The Best Costumes of the Star Wars Saga
Sunday, December 22, 2019 at 10:00PM 
When I was a child my dad gifted me with the tapes of the original Star Wars trilogy and then took me to see The Phantom Menace when I was just five. Other kids left the theatre thinking of pod races and cool fights, but what most fascinated me were Queen Amidala's astounding costumes. As soon as I got home I started sketching ideas of what other crazy attires she could have worn and an obsession with movie costumes was born. I'd only consider dedicating my college studies to it many years later, but that didn't stop me from filling boxes full of drawings of the Naboo Queen and her mother in a variety of extravagant fashions.
In honor of the end of the Skywalker saga, let's take a look back to the franchise's many chapters in search of its very best costumes. Costume design is one of the few elements where the quality never wavered across nine movies, despite a single costume design nomination and win from the Academy (for the 1977 original).
There was plenty to choose from. To avoid any character dominating the list, the self-imposed limitation is one costume per character.
Honorable Mentions: The many permutations of the Jedi's classic garb including Darth Maul's black version of it, Snoke's red Pretorian guard, Queen Apailana's funereal splendor and the jacket Finn got from his sexy boyfriend...
10. Boba Fett's Armor
designed by John Mollo
For a long time, the only thing anyone knew about Star Wars' iconic bounty hunter was that he looked cool. Still, that was enough to make him into one of the franchise's fan's favorites. While I don't share in the sentiment, it's impossible to deny this costume's ability to suggest a great sense of daring adventure with merely a strong silhouette and weather-worn textures.
09. Rey's Hero costume
designed by Michael Kaplan
As most of The Force Awakens, Rey's costume is an echo of past glories in the franchise's history. In this case, the creamy linens and simplicity serve as a reminder of Luke in the first movie. Like him, she's a humble nobody from the desert, her color story blending her into the sandy landscape. When she leaves her home, however, the palette makes her stand-out, like a beacon of moral and aesthetic purity in a world dominated by chaos.
08. Admiral Holdo's Lavender glamour
designed by Michael Kaplan
Like Old Hollywood's directors, Rian Johnson knows a star when he sees one and how to celebrate their mega-watt presence. Covered in draped puce that compliments her purple coiffure and sparkling eyes, Laura Dern's Holdo is a picture of elegance and beautiful verticality. Moreover, her costume is a pointed counterargument against the visual codification of feminine heroism as an abandonment of girly aesthetics in genre fiction. Holdo is glamorous, but she's also a revolutionary hero.
07. C-3PO's gold-plated glory
designed by John Mollo
Michael Kaplan, who did the designs for the current trilogy from Force Awakens through Rise of Skywalker, has said that his favorite costume from the original Star Wars movies was C-3PO. Such admiration is easily understood when one considers the ever-lovable diplomatic droid is defined by the costume he wears. Lest we forget that there's an actor inside the robot and Anthony Daniel's jittery movements were conditioned by its limitations. It's costume design as total character-building.
06. The Stormtrooper uniforms
designed by John Mollo
Speaking of figures that are their costumes first and foremost, the Stormtroopers are utterly defined by their image, their shiny white armor a continuation of the Empire's spaceships. They are people but they might as well be machines for the narrative's purpose. Thanks to the elimination of their collective humanity, it's particularly startling when we see a Stormtrooper take his helmet off and become an individual person - Finn.
05. Palpatine becomes The Emperor
designed by Trisha Biggar
The most interesting arc of the prequel trilogy wasn't Anakin's descent into the Dark Side but Palpatine's rise to power. A diplomat becomes a symbol of martial law until he transforms into a villain for the ages.
That transition is best encapsulated in this beautifully simple costume. Here we have the textiles and puffy sleeves of the politician, but the iconography of a traditional bad guy. Just pull up the hood to see the transformation.
04. Luke's priestly Black
designed by Aggie Guerard Rodgers & Nilo Rodis-Jamero
After The Empire Strikes Back, the return of Luke was much anticipated. With a new cyborg arm and mastery over the Force, the galaxy's greatest hero appears as a changed man in the next movie. Long gone are the linens of a farm-boy, substituted by the menace of a tailored costume and total black. From a Buddhist Monk, the idea of the Jedi is thus transmuted into a Catholic Priest with a lightsaber in hand.
