Princess Leia's 'Return of the Jedi' bikini sells at auction for US$175,000

The late Carrie Fisher pictured on the set of 'Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.' (Sunset Boulevard / Corbis / Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

A golden bikini costume worn by Carrie Fisher on the set of “Return of the Jedi” has sold at auction for US$175,000.

The seven-piece outfit, which also includes hip rings, an armlet and a bracelet, went to an unidentified bidder during a two-day sale featuring over 500 items of Hollywood paraphernalia.

Worn by Princess Leia after she is captured by Jabba the Hutt and forced into slavery, the costume has become a cult favorite among “Star Wars” fans. Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, which hosted the sale, described it as being “among the most memorable” outfits in the franchise’s history.

But the costume has also attracted criticism for sexualizing Fisher and her character. In 2016, the late actor described her discomfort at being “nearly naked,” telling NPR: “It wasn’t my choice. When (director George Lucas) showed me the outfit, I thought he was kidding and it made me very nervous.”

Based on sketches by costume designer Nilo Rodis-Jamero, the outfit was created by jeweler and sculptor Richard Miller using resin and urethane. In a behind-the-scenes documentary, Miller later said that the costume’s “skimpy” appearance had been intended to illustrate how Fisher’s character had grown through the course of the original trilogy.

“George (Lucas) said, ‘We want to show that Princess Leia is growing up,’” recalled Miller, who died in 2022 aged 80. “The three episodes spanned a certain amount of time, so she got mature. And that’s why the slave costume was introduced.”

Miller recalled that Fisher “didn’t like” the bikini, which he attributed to it fitting poorly. He had designed the garment using a mannequin cast from Fisher’s body, but when it came to shooting the movie “she must have lost 10 pounds if not more,” he said, adding: “So the costume really hung on her.”

Princess Leia's iconic costume pictured on show at an exhibition in New York City in 2015. (TJ Roth / Sipa USA / AP via CNN Newsource)

The two-day Heritage Auctions sale, which concluded Friday, fetched a combined US$5.9 million. The auction’s other big-ticket item was another piece of “Star Wars” history: a screen-used model of the Y-wing that leads an attack on the Death Star before being destroyed by Darth Vader in 1977’s “A New Hope.”

The work of modelmaker Colin Cantwell, the starfighter sold for US$1.55 million to become the third-most expensive screen-used “Star Wars” prop ever to go under the hammer, according to Heritage Auctions. (The current record is held by an X-wing model, which sold for US$3.1 million last October, while an R2-D2 unit fetched US$2.75 million in 2017.)

Elsewhere, an original “Scrooge McDuck” artwork sold for over US$312,000 and the Oscar statuette awarded to Celeste Holm in 1974 for her Best Supporting Actress performance in “Gentleman’s Agreement” fetched US$93,750. A wand prop used by Daniel Radcliffe in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” meanwhile sold for nearly US$94,000, with a hammer from “Thor: The Dark World” and a sword from “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” also achieving five-figure sums.

“I’ve said it repeatedly: Collectors’ desire to own a piece of Hollywood history remains intense and insatiable, and we take great pride and pleasure in sharing these indelible moments,” said Heritage Auction’s executive vice president, Joe Maddalena, in a press release following the sale’s conclusion.