Show Designed With a Galaxy Far Far Away in Mind Valli Herman Los Angeles Times Probably only Dorothys Dorothy's red shoes have endured as much obsession Just as those sequined pumps inspired intense awe and imitation so do the I iconic costumes from the v Star Star Wars movies Darth Vader's helmet and light saber the Jedi tunics and Queen throne room gown hemmed with fur and glowing globes Now more than original original original nal costumes from all six Star Wars movies are on display in the downtown o gallery of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising the whole wonderfully unwieldy weight of the Star Wars universe Feathered headdresses headdresses headdresses head head- dresses furry foot 8 Jedi kids in mini tabards and horned blue- blue faced beings wearing something something something some some- thing like saddles on their shoulders The queens and handmaidens are in one room the pilots and soldiers in another and Jedi knights senators and bounty hunters make appearances too And then there are the fans who bought thousands of advance tickets and occasionally occasionally occasionally occa occa- show up dressed as themselves Geor ei Lucas the Oman man irian n i IY 7 I who started it all was on hand too to inspect the show and attend a preview party earlier this month Adjusting a bead here a mannequin there he said that depicting the height of intergalactic style in the Star Star Wars trilogy trilogy trilogy gy was so daunting he almost didn't make the films Clothing them was one of the biggest challenges said Lucas because I didn't want the costumes to look designed I didn't want them to jump out at you Or to go back 20 years and look at the film and say dated Concept artists created vast visual guidebooks that illustrated life on every planet including the a alphabet alphabet alpha alpha- pha- pha bet architecture vehicles and fashions Then designers design design- ers began to imagine distinct distinct distinct dis dis- dis- dis styles for each char char- acter Costume designer Trisha Biggar led a crew of up to artists including costume costume costume cos cos- tume props supervisor Ivo No Coveney and costume supervisor Nicole Young Though warriors and soldiers look the part mostly this is a world of royalty good guys and bad guys all dressed in variously variously variously vari vari- opulent long and flowing silhouettes laden with quirky accessories In Inthis Inthis Inthis this world tailors embroiderers embroiderers embroiderers and velvet must have been cheap and plen plen- Biggar chose many sweeping floor-sweeping hemlines since we dont don't wear long everyday it it removes it itI I f I 9 N r f N E N r a d 0 J Costume designer Trisha Biggar and director George Lucas attended the opening of the Star Wars costumes exhibit from the now or the known and contemporary But it is precisely that nod to the known that helped give the first Star Wars its iconic imagery Like most of the original Star Wars costumes the first Darth Vader was a up mock-up that costume designer John Mollo created from stock clothing His Darth Vader was pieced together from a World War II German helmet and gas gasmask gasmask gasmask mask a monks monk's cloak aleather a aleather aleather leather motorcycle under- under suit and a metal medieval breastplate Mollo's Luke wore an orange flight suit that modern audiences audiences audiences audi audi- may recall seeing on test pilots Those familiar items help the viewer bring bringa a in built-in association of good or evil to the characters characters characters charac charac- a process that is more complicated in the later movies Coveney Biggar and their crews appear to have been burdened by a need to make every episode bigger better grander They juggle references references references refer refer- from so many cultures Japanese geishas Elizabethan and Jacobean England Samurai and nd medieval armor armo cler clerical cal vestments African prints and even Star Wars itself that you almost have to to be bea a fanatic to know which look goes where Of course Biggar was well aware of the like cult-like fervor surrounding the films Indeed it was the first Stars Wars that thai Coveney saw as a year 12 old that inspired him to pursue pursue pur pur- pursue sue costuming You know people are going to put these things under intense scrutiny Coveney said In fact a glossy book cataloging cataloging cataloging cat cat- the films' films costumes Dressing a Galaxy The Costumes of Star Wars 50 Insight Editions has just been released And last week many of Biggars Biggar's designs actually went down a runway in a show of her work during New York Fashion Week of By the the gallery Monday show opening he here here several dozen fans including including ing 20 in costume waited for the doors to open About out people attended open open- opening opening ing ng day and advance tickets had been In purchased the increasingly com com- Puter-generated Puter m ovies movies 7 the Costumes meem remain fe few one of the handmade scale human artifacts Standing f from om the inches Costumes sible to its it's possible possible pos pos- appreciate the corn Com Star Wars Warson Coat Cont on Page 7 Star Wars Cont Cant on Page 7 plex pleats layers and construction construction construction con con- of Darth Mauls Maul's black cloak the majesty of the royal wardrobes and the wacky challenge of dressing a furry sized elephant-sized alien in an opera gown Though Lucas is considering considering considering consid consid- ering sending the exhibit on tour in later years he hinted that theres there's one thing hed he'd like that tour to include an Oscar Hopefully we will get a nomination said Lucas referring to the Academy Awards the biggest slap All this work and not even a nomination Indeed the Star Wars franchise has been nominated ed only once for a costume deJ design Oscar since Mollo o M f it i won the h his lS together cobbled-together wardrobe in 1977 Biggars Biggar's clothes try to match the Star Wars phenomenon phenomenon phenomenon phe phe- in grandeur With her precise construction rich fabrics and complex finishes the wardrobes have grown from simple costumes costumes costumes cos cos- to theatrical couture Even the raggedy creatures are wearing supple chamois and nubby linens not some stiff rag She's a master at combining fabrics which she customizes with every imaginable technique There will be many who revel in each stitch and even shell out for a limited edition of the costume costume costume cos cos- tume book Fan MaryAlice Ladd flew from New York at ather ather ather her own expense to attend the Fashion Institute party wearing her reproduction of the Queen costume and the fan headdress headdress headdress head head- dress featured in Episode I IThe IThe IThe The Phantom Menace She planned to document the costumes with notes photos photos photos pho pho- tos a tape measure and a Pantone swatch book There tobe serious scientific investigation tion going on she said With such a dedicated fan base one courts danger to say that the Star Star Wars story seems a little hokey and the costumes a little cheesy But this exhibit reveals why non-fans non should care about Star Star Wars The series challenged talented talented talented tal tal- tal- tal artisans who advanced and preserved arts that are thousands of years old hand-beading hand dense embroidery and even armor forging Star Wars costumes are to cinema what the haute couture couture couture cou cou- ture is to fashion Only the richest could afford such fantastic works They would be worn only in ina a fantasy world Its a feast for designers design design- ers Lucas said And so how big was the budget Lowering her voice an octave Biggar nearly whispered whispered whispered whis whis- Low hard believe That's to and q neither her she she n nor r Lucas is talking talking r but perhaps perhaps' when when youre you're charged with dressing dressing dressing dress dress- ing a galaxy that includes armies of aliens and generations generations generations genera genera- of royalty theres there's just never enough gilt and ormolu to go around |