I decided that for one last year, I would enter the Her Universe Fashion Show, and then explore other passions. I took some sewing classes at a local community college, and put my all into my design that year. And then something amazing happened. I. Won. I couldn’t believe it. While my career floundered, my hobby had turned into something that was life changing.
From there, I went on to create a collection of looks with Hot Topic inspired by my two favorite Disney Princesses, Mulan and Moana. When we met with the team, we only had a few weeks to create our designs. But it was surprisingly easy. Designs just flowed out and before I knew it, I had at least 18 pages worth of designs to show the team. I had never felt like there was something I was supposed to do until that moment. It just fit. And in 2018 I both lost my job and launched the Destination Disney collection with Hot Topic. I had never felt both devastated and equally ecstatic as I did then.
When I had thought that I was done with geek fashion, the universe had different plans for me. While video games will always be near and dear to me (I met my husband in the industry), I knew that I was saying goodbye to a career I had known for the last decade.
