MEET CATHERINE ELHOFFER
Design: Ashley’s Totoro Fashion Gown
Starting today, we will be featuring one of our amazing designers each day from The Her Universe Fashion Show which took place during this year’s San Diego Comic-Con! We want to introduce you to the 36 talented designers from all over the country that made the event one to remember. We’re starting off with the creative talent behind Ashley’s Studio Ghibli Totoro fashion gown she wore throughout the show, Catherine Elhoffer.
Catherine Elhoffer taught herself to sew when she was 15-years old after joining the Greater St. Louis Renaissance Faire. She was a member of the fae guild, and this is where she started to develop her love of fantasy costuming and nerdy fashion. She made all her own garb and helped her friends to create their own pieces. When she entered college, she was told by a professor to check out the costume shop attached to the university theater; this was the best advice she was ever given.
A week after graduating with a degree in technical theater emphasizing costume design, Catherine moved to Los Angeles and started hustling for costume work. She started with student films and shorts, moving to web and TV through the five years she’s lived and worked in LA. To date, she’s designed and styled 7 Feature Films, 14 Short Films, a TV series, a dozen Commercials, and dozens of web projects, including 6 series – many of her projects have won numerous awards. Catherine supplements her film career with personal commissions and freelance designing and sewing. Her dresses have been worn on the DGA red carpet, AVN red carpet, a variety of film premieres, at wedding alters, and now at SDCC. She’s created a variety of Halloween costumes for children and adults as well as a few Cosplay costumes for Blizzcon and for herself. She says sewing is her life blood and her very reason for living.