"Star Wars" has made for some incredibly cinematic moments. While spaceships and lightsabers stand as some of the most memorable imagery ever created for the big screen, Princess Leia's metal bikini is another image that has stood the test of time. Originally featured in the film "Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi," released in 1983, and worn by the late Carrie Fisher, the outfit is one of the most famous in movie history.
It was recently sold at an auction.
© Aaron RapoportThe BBC reports that the bikini was sold for a sum of $175,000.
Before her death, Fisher discussed the sequence, sharing that she felt uncomfortable with the outfit and the circumstances of her character.
The bikini is featured at the start of the film when Leia is taken captive by an alien gangster named Jabba the Hutt. "It was like, 'Where am I in all of this?'" said Fisher in an interview with NPR, decrying the fact that her co-stars, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, were doing more exciting stuff. "I have to stay with the slug with the big tongue! Nearly naked, which is not a style choice for me... It wasn't my choice."
"What redeems it is I get to kill him, which was so enjoyable," she said. "I sawed his neck off with that chain that I killed him with. I really relished that because I hated wearing that outfit and sitting there rigid straight, and I couldn't wait to kill him."
© Aaron RapoportDespite her relationship with the outfit, Fisher shared some of the benefits
While Fisher wasn't a fan of the look, she revealed that there have been some great things that have come out of the iconic sequence in the film. "My favorite one to see is the metal bikini — on men!" she said. "That is what has been happening a lot. A lot. And not thin men, by the way! So that makes me feel good about myself, kind of a before-and-after thing — this is way after. Not only is Princess Leia fatter, she's a guy!"
