New 'The Force Awakens' Shirt Found At Walmart

By Chris Seekell

Our friend Kaeli Cheyenne from The Geek Breakdown was fortunate enough to spot a piece of merchandise from Star Wars: The Force Awakens at her local Walmart. Check out this awesome BB-8 t-shirt that most likely was accidentally put on shelves before Force Friday.

While shopping at Walmart today I stumbled upon an incredible accident; an Episode VII shirt. The racks were stocked with amazing products, and a large quantity of these BB8 themed beauties. When I went to ring it up, the register stated that it was not allowed to be sold, however the cashier allowed me to purchase it, regardless.

Definitely keep a look out for more The Force Awakens merch hitting the shelves early before the September 4th official street date!

Source: The Geek Breakdown

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2nd Annual Her Universe Fashion Show Coming To SDCC

By: Benjamin Hart

Great news for fashion savvy Fangirls! Her Universe is returning to San Diego Comic Con this year for the second annual Her Universe fashion show! The event will be hosted by Her Universe founder Ashley Eckstein and will take place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Diego at 6pm on Thursday, July 9th. Although Eckstein is well know as the voice of Ahsoka Tano in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, Her Universe features women's clothing from all fandoms, including Marvel, Doctor Who and Star Trek, among others. The fashion show will no doubt feature couture from those franchises and more!

Read the press release for the event below:

NEW YORK, NY- June 25th, 2015 - The Her Universe Fashion Show, hosted by actress and Her Universe Founder Ashley Eckstein, returns to San Diego Comic-Con 2015 with an all new group of aspiring designers. This year, 25 finalists will present their original "geek couture" designs in the runway show to compete for the opportunity to design a limited edition fandom collection with Her Universe for leading specialty retailer Hot Topic. The 2nd annual Her Universe Fashion Show will take place on Thursday, July 9th at 6pm at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Diego. More than 2,000 fans are expected to attend this exciting runway show celebrating fangirl fashion and pop culture.

The Her Universe Fashion Show is the brainchild of actress Ashley Eckstein. The event not only aims to spotlight fangirl culture but to also support aspiring designers by providing them with a real runway to showcase their one-of-a-kind designs to the world. Two winners – one chosen by the audience and one chosen by a panel of judges, will be awarded the unique professional experience of co-designing a fashion line for Hot Topic retail stores. Guest judges joining the Her Universe 2015 Fashion Show panel include Hot Topic’s SVP of Merchandising and Marketing, Cindy Levitt; singer/songwriter, voice actress and designer, Traci Hines; Manager of Licensing and Merchandising at Sony Pictures Television, Jessica Nubel; and winners from last year's fashion show, Amy Beth Christenson and Andrew MacLaine. This year, Andrew MacLaine will be designing the on-stage "geek couture" gowns for host Ashley Eckstein. Actress Ashley Tisdale's company, Blondie Girl Productions, joins the Her Universe 2015 Fashion Show as a production partner. VP Production and Development of Blondie Girl Productions, Jennifer Tisdale, along with announcer Heath Hyche, will be handling backstage coverage, in addition to contributing as audience commentators. Espionage Cosmetics returns as the hair and make-up sponsors for this year's event.

"We are so excited to return to San Diego Comic-Con with The Her Universe Fashion Show," said Ashley Eckstein. "Geek Fashion is a trend that's not going away and once again we can't wait to celebrate Fangirl Fashion on the runway. You will not want to miss the stunning pieces created by this year's designers and the audience will participate by picking one of the winners!"

The 25 talented designers competing in this year's fashion show come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. They'll be creating women's fashion looks based on anything that is celebrated at Comic-Con, original or inspired by popular media. The finalists are:Lauren Andrews, Ericka Angiuli, Kelly Cercone, Laura Desch, Daisy Evans, Jessica Gonzalez, Lindsay Hamilton, Kathryn Henzler, Sarah Henzler, Hannah Kent, Kristin Koga, Harmony Leiker, Belinda Mendoza, Jennifer Newman, Emily Ong, Laura Cristina Ortiz, Leetal Platt, Tara Reich, Adria Sanchez-Chaidez, Amy Scott, Kristi Siedow-Thompson, Sam Skyler, Jesse Thaxton, Oseas Villatoro, and Erica Williams.

