One of the most famous costumes in the Star Wars universe, the bikini worn by Princess Leia while imprisoned by Jabba the Hutt is up for sale this month.
A $30,000 opening bid for the item, at Heritage Auctions, will surely be easily surpassed.
Actor Carrie Fisher wore the outfit in Return of the Jedi, the third of the original sequence of Star Wars films that was released in 1982.
Although it is undoubtedly an iconic costume from the sequence, it is also somewhat controversial.
Fisher did not enjoy wearing the revealing costume.
“Dignity was out of the question,” Fisher was reported to have said of the costume, that features in the early sequences of the film as she and Han Solo are freed from captivity.
She later wore the costume in a famous photo shoot for the cover of Rolling Stone, telling her interviewer, “Let’s not forget these movies are basically boys’ fantasies. So the other way they made her more female in this one was to have her take her clothes off.”
The costume is one of a number of Star Wars items for sale in a July 26 auction.
Surely set to massively exceed its opening price is a screen-matched Y-Wing fighter that features in one of the most pivotal sequences in Star Wars.
It is predicted to realise at least $300,000. Last year an X-Wing from the same movie sold for $3,135,000, a record price for the Star Wars franchise.
Heritage Auctions’ Joe Maddalena said: “As Heritage has done time and again, we’re bringing together some of the most important cultural artifacts that have never before been in single place.
“When you do that, you immediately, instinctively recognise the importance and influence of these science-fiction films and television shows – how they’ve shaped how we look at and think about the world and beyond.”
The appetite for Star Wars memorabilia seems only to be growing.
Earlier this year a C-3PO was sold by actor Anthony Daniels for £660,000 at auction.
This sale closes on July 26 and is likely to confirm the upward trend in prices.
