The 9th annual Her Universe Fashion Show took place at SDCC yesterday celebrating Disney 100, and hosted by Her Universe founder Ashley Eckstein and Michael James Scott, the Genie in Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway; and ace photographer Brian Sims was there to capture it all.
Congratulations to all twenty five contestants that took part, and to the Judges winner Rachel Patterson, who wowed them with her Minnie Mouse inspired dress called Totally Minnie; and to the audiences winner Raven K., who created Mistress of the Elements inspired by the X-Men (last few images of the gallery).
During the show, Eckstein became emotional and admitted to the audience that the show had been in danger of not going forward at all, due in large part to the historic Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strike, which has stopped work from production to promotion, including at Comic-Con.
Eckstein and her team worked with representatives from SAG-AFTRA to make sure that the fashion show was in compliance with strike rules and could move forward.
“They said, ‘Go do your show,’” Eckstein said. “They supported us and we support them.”
At the start of the show, co-host Scott, best known for playing the Genie on Broadway and in West End productions of Disney’s “Aladdin,” sang “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from Disney’s “Cinderella” before introducing Eckstein.
Eckstein arrived in a retro glam black gown with a futuristic touch: flexible OLED screens arranged like a film strip, playing scenes from Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel movies. The gown was created as a collaboration between a Disney Imagineer, a producer and a fashion designer.
“I wanted to have my favorite movies and TV shows as a dress,” Eckstein said.
While Eckstein has had several outfit changes in past shows, the screens meant she didn’t have to for this one. It was Scott who, along with a few soaring musical numbers, showed off different outfits during breaks in the show, including a Genie-inspired look, a couture Darth Vader and even the clothing version of Thanos’s Infinity Gauntlet from Marvel’s “Avengers” movies.
Scott and Eckstein are friends from high school. Eckstein showed the audience an old photo of the two of them from a school production of “Into the Woods.”
“He’s gone from a high school stage to one of Broadway’s biggest stars,” Eckstein said of Scott.
Scott also took a moment during the show to “brag on my friend,” he said.
“This show is amazing,” he said. “People come here and they feel loved, they feel included, and they feel seen.”
Big thanks, as always, to Brian for taking and sharing the pictures.
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