Star Wars: Fit for a Queen



The Phantom Menace: The appeal to the Senate is the last orthodox action Amidala can take to save her people. Consequently, she appears in all her glory to address the august body of delegates and plead for their help. Her magnificent gown is designed to showcase the majesty of Naboo, as well as to help Amidala remain courageous when faced with the most trying and most important speech of her career. Her gown is a thick red velvet with embossed rosettes on the body of the dress and golden, triple-braided soutache on the cuffs of the sleeves and on the collar. The imposing headress binds her hair into a severe form with golden hairbands, while finial hairtip ornaments balance the headpiece. Intricate suspenas of orichalc finework parallel the ornaments and border Amidala's face. Directly on top of the Queen's head rests the Royal Sovereign of Naboo medal, a constant reminder or who she is and the power she wields. When she addresses the Senate, Amidala chooses to wear a large black cloak over the gown.

Design: "She lives on a beautiful, lush planet; so we looked at flowers for inspiration. But because she is a queen, we wanted costumes that would also be imposing. We researched Mongolain and Tibetan costumes, styles that aggrandize the person- and I found the more outrageous it got, the better." No other gown demonstrates Iain McCaig's principle behind the Queen's gowns better than this one.

The gown was incredibly expensive and time-consuming, made up of three complex layers. The underdress was made from a seventy year-old vintage orange-shot-gold silk taffeta with a green weave. It was constructed with layers of sharply sunray-pleated panels. The pleats were designed to catch the light whenever Amidala moved, an effect enhanced by antique beaded lace pieces. The most beautiful and most visible layer, the middle red robe, was made of red and green shot silk velvet with bronze metallic embroidery and ruched yoke and hem panels. A special technique added depth and texture to the robe. The lining of the robe was orange silk taffeta overlaid with gold metallic organza. At the cuffs and collar, this lining is visible and it was further decorated with seed pearls and gold braid made from a stitching process known as trapunto. Small tubes were stitched into a design, and then thread was injected into the tubes to create a padded effect. A time-consuming project, it took one person a week to do the trapunto. The final layer, the outer robe, was faux fur with shoulders padded into a pyramid shape and lined with red silk.

Though magnificent on its own, the gown would be incomplete without the unbelievable headdress. Its base was a close-fitting metallic gold cap; using an electo-forming technique, it was constructed from copper and then plated in real gold. Petite colored jewels and filigree details completed the incredibly heavy, expensive, uncomfortable - and yet stunning - headdress.

Note: This dress was inspired by actual Mongolian styles. Click here to see a comparison


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Detail Shots

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Screenshots/Stills

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Behind the Scenes

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Concept Art

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