A version of the notorious gold bikini worn by Princess Leia in the Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi (1983), has found a new home. The costume was the subject of frenzied bidding at Heritage Auctions last week, according to the auctioneer, before a collector clinched it for $175,000.
Created by Industrial Light and Magic’s chief sculptor Richard Miller based on costume designs by Nilo Rodis-Jamero, the seven-piece ensemble was worn by actor Carrie Fischer during a screen test, but did not make it into the final cut of the film. The version featured in the movie was altered to make it more comfortable for Fischer.
Star Wars Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) Princess Leia Production Made Bikini Costume. Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
Still, Fischer felt no comfort in the revealing bikini, which Leia is forced to wear after being captured by Jabba the Hutt, a massive slug. In 2016, the actor decried how the costume made her feel “nearly naked, which is not a style choice for me… It wasn’t my choice.” She’d also told author J.W. Rinzler, for his 2007 book The Making of Star Wars, about the outfit: “Dignity was out of the question.”
Despite its baggage, the gold bikini remains an iconic aspect of the Star Wars franchise. Fans have enthusiastically worn recreations of the costume at comic conventions and during Halloween, while another iteration of the bikini sold for $96,000 at auction in 2015.
Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, and Michael Carter on the set of Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983). Photo: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images.
Leia’s ensemble has also endured as a lightning rod in cultural debates over whether it objectifies the character or represents her liberation. For her part, the ever-candid Fischer preferred to see it as the latter, saying in 2015, “a giant slug captured me and forced me to wear that stupid outfit, and then I killed him because I didn’t like it. And then I took it off. Backstage.”
Another Star Wars prop made waves at the same two-day sale. The screen-matched miniature of a Y-Wing Starfighter—one of only two models created for 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope—fetched $1.55 million, making it the third most valuable Star Wars prop ever sold at auction.
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) Screen Matched Hero Y-wing Starfighter Miniature. Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
The Y-Wing was designed by concept artist Colin Cantwell, who worked off a description from filmmaker George Lucas, who envisioned the craft as a two-man fighter plane. In the film, the distinct Y-shaped crafts can most prominently be seen in the massive battle to take down Darth Vader’s Death Star.
Several Y-shaped miniatures were constructed for the visual effects shots: “pyro” models, which were designed to be blown up and created in quantity, and two “hero” versions for use in close-ups. The newly sold “hero” model was crafted with resin, styrene, acrylic, and metal components, and features painted stripes, colored panels, and distressed body—details that the lot description said “would never read on film but were there, nonetheless.”
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) Screen Matched Hero Y-wing Starfighter Miniature. Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
This miniature has also retained its original paint and detailing, having been used only in the first Star Wars film and never otherwise exhibited. According to Heritage, it is one of the best-preserved visual effects models from the hit film.
The price realized for the Y-Wing model is surpassed only by that for the R2-D2 unit that was assembled with original components from the first Star Wars trilogy, which made $2.76 million in 2017, and for the screen-matched X-Wing Starfighter that sold for $3.1 million last year.
Elsewhere at the auction, a Harry Potter wand set a record for Harry Potter wands when it made nearly $94,000; a sketch by legendary costume designer Edith Head for 1955’s To Catch a Thief realized $55,000; and the weighted hammer wielded by Thor in The Dark World (2013), er, hammered in at $81,250.
“I’ve said it repeatedly: Collectors’ desire to own a piece of Hollywood history remains intense and insatiable, and we take great pride and pleasure in sharing these indelible moments,” said Joe Maddalena, executive vice president of the auction house. “This auction proved that the summer blockbuster is alive and well at Heritage.”