BEWARE THE DARK SIDE
Star Wars items on display
From Jedi to Sith lords, rebels to stormtroopers, droids to galactic senators, the Star Wars universe is full of striking and memorable outfits.
You’ll be able to fully appreciate the wardrobe of cinema’s greatest space saga this summer when the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) hosts the exhibition Star Wars and the Power of Costume. “There is such multi-generational appeal to Star Wars,” said Elliot Wilhelm, the DIA’s curator of film and director of the Detroit Film Theatre.
“So many kids have come to love Star Wars through their parents loving Star Wars. It doesn’t seem to be flagging.”
Running from May 20 to Sept. 30 at the DIA, the exhibit features more than 60 original costumes used in the production of movies in the series. Highlights include such outfits as Darth Vader, imperial stormtroopers, X-wing fighter pilots, the gowns of Queen Amidala and Han Solo’s smuggler garb. “Many of the costumes in the exhibition are from the prequels — The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith,” Wilhelm said. “They’re all real.”
“These things are truly priceless … They’re not on the market. They’re loaned to us from the George Lucas organization.” Visitors will also get to check out remarkable props and memorabilia like the mighty Chewbacca, the droid characters C-3PO and R2D2, and the Yoda puppet used in the making of the Empire Strikes Back.
“Yoda closes the show. He’s in the last gallery people will go through. He’s the original Yoda,” Wilhelm said.
“The makeup artist Stuart Freeborn fabricated Yoda based on his own face, combined with Einstein’s face. He wanted to create a face that was old but alert, wise and intelligent.”
In addition to the clothing and production items, the exhibit offers 150 drawings, sketches and concept pieces that give a glimpse into the creative process behind Star Wars.
“The exhibition is a costume show, but it attempts to explain how character is conveyed through costume,” Wilhelm said. “One of the things we do is point out cinematic connections.”
For example, Han Solo’s signature vest and gun belt. “They’re reminiscent of the iconoclastic heroes of westerns like The Searchers, Rio Bravo or High Noon,” Wilhelm said.
Wilhelm believes the stories told in Star Wars — regarding power, those who abuse it and those who revolt against it — have connections to narratives that go even further back in popular culture, and help explain the saga’s enduring appeal.
“Star Wars suggests there is a moral balance to the universe that is not out of our hands, but must be taken into our hands,” Wilhelm said.
“These are stories that never really get old. They’re stories about humankind,” he added. “They might be set in another galaxy and feature non-human creatures, but the emotions and the heroism they portray carry through generations.”
Detroit is the last stop of the exhibition’s travel tour across the United States, which was developed by the Smithsonian Institution, George Lucas’s personal museum and Lucasfilm Ltd. The Detroit Institute of Arts is at 5200 Woodward Ave. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Tuesday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets for non-members start at US$22.50 for adults or US$7 for youths 6 to 17, and can be bought via dia.org/starwars or 313-8334005.