The golden bikini costume worn by Carrie Fisher in “Return of the Jedi” has sold for $175,000 at an auction.
This seven-piece outfit, which includes hip rings, an armlet, and a bracelet, was purchased by an anonymous bidder during a two-day auction featuring over 500 pieces of Hollywood memorabilia.
Princess Leia’s costume, worn after her character’s capture by Jabba the Hutt, has become a cult favorite among “Star Wars” fans. Heritage Auctions, based in Dallas and responsible for the sale, described it as “among the most memorable” outfits in the franchise’s history.
However, the costume has also faced criticism for its sexualization of Fisher and her character. In a 2016 NPR interview, Fisher expressed her discomfort at being “nearly naked,” saying, “It wasn’t my choice. When (director George Lucas) showed me the outfit, I thought he was kidding, and it made me very nervous.”
The outfit was designed from sketches by costume designer Nilo Rodis-Jamero and created by jeweler and sculptor Richard Miller using resin and urethane. In a behind-the-scenes documentary, Miller explained that the costume’s “skimpy” look was intended to show Princess Leia’s growth throughout the original trilogy.
Miller recalled that Fisher “didn’t like” the bikini, attributing her discomfort to its poor fit. The garment was designed using a mannequin cast from Fisher’s body, but by the time filming began, “she must have lost 10 pounds if not more,” he said, adding, “So the costume really hung on her.”
The Heritage Auctions event, which concluded on Friday, totaled $5.9 million. Another significant item was a screen-used model of the Y-wing starfighter from “A New Hope,” which sold for $1.55 million, making it the third-most expensive “Star Wars” prop ever auctioned. The current record is held by an X-wing model that sold for $3.1 million last October, followed by an R2-D2 unit that fetched $2.75 million in 2017.