03. General Leia's dramatic cape
designed by Michael Kaplan
Carrie Fisher never looked more beautiful than she did in The Last Jedi. With a popped collar and rich fabric covering her body, General Leia Organa is turned her into a stately icon of the Resistance the likes of which this franchise never saw, before or again. The most surprising aspect is the jewelry, a touch of glamour for even the darkest times. The bling, by the way, was Carrie Fisher's idea according to Kaplan.
02. Queen Amidala's Senate Robes
designed by Trisha Biggar
Look, because of those self-imposed rules I had to choose one. This entire list could have been composed of Amidala's costumes, but I think her majestic Senate robes best embody what makes her wardrobe so formidable. Perpetuating this saga's obsession with Asian iconography, Trisha Biggar took inspiration from traditional costumes for many of Queen Amidala's looks. This one is based on Thai culture, but its effect on-screen is beautifully ornate and alien, while strangely recognizable too. This is the pinnacle of space opera costumery.
01. Darth Vader
designed by John Mollo
Mixing fairytale archetypes with German military design and samurai culture, this cocktail of references became one of Hollywood's most instantly iconic costumes. It's utterly perfect and one of the best costume designs in film history.
Is your favorite Star Wars costume on the list?
Reader Comments (18)
what's a gold bikini gotta do to get some respect around here?
I feel there should be an honourable mention for Lando's cape closet on the Millennium Falcon in SOLO?!
Han's Hoth costume
Lando's casual wear plus cape from Empire
The Emperor's red Imperial Guards from ROTJ
:)
The costume design presentation for that year where A New Hope won at the Oscars is a damn riot. It deserved the damn Oscar for the long-lasting icons the costumes have become.
No Leia costumes! Utter blasmephy. Yes even her bikini. She had by far some of the most iconic costumes
Not in the vibe for Star Wars content because thr last movie was terrible
I love this post because I haven't had a human interaction in over a decade.
Laura Dern's drag fantasy extravaganza of course!
anonny -- Leia's in third place with her dramatic cape from The Last Jedi.
First thoughts on this enjoyable post - yes, Queen Apailana's funereal splendor was especially fabulous, and hey, that's Hugh Skinner behind Holdo! But as to the question at hand, I'm going to have to go with the Stormtroopers, with the Emperor's red guards as a runner up. The costumes did all the work in defining the characters, and they did an excellent job of it. Although you make a very good point about Luke's black.
The best costumes pieces in films like Star Wars are the ones that imply a bigger universe than what we're seeing and deeper characters than what we get. Look at Boba Fett's armor- who wouldn't wonder what the story is behind that character? What do the symbols mean? Who is under the helmet? All for a character who is largely silent and a tangential player in the story.
Before we knew anything about Vader, we wonder if he's machine or man, thanks to that costume. Amidala's extravagant queen lewks imply much about the stately and opulent culture of Naboo, and how the queen is perceived and treated by those around her (it's telling that she when she looks like a doll, she is used as a tool by Palpatine and disregarded by the Senate at large, but when she loses the makeup and hairpieces and wears practical clothing, she has agency. Unpack those gender dynamics!).
The costumes of Star Wars are masterful storytelling tricks all on their own.
I´m not a fan of this saga but as an admirer of design in every form i can say that Amidala Padme's costumes are my favorite.
Admiral Holdo is the Elizabeth Warren of Star Wars
i know Phantom Menace was not the best movie but those costumes deserved Oscar recognition.
Fun list! Vader is of course number one! But I have to disagree with Dern's purple...it might be the biggest campiest misfire of the entire nine movies.
Thank you, thank you... a million times thank you for this post. I've never understood why Star Wars failed to receive any love for costume design. It's as if the awards voters didn't get that C-3PO, Darth Vader and the Storm troopers are people wearing costumes. Again - thank you :)
It has *many* faults, but I really wished The Phantom Menace had been Oscar nominated for its costumes. Especially two decades later, I can't think of much like it in the realm of cinema that Star Wars occupies. Sub out ANNA AND THE KING for this and that line-up would be A+.
THANK YOU!!! For crediting the designers!!!!