This Star Wars Costumes Book Trailer Takes You Inside Skywalker Ranch
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World building is key in films like Star Wars, and a huge part of that is the costumes. Nothing throws off a movie quite as fast as when it doesn’t look right. From Han Solo’s vest to Chewbacca’s sweet bandolier to various Princess Leia outfits, the detail and precision in the clothing goes a long way to creating the look and feel of George Lucas’ original trilogy. A book that just came out last week, appropriately enough titled Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy, digs into the aspect of the film in a way, and this book trailer gives you a good idea of what’s waiting for you inside these pages.
Author Brandon Alinger was given an unprecedented level of access to the costume archives at Skywalker Ranch, and the results looks like they’re going to be rather spectacular. As you can see here, Alinger goes into incredible detail, examining the outfits of everyone, from major players like Darth Vader all the way down to minor characters only the most hardcore fanatics can even correctly identify.
The book includes pieces of concept art, but the real highlight is going to be the staged photographs of the props and costumes. Many of these pieces have only ever been seen on screen, in action, and this gives you a good, clear, close up look at them for the first time.
In addition to displaying these artifacts, Star Wars Costumes also goes into the way they’re made, how the individual pieces of a larger outfit come together and work in unison, and explores the larger process that goes into an undertaking like this. If nothing else, it should also serve as a behind the scenes look at the movie costume industry and methodology, and you’ll walk away with a deeper understanding and appreciation of a part of movie making that you only really notice if something is off.
The book contains more than 200 photographs of the costumes from A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. From what we can see in this trailer, all of your favorites are here, including multiple Boba Fetts—and a special stunt version of his iconic armor to boot—Yoda, Jaba, and all of the rest of the gang.
Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy is now available, and if you’re interested in this kind of thing at all, it might be worth checking out. You might just gain a deeper level of appreciation for those films you already adore.
