Blizzcon had a lot of great announcements, one of them was a partnership with Her Universe which many of you know from their Star Wars and Dr. Who clothing lines. We got the chance to talk to Ashley Eckstein (Her Universe) and Matt Beecher (Head of Licensing at Blizzard). The brand launched as a way for women to show their fandom with clothing and designs different from the black fan t-shirts we all wear. However, Ashley did not stop there, just like the determined Ahsoka Tano herself (we tried to keep our fandom to a minimum), she has expanded the line to include tons of popular brands and opened up the line to men as well.

Ashley compared the fandom of Blizzcon to the fandom of her more familiar stomping grounds, Star Wars. She explained that passion runs through both fanbases and she was happy to be a part of it. She launched the brand to be for all fan girls. It was quickly picked up by movies and TV, however, she explained that there was a blank spot in Her Universe when it came to gaming. As new people joined her team, all of them were gamers. They kept asking to bring in brands for fans.

Matt explained that Blizzard partners with brands that also keep a high integrity and quality similar to their own products. Matt praised Ashley for her shared values in making sure the intellectual properties were looked after with some great designs for fans. Ashley followed up to say they treat the property as their top priority with the trend and design in clothing as second place. She works with her designers on color pallets and designs but makes sure the latest trends all fit well within the brands first. She stressed that for some fashion trends, sometimes sci-fi or fantasy may not work. Matt finished with, as fans, Blizzard themselves were excited to see all this new clothing. We asked about other Blizzard brands as the line launches with Warcraft first. Ashley was quick to state that Overwatch will be coming soon.

Ashley explained the Her Universe journey from her early start. In conjunction with being one of Star Wars’ premiere voices. She was a fan girl as well. She would walk into Hot Topic and only see one small area for women’s clothing. It was all t-shirts. Wandering the malls and seeking to help fan girls like herself, she began the company both scared and excited. Going to conventions and meeting so many fans, she knew the audience was out there. She only saw the end goal and eventually had a day where she walked into Hot Topic again a few years later to see a fifty fifty split between women’s and men’s clothing.

Now Her Universe hosts over a dozen pop culture brands from Star Trek to Star Wars. Bringing Blizzard on board is just another great step for fans. With the opening of Our Universe which opens designs for all genders you can bet Blizzard fans have a lot to look forward too.