Rebel, Jedi, Princess, Queen: Star Wars and the Power of Costume is a new traveling costume exhibit that currently resides at the Seattle EMP Museum in Washington. It features 60 handmade costume from the Star Wars saga, all the way from Episode I to Episode VI. My friend Michael Bert recently had the opportunity to see this exhibit in person. Enjoy this exclusive interview with him about his experience seeing all of these original costumes. All of the photos in this article are courtesy of Michael.
Michael Bert's interest with Star Wars started in 1977 after viewing A New Hope. He became a super fan after countless viewings of The Empire Strikes Back during the summer of 1980. That movie cemented Michael's interest in everything Star Wars for the last three and a half decades. Most recently, Michael became a member of Vader's 501st Legion as an Imperial Royal Guard. He currently troops with the Midwest Garrison and resides in the northern suburbs of Chicago.
Q: First of all Michael, what encouraged you to check out this new costume exhibit in Seattle?
A: A few months ago, I read an article about a new Star Wars costume exhibit that was premiering in Seattle on January 31, 2015. I also saw Anthony Daniels on The Comlink website covering the premiere. It looked amazing. I was hooked. The exhibit was scheduled for a 9-month run in Seattle before moving on to 12 other cities. Seattle was the first city, but no other cities were announced at this time. I didn't want to risk missing this exhibit, so I planned a weekend trip to Seattle. I have the original trilogy costume book that was released in October 2014. I found the pictures and significance of each costume fascinating. I read that there was a lot of information at the exhibit on what inspired the designs of the costumes, the trials and tribulations of getting them made, and the actors comments on wearing and working in the costumes. Give me a bunch of behind the scenes information, and I'm there. I also like to participate in trivia contests. I thought this exhibit would yield interesting facts that I could use to win future trivia contests. Besides, Seattle is also the home of Boeing Field and I could incorporate the Boeing tour during the weekend.
Q: When you first saw the exhibit, what was your reaction?
A: Excitement! After entering the doors to the exhibit, there is a large staircase brightly lit with cold white light. The walls had a series of parallel metal tubes lining the wall and blue and white L.E.D. tubular lights were mixed in. It gave you a sense of being inside a space ship or even in the cold hallways of Echo Base on Hoth. Finally, I was in The Empire Strikes Back. You got the sense you were headed for something special, something totally different. After ascending the stairs, a prototype Yoda was waiting for you and directing you to the main floor of the exhibit. This perfectly set the tone for what was ahead. I spent at least 20 minutes on the stairs, taking it all in, trying to stay focused, and enjoying similar reactions from other guests as they entered the exhibit. Once I was on the main floor, I didn't know where or what to look at first. I noticed a second floor that allowed a birds eye view of the main floor. I quickly made my way to the second level for an overview and decide where to start.
Over the next 5 hours, I was able to see the entire exhibit. I started with an early admission time, which meant less people in the exhibit. It didn't get crowded until mid-afternoon when I was done or revisiting certain costumes. All the costumes had detailed information on their significance and place in the movies. Sometimes there were touchscreen devices that allowed you to view a clip from the movie where the costume is seen. Other times, there were digital voice recordings of the actor or designer giving insight on what it was like to wear or design the costume. I appreciated the historical and cultural aspects that influenced the designs from different world wars to ancient Chinese, Japanese, and African society. Swatches of material from different dresses or robes were there to touch. This gave you a real sense of the fabric's weight and texture. The exhibit did a great job of comparing and contrasting the costumes from the original trilogy to the prequels. A continuous Star Wars music soundtrack played in the background, adding to the excitement.
