The costume designer of The Return of the Jedi and Carrie Fisher in the past have told some background related to the famous bikini of the film and the ‘naughty’ costume tests with Harrison Ford.
Everyone knows that the most enduring detail de Return of the Jedi of the Star Wars saga is not an action sequence or a philosophical quote, but an iconic costume: we are obviously talking about the golden bikini by Princess Leia played by Carrie Fisher. During a 2018 interview, Aggie Rodgers’ costume designer revealed some background on the genesis of the famous bikini and on Harrison Ford.
Leia’s bikini has become a real legend even if, initially, it was nothing more than a simple design created by costume designer Aggie Rodgers, in collaboration with Nilo Rodis-Jamero. The Californian designer, interviewed by Yahoo in 2018, revealed the genesis of the garment: “George suggested that I draw inspiration from Frank Frazetta, a wonderful illustrator. I often received books about him, and Leia’s bikini is from that world. George specifically said he wanted a bikini. There were several illustrations that I liked, and we kept drawing until we came up with the one for the film.”
In 2015, Fisher herself spoke about the inconvenience that the legendary bikini caused her on the set: “You don’t want to sit down. There were creases, sweat, everything in between. I don’t like sweating, I don’t know if you like itThe actress also opened up about the emotional distress that accompanied becoming a science fiction sex symbol unintentionally thanks to Leia’s costume. In a 2015 interview with Star Wars: The Force Awakens co-star Daisy Ridley, Fisher urged the young actress to maintain control over her character: “You should fight for your costume. Don’t be a slave like I was. Keep fighting against that slave outfit.”
Before Star Wars, Aggie Rodgers had worked with Harrison Ford on the set of American Graffiti and, during the same Yahoo interview, she recalled the film’s costume fittings with the following words: “Oh, he was a very mischievous boy. He never said anything lewd to you; he was just himself…he was so funny.”