Comic-Con International has long been the central meeting point for fans of comics and popular art. Once a year (this year it is being held from July 24th-27th!) fans from all across the globe convene in the San Diego Convention Center, dressed in their best character attire and are given the opportunity to meet writers, artists, actors, and more people responsible for the creation of their favorite comic books. This year; however, Comic-Con is introducing something new!
Attempting to appeal to even more women and young budding artists, apparel stores Her Universe, Hot Topic, and Nerdist are giving fans the opportunity to participate in a design contest. All applicants are required to submit fashion designs that are “geek couture,” meaning that the designs must be based on anything that will be featured at Comic-Con this year! The designs must be for female fashion, and designers are encouraged to submit up to three separate sketches to be judged by a panel of judges led by Ashley Eckstein (an amazing actress starring in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the creator of Her Universe website!) 30 finalists will be chosen to showcase their winning designs in the Her Universe fashion show at Comic-Con on July 25th, making it the official first “geek couture” fashion show that Comic-Con has ever hosted!
Her Universe is a website specializing in apparel and jewelry associated with the Star Wars, Doctor Who, The Walking Dead, and Star Trek brands. The website celebrates the “fangirl” culture, providing an outlet for female fans to not only purchase apparel from their favorite brands but also seek advice and support through its Ask Ellen anonymous column, and also to read an exciting blog that showcases all events and breaking news relating to the comic books as well as supernatural TV shows and movies. Starting at the beginning of 2014, Her Universe began “The Year of the Fangirl,” an event that highlights a different interesting female every day of the week on the Her Universe blog, giving readers and fans of the blog the opportunity to meet different “fangirls” and see the accomplishments they are achieving in the comic book industry!
Ashley Eckstein came up with the idea of her “geek couture” fashion show by simply watching all of the crazy and amazing costumes people wear to Comic-Con each year. She enthuses on her website, “I’ve watched the fans use the halls of San Diego Comic-Con as their runaway for the past four years and it’s about time that we give them an actual runway to showcase their talent!” With the amount of creativity flowing at the convention, it was only a matter of time before designs received the attention they deserved and were featured in their very own fashion show, celebrating not only the comic books and arts featured at Comic-Con, but also the fans that put their time and effort into creating costumers that show their dedication and appreciation for the art-form and characters. I am so excited to see what designs come out of this amazing fashion contest!