4 months ago 5993

Princess Leia's Star Wars bikini costume sold - as Starfighter miniature goes for £1.2m

A gold bikini-style costume which Hollywood actress Carrie Fisher wore in the Star Wars movie franchise has sold at auction for $175,000 (£136,000).

Fisher's character Princess Leia donned the famous garment as she was chained to Jabba the Hutt's throne in the 1983 film Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi.

Crime boss Jabba captured Leia after she tried to rescue Han Solo, played by Harrison Ford.

Leia went on to strangle slug-like creature Jabba with the chain which had been around her neck.

Meanwhile, a miniature of a Y-Wing Starfighter ship, "flown" by Gold Leader, who helped Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in a mission to destroy the Death Star in 1977's Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, went for $1.55m (£1.21m) after a bidding war.

The Y-Wing is one of just two "hero" (meaning that it was used in close-ups) Y-Wing filming miniatures built by the Industrial Light and Magic visual effects team.

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"It's never seen daylight," said Heritage Auctions on X.

The basic design came from Colin Cantwell, according to the auctioneer's website.

It was based on a rough description from director George Lucas.

"Lucas felt the need to create distinct shapes so that the audience could immediately tell whether a ship was a 'good guy' or 'a bad guy'," the website read.

It added the miniature measured 27.5" x 14.5" x 4.5" and was made of "resin, vacuum-formed styrene, acrylic, and metal components over an aluminum internal armature, with five mounting points, expertly painted and finished as a battle-distressed spacecraft".

The Leia costume, including hip rings and bracelets, was dubbed "one of the most memorable costumes in film history" by Heritage Auctions. It was in the same collection as the miniature and was sold in Dallas on Friday.

Fisher spoke about wearing the bikini in 2015, when she revealed she questioned Lucas about the outfit, which she said made her vulnerable to the "occasional wardrobe malfunction".

But she also explained she enjoyed using the chain to kill Jabba, saying: "They asked me if I wanted my stunt double to kill him, but I wanted to."

"I sawed his neck off with that chain. I really wanted to kill him," she told the Daily Beast.