship revolution!" One HypeFriend at a time. We're not doctors and experts, but we're friends, and maybe if we talk about friendship, then we can create more friendships, and that will help people, one friend at a time.

Back to the fashion show, did you have any standouts last year you want to touch upon?

I'd love to stress this show is for everyone. There's something for everyone, and you don't need to know anything about fashion to come and enjoy our show. It is a celebration of fandom, that's the thing. Every single person who comes to our show tells us, "Oh, my gosh! This is now my favorite event at Comic-Con, and they must come back year after year," because it's fun. The energy in the room is so positive, and it's infectious.

It is a celebration of fandom, and the audience gets to help pick one of the winners. It's truly interactive, uplifting, and empowering. You leave with just the feel-good vibe of like, "This is what Comic-Con is truly about. This is the spirit of Comic-Con." It's something I'm proud of, and I encourage everyone, whether fashion is your thing, to come with your friends. It's a free event. Come early and get your wristband and then come back later for the show.

For more information on the Her Universe Fashion Show, you can go here, and for Eckstein and Scott's podcast HypeFriend, you can come here.

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