Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy. Written by Brandon Alinger, Forewords by John Mollow, Aggie Rodgers, and Nilo Rodis-Jamero. 226 pages, hardcover, 2014 Chronicle Books (10 out of 10)
I love Star Wars. Always have, always will. The characters, the stories, the symbolism, the comedy, the tragedy. All of it. Something that has fostered that love and moved it along towards full-on obsession is the material world of that universe. The settings, the spaceships, the weapons, and even the clothing. The clothing–the costumes of Lucas’ creation are on exquisite display in 2014’s “Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy” by Brandon Alinger.
This beautifully written and designed book is an in-depth look at every costume seen in the Original Trilogy. I read a similar book by Trisha Biggar about ten years ago, “Designing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars,” but that had a focus on the prequels. Which, by the way, despite their weaknesses, have incredible designs. Those costumes, some of the only things built practically instead of in a computer–that’s where it’s at. But I digress. The domain of this book is the Original Trilogy only, and the text and the images make this a coffee table book worth poring over.
There are three different forewords, written by John Mollo, Aggie Rodgers, and Nilo Rodis-Jamero. They each worked on the original trilogy, and each had insight on how Lucas and the other directors helped shape what we saw on screen. The constraints on budget (not just on “A New Hope,” but on the others as well), the attempts to make a universe without any zippers or buttons, the stretch of the imagination to create an entire culture and civilization, represented in a costume that will get about three seconds of screen time. Besides the forewords, Alinger uses interviews with these designers, and pieces of interviews with directors Lucas, Kershner, and Marquand to make the book seem like an intimate conversation that has you going through a museum exhibit with them all as your docents.
There have been touring exhibitions of the costumes of Star Wars, sponsored by the Smithsonian and other organizations…I’ve never been to any of them. Reading this book is the closest you’d get to that experience. The photography focuses on details that you never thought to look for before; the differences in the colored buttons and lights on Darth Vader’s chest box; the differences between a Mark I and Mark II Stormtrooper, the sewn-on patches on the back of Boba Fett’s gloves. There are also things I’ve always wanted a closer look at, but never been able to see: the little pan flute-like instrument hanging around Yoda’s neck, the markings on different Rebel pilot helmets, the uh, intricate scrollwork on Leia’s bikini in Jabba’s Palace. It’s all presented at its best here, with most of the costumes photographed at multiple angles and far away/closeup looks. There are also inset photos of what the costume looked like in the movies, often in shots where you’ll never see the back of the costume, or the feet of the character…but that part of the costume was carefully designed as well. Not just the principal characters, but “Rebel Technicians” and “Imperial Dignitaries” — the background people and aliens who add depth to the Star Wars galaxy.
Most of the costumes have sketches of preproduction concept art. These include the initial concept art by Ralph McQuarrie, and then the stages of design that go from his concepts to what we actually see on the screen. I love seeing what could have been, and where the designers or their directors made choices that fundamentally changed the shape of the trilogy. You also see how their use as costumes during the trilogy, and their handling and storage since the 1980s has damaged some of them, some pieces have gone missing, others have paint flaking off or leather breaking down.
For the costumes of the Star Wars movies, and other science fiction movies to an extent, there’s a fine line between the costumes and the masks and paws and flippers of the alien species. If it’s something an actor needs to wear, it’s a costume. John Mollo was the one who did the initial sketches of what the cantina aliens and monsters would look like. Even though many of those designs changed before filming, it’s fascinating to see the process. All of them have to be designed so they can be actually worn by humans, and that can be challenging too. We get in-depth looks at what the Ewoks were wearing, and how they wore them, the trials of the poor actors who were roasting inside them. The almost-Ewok costumes are also some of the most horrifying things you’ve ever seen. They were able to cute-ify them up before they got into the movie, but wow. That was a close one.
If you’re a hardcore fan of Star Wars or filmmaking, or if you’re considering creating a costume of your own for cosplay or Halloween or just wandering the streets of Mos Eisley, this book is a must-read. My son and I are looking at some Star Wars costumes for later this year, and it’s changed what we were going to wear and how we were wearing it. They may still be duct tape, but they’re going to look good.