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Princess Leia bikini suit from ‘Star Wars’ movie set sells for $175,000

Posted on by Vaseline

HOUSTON — The gold bikini-style costume Carrie Fisher wore as Princess Leia during the filming of “Return of the Jedi” in the “Star Wars” franchise has sold for $175,000, according to the auction house that handled the sale.

The costume became famous when Fisher wore it at the beginning of the 1983 film, in which Leia was captured by Jabba the Hutt in his palace on Tatooine and forced to live as a slave.

The costume, one of the most memorable in the Star Wars films, was auctioned Friday by Heritage Auctions in Dallas.

Joe Maddalena, Heritage’s executive vice president, said the costume sold was one Fisher had tested and worn on the film set, but it ultimately didn’t make it into the final cut of the film because it was exchanged for a more comfortable one.

According to the auction house, the costume sparked a bidding war among collectors.

Maddalena said he wasn’t surprised by the attention bidders gave to the costume, as well as a model of a Y-wing fighter that took on the Death Star in the original “Star Wars” film that sold for $1.55 million. He said “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” have a very loyal fan base.

“The power of ‘Star Wars’ proves itself again. These films are just so impactful,” Maddalena said.

In a November 2016 interview with NPR’s “Fresh Air,” Fisher said wearing the costume was not her choice.

“When (director George Lucas) showed me the outfit, I thought he was joking and I got really nervous. I had to sit really straight up because I couldn’t have any lines on my sides, like little creases. There couldn’t be any creases, so I had to sit really, really stiffly up,” said Fisher, who died about a month after the interview.

Richard Miller, who designed the costume, said in an interview included in a “Star Wars” box set that he used soft material to make the costume so Fisher could move more freely.

“But she still didn’t like it. I can’t blame her,” said Miller, who was the lead sculptor for Industrial Light & Magic, the visual effects company founded by “Star Wars” creator George Lucas. “I did put leather on the back to make it feel better.”

The costume was widely criticized as it was felt to sexualize Fisher for the franchise’s male fans.

In a 2015 issue of the magazine’s “Interview,” Fisher told actor Daisy Ridley, who starred in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “People are going to have fantasies about you. It’s going to make you uncomfortable, I bet.” She resisted the idea of ​​being a sex symbol, telling Ridley she had to “fight for your outfit.”

Follow Juan A. Lozano on X: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70