Who’s excited to see Avengers: Age of Ultron tonight? We totally are! Continuing our Avengers celebration, we’ve got a styling of one of the brand new pieces from the collaboration between Her Universe and the winning designers from last year’s fashion show. Sadly, you can’t get your hands on one of these dresses quite yet but you can go ahead and preorder one from HotTopic.com. In the mean time, we’ll just keep styling.
I can’t stop putting together Black Widow outfits.
Have a great Avengers week, nerds.
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Fusion Dress: Maison Martin Margiela x H&M
Velvet Pencil Skirt: American Apparel
Wide Neck Jacket: Zara
Black Widow Buckle; Belt: DIY, Forever 21
Gold Bracers: Forever 21
Gun Print Nylons: Ebay
Ankle Boots: Storets
There’s something special about a four day long convention that focuses on just one fandom and there’s something special about Star Wars. Put the two together and you get the fantastic spectacle that was Celebration 2015.
The weekend began with the worldwide broadcast of The Force Awakens trailer. Which you should all watch again right now.
It’s difficult to describe the energy and enthusiasm that comes from experiencing something like this not just with thousands of fans in the room but also with those across the world as thousands upon thousands more watch the trailer simultaneously. How many of us wanted nothing more than to sit down and watch it a hundred times more right then and there and then grabbed the nearest friend and cried a little at Han’s line? (All of us. The answer is all of us.)
This was truly a convention about shared experiences. From The Force Awakens trailer to the Battlefront III trailer to Season 2 of Rebels to our first hints about Rogue One, everyone was there to learn more about this galaxy that we all love and to happily discuss it for hours on end with their fellow fans. One merely had to walk by the convention center in the wee hours of the morning and see the queues already formed for day’s big panel or wander through the nearby hotel bars to see Star Wars fans coming together.
Celebration was more then just the news though. It was getting the first chance to see costumes from The Force Awakens in person. It was squeeing loudly when BB-8 rolled on to the stage. It was sitting in on discussion panels about Princess Leia or how the story group now works or diverse opinions across the fandom. It was making friends with whoever happened to be next to you in line. It was chatting with the Del Rey folks about all the awesome books they have out now and those that are forthcoming. It was watching all the trailers that premiered together yet again.
The exhibition hall certainly wasn’t slacking either. Fans were more then excited to get their hands on things like the new Her Universe pieces or show exclusives. The line to get into the Celebration store was unbelievably long at times due to excitement. (I heard the Hera Syndulla shirt sold out which should, y’know, tell merchandisers something.) It’s pretty cool when you can wander between booths that alternate between being shops where you can hunt for that missing action figure for your collection to one of the larger officially licensed groups like Hasbro or Lego or ANOVOS and see what they currently have to offer and maybe even some prototypes of their future products. You could even get your picture taken on some of the replica sets such as that of the bacta tank on Hoth or by Rey’s speeder or with the famous Roxy the Rancor. It’s tough to beat that sort of experience.
Of course, there were a few things that could’ve been handled better. Lines were a bit messy and confusing at times and I would’ve liked to see a wider range of panels available. Overall though? This was probably the best convention I’ve ever attended. Mary Franklin and all of the staff and volunteers deserve a round of applause for all of the hard work they put in. The Star Wars.com folks who manned the Cantina and ran the livestream during the entire con also deserve a ton of kudos. We the fanbase are a lucky group to have them.
It’d be impossible to mention everything that was so great about the convention and to be honest, I know this is sounding like I’m just exaggerating. If you ever have a chance to attend Celebration, I highly recommend it. There’s no experience quite like it. Just… just go watch the Closing Ceremonies to get a taste of the experience.
Or just watch The Force Awakens trailer again. Don’t worry: the fandom will be here to scream and cry right along with you.
Geek fashion is in its prime now and nowhere was it more apparent then at Celebration last weekend. The Her Universe booth was mobbed every day of the con and other retailers who keep their female customers in mind such as WeLoveFine were also consistently busy throughout the weekend. It was genuinely heartwarming to see how many women were so excited to get their hands on the latest collections from both companies.
Luckily for those unable to make the convention, all the new items are for sale now over on Her Universe’s website with the exception of the convention exclusive ‘Ahsoka Lives’ shirt. I myself snagged the Imperial and X-Wings cardigans along with the Lightsaber skirt and am really impressed that the quality of these items rose along with the prices. These cardigans are made from a thicker sweater material and have nicer buttons than the previous cardigan offerings by the company. (You can expect to see some outfit posts featuring each of these in the coming weeks.)