"Last year's winners Andrew and Amy Beth blew us away with the amazing Marvel collection they designed for us," said Cindy Levitt, SVP of Merchandising and Marketing at Hot Topic. "It truly hit home with the fangirl, as well as our fashion customer and was a fantastic success! We can't wait to do it again this year!"

Ashley Eckstein, Hot Topic and the Her Universe team encourages attendees to come dressed in their own geek-inspired fashion for a chance to be recognized and win prizes. The Her Universe Fashion Show promises to be an evening of fun fanfare with special announcements you will not want to miss!

All media inquiries including attendance and coverage of the fashion show should be directed to Her Universe publicist Dan Madsen at dmadsen@araca.com.

Her Universe and Hot Topic will also be presenting a special screening of Studio Ghibli’s beloved film Spirited Away on Thursday, July 9th at 9pm at the Horton Grand Theatre in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. Entry to the screening requires a ticket. Drawings for entry tickets at the Horton Grand Theatre will be held on Thursday, July 9th at 9am in the Autograph Area (upstairs in the Sails Pavilion) of the San Diego Convention Center

San Diego Comic Con is happening July 9th - 12th!

Source: Her Universe

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Her Universe Unveils New 'Star Wars Rebels' Tees

By: Benjamin Hart

Since joining the Star Wars universe as Ahsoka Tano in The Clone Wars, Ashley Eckstein has been hard at work building her Clothing company Her Universe, which gives Geeky ladies the opportunity to express their fandoms through their apparel. Now, from the creators of The Clone Wars comes Star Rebels, and Her Universe has accepted the challenge of creating awesome Rebels themed clothes. Yesterday they revealed two Sabine themed designs(seen above), one featuring her Rebel Starbird graffiti and another sporting the colorful Mandalorian's helmet with the words "Join The Rebellion." You can get the designs in both adult and youth sizes with either short or long sleeves.

Visit HerUniverse.com to check them out and buy yours now!

These are certainly fantastic, and I'm sure more Star Wars Rebels themed apparel is on the way!

Source: Her Universe

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Ashley Eckstein, Kathleen Kennedy Among Blastr's "Women to Watch"

By: Lillian Skye

Blastr celebrated International Women's Day by selecting eleven "women to watch" in the sci-fi and fantasy community. The women had to be trailblazers making their mark on sci-fi, women who are influencing the future of film, comics, and the geek community. Their list ranges from actresses to novelists, and among The Walking Dead's Gale Anne Hurd and Divergent authoress Veronica Roth are Star Wars' own Ashley Eckstein and Kathleen Kennedy.

Blastr boasts of Eckstein's belief in geek girl culture, noting how Ashley's company Her Universe has been "a big boon to those out to show that sci-fi and fantasy aren't just for boys anymore." Her Universe was founded in 2009 when the company sold "geek chic" Star Wars merchandise. Now, Her Universe has expanded to accommodate fans of other "fandoms" such as Doctor Who, The Walking Dead, and Star Trek.

Kathleen Kennedy, President of Lucasfilm, is the grande dame of women in cinema, according to Blastr. "The Force is definitely with her," Blastr writes, listing E.T: The Extra Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, and Indiana Jones as some of the most influential films in Kennedy's repertoire to bear her name as the producer.

Congratulations to Eckstein and Kennedy who continue to blaze the trail for fangirls in the Star Wars community!

Sources: Blastr

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Rodarte's Galactic Gowns

By: Lillian Skye

Designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy channeled the fashion Force when they unveiled designs during the Rodarte fasnion show that made the jump to lightspeed from the silver screen to the runaway.

The dresses used iconic scene from the Star Wars Original Trilogy to create the galactic gowns. While Yoda resting in the swamplands of Dagobah and other iconic characters adorn the dresses, two of the designs feature the beauty of space. An image of the Death Star strikes fear on the one-shouldered dress and the beauty of Tatooine's twin suns grace another gown. Certainly Bail Organa would approve of Leia attending her first Alderaanian High School dance in one of Rodarte's floor length gowns?

Fangirls: Before you rush off to Los Angeles to try to purchase one of these dresses for your geek chic collection, Rodarte's Star Wars garb will only be available for photo shoots, and will only be seen in fashion shows and in exhibits.

Source: L.A. Times

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