Iconic Princess Leia gold bikini sells for staggering amount at auction
The classic costume was one of many pieces of film memorabilia up for sale.
It's one of the most iconic costumes in film history – and Princess Leia's gold bikini from Return of the Jedi has fetched $175,000 (£136,000) at auction.
The full outfit worn by Carrie Fisher in the film – consisting of bikini top, bikini plates, hip rings, an armlet and bracelet – was put up for sale by Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas last Friday (26th July) and was one of many historic cinematic items up for offer,
The biggest sale of the event was also Star Wars-related, with a miniature Y-Wing Starfighter aircraft from the original film going for as much as $1.55m (£1.2m).
Meanwhile, other notable lots included an original Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home poster ($106,250), a Thor hammer from Thor: The Dark World ($81,250), Harry Potter's wand from The Prisoner of Azkaban ($52,000), Macaulay Culkin's outfit from Home Alone ($47,500) and a Mandalorian helmet ($40,000).
It's not the first time that Leia's costume has been sold for big money at auction: back in 2015 it sold for $96,000 (£63,000), which means the price has almost doubled in less than a decade.
The costume, which was worn by Leia after she is enslaved by Jabba the Hutt, instantly became iconic after the release of Return of the Jedi in 1983, and Fisher was herself outspoken about it.
Speaking to NPR in 2016, shortly before her death, she revealed that she had initially thought George Lucas was joking when he showed her the costume.
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"[I was] nearly naked, which is not a style choice for me," she said. "It wasn't my choice. When [Lucas] showed me the outfit, I thought he was kidding and it made me very nervous.
"I had to sit very straight because I couldn't have lines on my sides, like little creases. No creases were allowed, so I had to sit very, very rigid straight."
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