Bria with Her Universe Founder Ashley Eckstein
I was lucky enough to be invited to attend a small press conference with Ashley Eckstein, the founder of Her Universe and the voice of Ahsoka Tano. Many of the questions dealt with Ahsoka’s much publicized return to the Star Wars universe in Rebels and it was clear that Ashley was thrilled to be back and to no longer have to keep that secret. We did, however, get a few minutes to discuss Her Universe. I asked about the Rebels related products that Her Universe as release so far as the only character to get a spotlight so far is Sabine while we’re still waiting for Hera (for more companies than just Her Universe.) Ashley was very honest with her answer: it’s coming. She’d had a ‘Captain of the Ghost’ design in the works but wasn’t happy enough to release it yet. More Rebels products are coming though as are more designs for younger girls as they are working through some production issues.
Speaking of production, it takes a fairly long time to get a design through the entire process from its inception to reaching the hands of fangirls. There’s a small team of mostly women that collaborate to create these items and they are constantly listening to ideas from the fans via social media. It’s important to remember how much Her Universe has accomplished it not even quite five years and they’re still making strides forward. Expect to see Her Universe products in expanded retail locations this fall and if you can, support the product in these physical stores because, to put it frankly, money talks.
You can also expect to see mostly the same products from Celebration at Star Wars Weekends but there will be more items towards Episode VII. Her Universe will also be making its way into the Disney Parks soon on a permanent basis and not just in Darth’s Mall. Her Universe is also working on creating one sizing system to use for all of their items regardless of who carries them. This will hopefully help fangirls when deciding what sizes to purchase in the future. When discussing sizing, Ashley did mention that the new Bespin and Hoth dresses and the lightsaber skirt are made of a fabric they haven’t worked with before that doesn’t have any stretch. She acknowledged it as something they likely won’t do in the future. That said, it’s clear that Her Universe is listening to their fans as this collection was a definite branch out from many of their previous offerings.
Finally, while I will always adore Her Universe, I want to highlight some of the amazing Star Wars inspired fashion that I saw around the convention although it was hardly limited to this. There’s little more awesome then getting to see so many people express their love for Star Wars via their own custom designed outfits. Star Wars and Fashion; what’s not to love?
She may have been a princess but Leia Organa was definitely the reigning Queen of Celebration this year. From the presence of Carrie Fisher to a Sunday panel focused on the character, Leia was evident around every turn at the convention and that’s a really good thing. Everywhere you looked in the exhibit hall, you could see another fangirl cosplaying as her or a t-shirt with her on it or even see her in artwork, toys, and posters displayed in booths.
Any time you get to spend in the presence of Carrie Fisher is absolutely worth it. The woman is essentially acting royalty and never fails to get a laugh out of everyone. Sitting in on her panel was a joy from the moment she stepped on stage and introduced her faithful dog companion Gary as BB-8’s stunt double. She spoke a little bit about filming Episode VII and referred to it as a “camp reunion” for all those who’d worked together before and how the she’s “so bad at [spoilers] that they have to keep [her] at home” when it comes to most of these press tours. Carrie even talked about filming the Original Trilogy and how they all turned up drunk to film those first Cloud City scenes thanks to a party with the Rolling Stones.
The highlight though was watching Carrie sprawl on the stage floor to sign James Arnold Taylor’s custom Leia shoes while Gary-the-Dog tried to “help”. It was clear throughout that she has fond memories of working on the saga and loves the movies just as much as we the fans do.
The real lasting effect of Carrie’s work as Leia was never more readily evident than during the What Princess Leia Means To Me panel on Sunday afternoon. It’s rare that you get to sit in on a panel with such a great topic and discussion by the panelists followed by the most respectful question/answer session I’ve ever had the pleasure to sit in on. Panelists Jen Heddle, Christie Golden, Catherine Taber, Cat Staggs, Katie Cook, and Rayne Roberts spoke at length about what Leia meant to them while they were growing up and what she means to them now and to the greater world of pop culture and science fiction. The panel acknowledged that Leia wouldn’t have been the same character if Carrie Fisher hadn’t played her and looked forward to seeing what new character barriers she might break in the Sequel Trilogy.
Given the impact that all of these women have on Star Wars (ie: Rayne Roberts is a member of the story group and Jen Heddle is a senior editor for Lucasfilm,) I feel incredibly confident in the direction that Star Wars is going not only for Leia Organa but also for the future of the female characters in the universe. The fans are behind it, the creators are behind it. With Leia as a model, how can Lucasfilm go wrong?