So my baby sister has been attending the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in downtown Los Angeles, and recently informed me about an event they’re having in the FIDM Museum & Galleries from September 19 through December 10: The Costumes of Star Wars.
With the December 10 deadline approaching, we decided to make a night of it, ignoring of the fact that it was a rainy Friday evening on the freeway.
Included in the exhibit were the actual light sabers (labeled “Darth Vader, Episode IV”, “Luke Skywalker, Episode VI”, etc.) Good stuff if you’re a fan. We got close peeks at Luke and Leia’s Hoth gear, Alec Guinness’ dusty desert cloak, Han Solo’s outfit, and so forth. It was a fun exercise to analyze everything from a design point of view and reverse engineer the creativity behind the design ideas. For instance, on Luke’s Episode IV orange pilot outfit, there’s a mechanical box on his chest with three buttons. In the designer’s imagination, what were those buttons for? Hmm…
Anyhow, it was notable how many stickers were used on the helmets. For instance, something that looked like a three dimensional grill on the jawline of a Stormtrooper’s helmet was actually nothing more than a label. Movie magic.
Included in the exhibit were the Chewbacca suit, Vader’s helmet, Boba Fett’s get-up, and a large array of somewhat unfamiliar outfits worn by characters in the recent new trilogy. There must’ve been fifty different Padme outfits. I would venture to say that Natalie Portman changed clothes more times than Mariah Carey did at the American Music Awards.
My favorite outfit of the show would have to be the black cloak worn by the Emperor, which was made of a very cool material that had some cool relief in the weave. I want that thing. I can just imagine walking the dogs through the neighborhood with it.
Well, either that or the Tuskan Raider costume.
After the stellar gander we took a New York style stroll through the metropolitan drizzle up to Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine on Figueroa and 9th. Great food, great bar, great convo, amazing chocolate souffle, and plenty of aloha spirit.
I can’t believe I forgot my camera.
