Designs of Her Universe X-men collection designed by 2023 winners Rachel Petterson and Raeven K. for San Diego Comic Con
By Isabel S. Dieppa
X-men fans and Star Wars fans will have exciting news threads to look forwards to this summer from Her Universe.
During the Her Universe Fashion Show update panel panelists teased out four new designs that will be exclusively sold at San Diego Comic Con this summer.
The panel featured founder Ashley Eckstein, last year’s judges winner Rachel Petterson and audience winner Raeven K. Harris, and Mallory Leveille, an assistant buyer at Hot Topic, and past judge for the competition, and Symantha Perrera, a senior fashion designer for Box Lunch.
As a part of the prizes the winners receive is the opportunity to design their own lines for the Her Universe brand to be sold nationwide.
Panelists gave WonderCon audience members a first look at the new designs by both Petterson and Harris.
Kicking off the designs are two pieces inspired by Star Wars. Petterson designed a versatile reversible dress that allows the wearer to choose their destiny every day.
“I’m very indecisive and can not decide which alliance I want to go, and then I said let’s work that in,” Petterson said at the panel.
For the days the wearer would choose the light side, the dress is white with light themes and motifs. And on days when they are maybe feeling a little darker, they can reverse the dress to show the other side.
“Obviously I’m a big Star Wars fan but it really is unrealistic to say that you’re just on the light side, or you’re just on the dark side,” Eckstein said.
Petterson said her idea behind the dress is that she wanted something comfortable that she could wear to cons or work and to be versatile.
Like all fashion, the dress can also be a metaphor for a person’s mental health, or how they are feeling.
“I’m a huge advocate of mental health. We are a balance and it’s what we do with our emotions that really matters,” Eckstein said. “But to say that we don’t have the dark side in us that’s not realistic. We’re going to have days where it’s just like, you now what? I am walking down that path to the dark side.”
The second Star Wars piece revealed is a unisex Ahsoka inspired jacket designed by K. Harris.
During the panel Eckstein did not hide her enthusiasm and love for the jacket. Eckstein has a close relationship and love for the character of Ahsoka having voiced the role in all of the Clone Wars animated series and Star Wars Rebels.
“It’s specifically for you Ashley,” K. Harris said
“I am obsessed and I will be living in this jacket at San Diego Comic Con,” Eckstein said cheerfully.
The jacket is a 1/4 Zip pullover with custom drawcords. It features a design of Ahsoka’s montrals on the sleeves.
“I think my favorite part is the quarter zip and we ended up doing the diecast little lightsaber cord pulls, which was really fun.” K. Harris said.
K. Harris and Petterson also designed an X-Men collection, which will also be sold at the Her Universe booth in San Diego Comic Con.
The designs include a bomber jacket that would fit right in for any student at Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters.
“The bomber jacket is really a nice nod to what you’d wear if you were actually at Xavier’s,” K. Harris said. “It’s more a piece I wanted for myself so I’m glad everybody else gets to have it too.”
The second design is a dye paint hoodie with the X-men emblem at the top, and Storm’s lightning bolts creating the form of an X across the back.
The design of the sweatshirt is more subtle, but still very X-men.
K. Harris has expressed her love of storm and the X-men fandom in the past. She won the 2023 competition with a high concept design of Storm dress.
“I needed more storm merch. If I can get it, I’m going to buy it. I like that it’s a little bit more subtle,” K. Harris said.
The X-men collection will be for sale at the Her Universe booth at San Diego Comic Con. And the Star Wars collection will be for sale at the Her Universe booth in the Star Wars pavilion at San Diego Comic Con.
San Diego Comic Con will be happening Thursday July 25- Sunday July 28, 2024.
Photo by Isabel S. Dieppa