{"id":67400,"date":"2015-12-16T06:50:23","date_gmt":"2015-12-16T11:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=67400"},"modified":"2015-12-16T06:50:23","modified_gmt":"2015-12-16T11:50:23","slug":"a-fashionable-force-star-wars-poised-to-add-to-franchises-rich-costume-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2015\/12\/16\/a-fashionable-force-star-wars-poised-to-add-to-franchises-rich-costume-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"A fashionable force: \u2018Star Wars\u2019 poised to add to franchise\u2019s rich costume legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"(Photo<\/a>
(Photo from the Discovery Times Square’s official Facebook account<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TORONTO \u2013 From Obi-Wan Kenobi\u2019s Jedi robes to Darth Vader\u2019s mask and Princess Leia\u2019s golden bikini, costumes featured in \u201cStar Wars\u201d are arguably as famous as the franchise\u2019s characters themselves.<\/p>\n

As \u201cThe Force Awakens\u201d arrives in theatres on Friday, costume curators and creators can\u2019t wait to see how fashion plays a role in the latest installment.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the prequels, you look at some of Natalie Portman\u2019s gowns, they\u2019re so lavish, they\u2019re so fashionable. And what that says to me is that society is doing well,\u201d said Saul Drake, project director of the Smithsonian travelling exhibition \u201cRebel, Jedi, Princess, Queen: \u2018Star Wars\u2019 and the Power of Costume.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s really interesting to see for \u2018The Force Awakens\u2019 costumes is that it\u2019s kind of almost a return to form for the classic style of costume. They\u2019re very sparse, they\u2019re very monotone, there\u2019s not a lot of embellishment on there. And without even seeing the movie, what that tells me is that the society is not doing that well. There\u2019s struggle going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s interesting to see how those costumes not only create character, but they also reflect what\u2019s going on in the \u2018Star Wars\u2019 movies in that time period.\u201d<\/p>\n

A selection of designs from \u201cThe Force Awakens\u201d are among the 70 costumes currently on display in the Smithsonian\u2019s exhibition at the Discovery Times Square centre in New York until Sept. 5, 2016.<\/p>\n

Styles sported by newcomers Finn (John Boyega) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) are also featured alongside notable ensembles from the six previous films spanning from the 1977 debut to 2002\u2019s \u201cAttack of the Clones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toronto-based costume and set designer Sarah Armstrong said she\u2019s noted some parallels between the designs she\u2019s seen so far on Finn and Rey and those worn by their onscreen predecessors Han Solo and Leia (Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.)<\/p>\n

They harken back to fashions from the original movies, which encompassed Asian-inspired designs with simple shapes alongside military-influenced styles, Armstrong said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s incredible how the original designer (John Mollo) was able to blend and marry the Samurai with a modern warrior and build archetypes that have remained timeless,\u201d said Armstrong. \u201cYou can\u2019t ignore that. And there are very few films out there that have been able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s also one of the reasons it\u2019s been so successful because it\u2019s a unique thing on its own, and that\u2019s why it still retains its impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the most enduring costumes from the film franchise is its most revealing.<\/p>\n

The gilded bikini worn onscreen by Fisher in 1983\u2019s \u201cReturn of the Jedi\u201d has remained perennially popular \u2013 and parodied \u2013 ever since.<\/p>\n

Comedian Amy Schumer struck a suggestive pose with C-3PO while dressed as Leia on the August cover of GQ. Montreal label UNTTLD was awarded a $15,000 prize in a \u201cStar Wars\u201d costume contest held during Toronto’s World MasterCard Fashion Week in October with their interpretation of Leia\u2019s look.<\/p>\n

Recent published reports suggested that Disney plans to retire the two-piece from use in product sales and marketing. Company representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that it it\u2019s a very male-centred world makes anything that Leia wore stand out,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cLeia\u2019s costumes are very (much) drawn on some of the male shapes but are very feminine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Armstrong said the fashion formula established early in the \u201cStar Wars\u201d series was \u201cincredibly successful\u201d and it would be wise for those now steering the franchise not to veer too far off-course.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll want to have something to appeal to the old fans, the people like me that saw it in \u201877, and they\u2019re going to want to appeal to a whole new generation of people… Once they\u2019ve had success with this first one, you might see them try to take some more liberties.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2013 From Obi-Wan Kenobi\u2019s Jedi robes to Darth Vader\u2019s mask and Princess Leia\u2019s golden bikini, costumes featured in \u201cStar …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":67402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,106],"tags":[9636],"class_list":["post-67400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-hollywood","tag-cp","mauthors-lauren-la-rose","mauthors-the-canadian-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}