A bikini costume worn by Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, and a model Star Wars space ship have realised close to $2 million in total at auction.
The props were among the top items at a Heritage Auctions sale of Hollywood memorabilia.
The bikini, worn by Fisher as her character is held captive by gangster boss Jabba the Hutt, made $175,000. The scenes open Return of the Jedi, the third Star Wars film made.
A Y-wing fighter sold for $1.5 million.
The Y-Wing model shows the enormous attention to detail that helped Star Wars take off. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
It was used in the Rebel attack on the Death Star in A New Hope, as 1977’s Star Wars debut is now known.
The fighter is now the third most valuable Star Wars prop.
In 2023 an X-wing fighter used in the same battle sequences was sold for $3.1 million. In 2017 an R2-D2 droid made $2.7 million at auction.
The 7-piece bikini costume has gone to an unnamed buyer. It is one of the most iconic costumes in the film series, though Fisher was not happy about wearing it at the time of the film.
It was made by sculptor Richard Miller from designs by Nilo Rodis-Jamero.
The Y-wing was made by Colin Cantwell.
Cantwell, who had a long Hollywood career, created almost all of the early Star Wars space vehicles, including the X-Wing, Y-Wing, Tie Fighter, Star Destroyer, Death Star, Landspeeder, and the first Millennium Falcon.
A 2014 sale of some of his personal collection made over $100,000. It would surely make much more now.
Also realising over $100,000 in the 2-day, 500-lot sale were a Disney Scrooge McDuck painting, a Robert Crumb Oscars comic, and artwork for Star Trek and Blade Runner posters.
Heritage’s Joe Maddalena told CNN: “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.”
While Hollywood faces challenges from online markets, AI, and more, its past remains valuable and highly desirable property.
