Welcome back to the Galactic Style Guide, the series where we break down the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’ in order to help you create a more authentic ‘outer persona’ for your in-universe ‘denizen’ or OC cosplay!
First up – my apologies for the inadvertent hiatus in regular posts over the last few months. I started a new job back in September and even though I still get to bike-commute each day, the ride is about twice as long and so eats a bit more of my free time each day. Plus, the job itself is super detail-oriented – so when it’s quitting time, my brain is usually pretty fried. Couple this with ongoing new-home improvements (but still no usable workshop or photography space!), putting together a presentation for an out-of-state conference, the constant travel of the holiday season, weekly volunteering, a couple of polar vortices, plus a lack of local opportunities to actually Do something with my hobbies… with the end result that I’ve been feeling more than a bit burnt-out and unmotivated lately. However: the days are getting longer, and I am making an effort to continue contributing to this site!
In our next two Style Guide entries, we’re analyzing examples of an element of character design that I think gets frequently overlooked in SW costuming circles – Texture! Over the next couple months, I hope you’ll come to see how this element is actually a key pillar of achieving a authentic, suitably Swarzy look. While the visual effect may be similar to patterned materials, when we talk about texture, we’re talking about the actual physical dimensionality of the fabrics used to create a character’s costume. The degree of dimensionality means that various fabrics catch light in different ways, creating more or less visual interest.
Let’s get started with a material that may not immediately come to mind as ‘Swarzy’ – yet the overwhelming evidence shows that it definitely is!
As we can see here, while it only appears in the OT worn by a small handful of characters (curiously, all in Episode VI), velvet got a big representational boost in the Prequels due to their focus on upstrata characters.
Living History in the Star Wars Galaxy 