'Star Wars and the Power of Costume' Exhibition: Gallery

Star Wars' Inspirations

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In addition to displaying the actual costumes, the exhibit provides a look at the historical and cultural inspirations for many of the costumes.

Fabric Swatches for Queen Amidala's Dresses

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Additional features of the exhibit include fabric swatches, particularly for Queen Amidala's dresses, which are made from both vintage and original materials.

Uniforms of 'Star Wars'

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A section of the exhibit displays various soldiers from the "Star Wars" universe, including the orange flight suits (left) worn by pilots in the Rebel Alliance. The suits were inspired by the orange jumpsuits worn by some of the Mercury 7 astronauts (see next picture).

Mercury 7 Jumpsuits' Influence on 'Star Wars'

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Featured in the "Star Wars" costume exhibit is a photo of the Mercy 7 astronauts, to show how their orange jumpsuits inspired the jumpsuit design used for pilots in the "Star Wars" Rebel Alliance.

American Gothic Sand People

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American Gothic Sand People.

Wearing Robes, You Will Be

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Yoda's costume, like the other Jedi costumes, resembles monks' robes.

Darth's Industrial Chic

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Costumes convey many things about a character, and the exhibit curators told Space.com that "Star Wars" is a prime example of this. For example, Darth Vader's costume is industrial and threatening, which reveals much about his character: a man who is dependent on a machine to live, and acts as the muscle for the evil Galactic Empire.

'Star Wars' Military Uniforms

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Other military costumes from the "Star Wars" universe are similar to real-world military outfits.

A Good Blaster at Your Side

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While the exhibit is mainly focused on costumes, the display at the Discovery Times Square museum features some prop displays as well. 

These Are the Droids You're Looking For

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Perhaps the most restrictive costumes in the "Star Wars" universe were those of the droids C-3PO (left) and R2-D2 (right), worn by two live actors. BB-8 (which makes its first appearance in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens") is not technically a costume, because it is entirely remotely operated.

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Calla Cofield
Senior Writer

Calla Cofield joined Space.com's crew in October 2014. She enjoys writing about black holes, exploding stars, ripples in space-time, science in comic books, and all the mysteries of the cosmos. Prior to joining Space.com Calla worked as a freelance writer, with her work appearing in APS News, Symmetry magazine, Scientific American, Nature News, Physics World, and others. From 2010 to 2014 she was a producer for The Physics Central Podcast. Previously, Calla worked at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City (hands down the best office building ever) and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California. Calla studied physics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and is originally from Sandy, Utah. In 2018, Calla left Space.com to join NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory media team where she oversees astronomy, physics, exoplanets and the Cold Atom Lab mission. She has been underground at three of the largest particle accelerators in the world and would really like to know what the heck dark matter is. Contact Calla via: E-Mail – Twitter