Thoughts on Disney Galaxy’s Edge Cast Costumes

Last week, images were released which revealed the costumes to be worn by ‘cast members’ at the forthcoming ‘Star Wars land’ attractions at Disney parks. I don’t actively follow post-Disney developments, but what I’ve gathered via geek-internet-osmosis is that these cast members will essentially be playing the role of NPCs (non-player characters) who visitors can interact with and who will provide in-universe ‘atmosphere’ for the public, plus manning restaurants (food+beverage) and vending?
While I’m not concerned with ‘NewCanon’, I have spent the last three+ years breaking down the conventions of Galaxy Far Far Away fashion and subtly integrating them into my civilian wardrobe…so when I heard that these Disney park costumes would be ‘everyday’ clothing, I had to see how they lined up with my observations.
To refresh, the main rules that govern the GFFA aesthetic:

“I don’t want anyone to notice the costumes. They’ve got to look familiar but not familiar at the same time.” Lucas, quoted in The Making of Star Wars (JW Rinzler), p.130. and quoted slightly modified in Star Wars Costumes – the Original Trilogy, p. 15.)

“George didn’t want any fastenings to show, he didn’t want to see buttons, he didn’t want to see zips, so we used stuff like Velcro, and things were just wrapped over and tied with a belt…” (John Mollo, in The Making of Star Wars, p. 125.)

“The color scheme basically was the baddies would be black or gray, with the exception of the stormtroopers, and the goodies should be in earth colors—fawns and whites…Mollo tried to keep the colors muted wherever possible. Color is very, very difficult to use. Bright colors don’t work well on film, particularly reds and blues. George always goes for the authentic….and if it’s all garish color, it doesn’t work.” (ibid)

Right off the bat, one thing is very clear – Disney’s costumers (lucky sods!) have done their homework!
(all photos attributed to ‘Disney_Photographer’)

While these outfits are designed for what are essentially background characters, and intended to suggest a generalized Galactic-commoner/melting-pot approach to fashion (without reflecting a particular regional/planetary style), they manage to succeed without drawing too closely on any specific recognizable influences. The look manages to be familiar, yet no one is wearing a Han Solo double-breasted shirt, or a Rebel Fleet Trooper’s extra-pocket-y black vest, for example. (The Official Costuming Groups and general cosplay community would do well to take this lesson to heart—you can be recognizably Star Wars-y without uncreatively limiting yourself to known costumes!)

-A friend and I both noticed something else almost immediately—they sure do like their vests, don’t they? By my count, of the fifteen different (non-fascist) styles of cast member outfits revealed, NINE include a sleeveless upper-body garment of some sort…six of these in the ‘village’ above. But this is to be expected, because folks in the GFFA wear a lot of them too, in various styles. The reason for their prevalence in the production design goes back to 1976:
“Mollo added vests or waistoats on the helmeted rebel troopers for the same reason he put them on a number of Star Wars costumes—to make them more interesting. “The waistcoats look a bit more businesslike and give them a bit of texture,” he says. “They would have been a bit boring if they had just been wearing a gray overall suit.” SWCOT, p 22.

-As adequately as these outfits capture the ‘lines’ of a generic Galactic citizen’s attire, I can’t wait to see what they look like after a few months in the Florida or California sun, subjected to solar bleaching, sweat stains, theme park grime, and weekly wash cycles. As we all know, Star Wars is a lived universe, so these crispy, clean outfits are definitely in need of authentic wear patterns.

-There are a few things, however, that don’t ‘read’ as Star Wars to me.
First are the two ‘village’ costumes with knee-length shorts.
I saw these and immediately had to ask myself, ‘Who doesn’t wear pants in Star Wars??’ I then racked my brain to think of any examples of characters who wear shorts in the GFFA, and couldn’t come up with anyone past Paxi Sylo:

It’d be one thing if these cast members were portraying children, ruffians, or street urchins, wearing ratty shorts and bare feet. It’d be another if the scenario is set on a planet where the climate necessitates them, and they’re paired with airy, natural-fiber sandals. But to wear tailored, knee-length shorts with lace-up modern shoes just doesn’t fit the established look, and only serves to draw attention to the anachronistic footwear.

The second thing that seemed off to me were the bright blue hats and vests of the Smuggler Run crew:The textured pants and asymmetrically-collared tunics look great, and the geometric accents on the vests fit the look perfectly. But as for the color…yuck! As the establishing quotes from Mollo above show, bright colors don’t have much of a place in authentic Galaxy Far, Far Away attire. At the same time, I also realize that these costumes are designed with a real-world goal in mind: to be highly-visible in a crowded ride-line loading area. Why, then, did Disney’s designers choose to go with tropical blue, instead of a color that already has SW pedigree – Rebel pilot orange?
Somebody with more Photoshop skill than me could probably mock that up in 30 seconds…but for now, picture it in your mind’s eye. Wouldn’t that look much better?

A final observation that quickly leapt out at me was the lack of tall boots. Even though this is Disney we’re talking about, these costumes are still fairly quick-and-dirty, and need to be produced in great numbers due to everyday wear and tear. It simply isn’t feasible for each cast member to get a pair of knee-high full-leather riding boots, so the designers have opted for gaiter-type shoe covers to get the same look at a fraction of the cost. While it’s a good solution, swap in some tall boots on outfits #1, 2, 5, and 8, and they’d jump several levels in GFFA recognizability.

Overall, (even though it’s Disney! :P), I’m pleased with the reveal, and I’m glad to see someone besides Yours Truly is looking at the common folk of the Galaxy Far, Far Away for a change.
In the months ahead, as completion of this park nears, I’ll be sharing tips for how to integrate commoner style into your own wardrobe to better blend into the galactic crowd at Galaxy’s Edge – in the Galactic Style Guide series!

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