‘Star Wars’ Princess Leia Gold Bikini Sells for $175K
Star Wars fans were captivated by Carrie Fisher in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi when she strode onscreen wearing her now-famous gold bikini-style costume as the beloved Princess Leia. Ever since, the costume worn during the scene where Leia is captured by Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine and forced to be a slave has become one of the most memorable and well known from the set. Now, one lucky fan owns one version and paid $175,000 for it.
Heritage Auctions confirmed that during one of their recent auctions, the gold bikini costume was sold. This particular version was one that was worn by Fisher during screen tests but did not make the cut for the actual film, opting for something a little more comfortable for the star.
Everett Collection
Joe Maddalena, Heritage’s executive vice president, admitted that he was not surprised to see a bidding war for the gold bikini. He noted that another bidding war was over a model of the Y-wing fighter in the original Star Wars film. It sold for $1.55 million.
He said, “The power of Star Wars proves itself again. These movies are just so impactful.” Although the gold bikini costume is loved by fans, it certainly wasn’t Fisher’s favorite outfit choice. Before her death in 2016, she said, “When [director George Lucas] showed me the outfit, I thought he was kidding and it made me very nervous. I had to sit very straight because I couldn’t have lines on my sides, like little creases. No creases were allowed, so I had to sit very, very rigid straight.”
Aaron Rapoport/Corbis via Getty Images
Softer material was used for the version featured in the film to make it a bit more comfortable for Fisher. Even so, she still didn’t like it and the costume creator, Richard Miller, said that he doesn’t blame her one bit.
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August 2023
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