With the success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens after its release, fans cannot help but remember the previous Star Wars movies. Disney and Lucas films did a good job in continuing the epic saga, but watching the film brought back memories of the characters we have grown to love like Master Yoda and even Darth Vader.
Who better to remember the past films but the people who had been part of them? One of these people is John Mollo, who designed iconic costumes for 'A New Hope' and 'Empire Strikes Back,' like Darth Vader's bloodcurdling mask and outfit, and Princess Leia's long regal white dress. Mollo recalls Star War's creator George Lucas giving specific instructions that he did not want any noticeable costumes.
But of course these outfits became as memorable as the characters. Mollo shares with Entertainment Weekly through an email how he designed the costumes for Vader and Leia. He shared that Star Wars illustrator Ralph McQuarrie drew the basic look for the characters. Mollo recalls, "Though I had the outline, I had to provide the detail. In this it was no different to doing, say, an 18th-century subject where the paintings of the time would naturally be one's inspiration."
After getting his ideas together, he collaborated with Lucas whose vision of the 'galaxy far, far away' included light and dark palettes, to represent the two sides of the force. He said that it was easy working with the Star Wars creator. Mollo shares, "I never had any trouble with [Lucas] because although he had definite ideas of what he wanted, his ideas coincided more or less with what I produced."
According to the designer, the costumes were not based on the fashion trends of the 1970, when Star Wars first came out. This is the reason why the outfits have also aged gracefully without being outdated.