So as I rolled off through the terminal of Tampa International Airport for a brief vacation I happened to look briefly to my left to see a giant poster of Queen Amidala and an advertisement for a Star Wars costuming exhibit in nearby St. Petersburg. Needless to say, I reworked my plans a little to include a trip to see it and boy, it was utterly fantastic. Here are a few choice pictures of the 350+ that I snapped. A special focus on the Jedi as I think many people here on the forums are looking to making those kinds of costumes and most Sith clothing tends to revolve around those fabric patterns as well.
We'll start with the one that essentially started it all for the Jedi costuming rubric for Star Wars to come. This is Sir Alec Guinness' robe and outfit the first time we see him in the saga. Note the dusty and dirty appearance, the actor actually rolled around in the sand and dust before filming his scenes so that the costume would appear more realistic. Note the very simple belt buckle, this would change a bit for the prequels.
This is a close up so you can really see the stains and dirt in the fabric and also the absolutely lovely texture of it. Texture is always a major factor with Jedi costumes in particular. It is super important that the camera be able to "see" the fabric even if it isn't in a close up. It's also something very important to remember if you are making a costume of your own. Always keep texture in mind.
Now we move onto Luke's costume from ROTJ. The cloak is very similar to his mentor Obi-Wan's but features a distinct black color for the tunic, tabards, and pants.
This is young Anakin's costume for the closing of Episode 1 after he has effectively been accepted into the Jedi Order. The inner and outer tunic plus Obi all have a very distinct waffle-shaped pattern that gives the costume a crisp look. Note the lone food capsule on the belt. It was the only one in the entire exhibit that I could spot.
Here's a better close up shot.
The money shot, this was a very cool part of the exhibit featuring both Sith and Jedi. Darth Maul sits in the center surrounded by the costumes of Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu, and Luminara Unduli. The sabers were of particular interest to me as I hadn't yet been able to get home and break open my waiting package which had my first saber in it.
Now a few bonuses:
Stormtrooper display, First Order trooper dead enter, Endor trooper on right, and First Order Snowtrooper on left.
Han Solo costume from ROTJ and Chewbacca from ANH.
R2 from ANH, C-3PO from ESB, and BB-8 from Force Awakens. These costumes (with the exception of BB-8 who isn't exactly a costume) were immaculate. The detail involved in making the droids look very much like autonomous machines rather than just a costume or a prop was exceptional.
A particularly imposing figure, this is the Vader suit from ROTS which Hayden got to wear. It is pretty terrifying (and very tall) in person and one can't help but feel a little on edge by it.
We'll wrap it up with with the wise old Jedi Master himself from ESB. The robes were designed off of Obi-Wan's costume from the previous movie and then caked with dirt and grime to give him the appearance of a swamp hermit. The puppet itself blows any from of CGI out of the bloody water. I half expected him to start talking at me from inside his glass cube.
So that's a brief sampling of the exhibit. As a huge fan of Star Wars and a lover of making and wearing costumes I was about as nuts as a kid in a candy shop through the whole thing. Not only did it give me such a deeper look into the saga it also made me realize something new about the costume creation. Ever since I got into cosplay I had always vaulted real movie costumes far above anything that I personally could ever hope to make (and to some degree that remains true); yet when I saw those Jedi tunics and tabards and realized rather suddenly that they were made very much the same way on a sewing machine as the one I made and have hanging in my closet... it just gave me a connection to the movies in a way that is difficult to describe.
I do have (many) more photos if perchance you guys and gals want more but I think this is good start for now.
