Ashley Eckstein & Disney have launched a new brand called Our Universe. The brand is aimed at tweens and features masculine and feminine styles. The first offerings in the new activewear range are inspired by Disney Princesses and Black Panther. The line as a whole will be expanding in the future, with an emphasis on the masculine line which Ashley has wanted to grow for some time.
A couple of days ago Ashley sat down with Hello Giggles to talk about the brand, and much more….
HelloGiggles: I wanted to talk to you about Our Universe. What made you think that this is the right time to not only branch out, but bring in a boys’ line, as well?
Ashley Eckstein: You know, it was something that Disney actually came to me, and asked us if I would be interested. And of course, me being such a massive Disney fan, I think I said yes before they could fully get the question out to me. The funny thing is, and some of the fans already know because I’ve been talking about it for a while, Our Universe was actually already in the works. So I had announced, when Hot Topic acquired Her Universe, that men’s fashion was going to be in our future. At the time I did a Facebook livestream, and I said the line would be called Our Universe. So we were already in the process of trademarking the brand, and figuring out our next steps, when I got the call from Disney. They said, “We love what you’ve done with activewear for the Her Universe brand, and we’d love to do that for kids and tweens. Would you be interested?” They said, “The catch is, we’d love for you to do it for boys and girls. Would you be open to expanding your brand with us? Maybe something like Our Universe?” I started laughing, and I said, “It’s so funny you say that, because we’ve already trademarked Our Universe and we’re currently working on it!” It was perfect. It was kind of like, the universe brought us together. Disney had this idea, and I just was beyond honored that they would come to me and give me the opportunity to design this for them.
You can read the full interview here. During the interview Ashley also makes reference to her new book entitled It’s Your Universe, which is part autobiography, telling her own story of being a little girl who longed for the stars and stardom, and part inspirational guide.
The book is out on May 8th. Entertainment Weekly has the exclusive cover reveal and also shares an extract from the book that can be read here.
Huge congratulations to Ashley on all of this news. You can order products form the new Our Universe range at the link below. You can pre-order the book below too.
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