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Andor Costume Designer Explains the Process of Joining Star Wars
When it comes to Star Wars, there’s a whole lot of history to consider when starting a new project. The newest series on Disney+, Andor, has been a lot different from previous films and shows in the franchise. However, it still takes place in that galaxy far, far away and there are plenty of connections to previous shows and films. Recently, costume designer Michael Wilkinson spoke with Collider about creating looks for Andor and was asked an interesting question about working in the world of Star Wars. They wanted to know about the “acquisition process” that comes with joining an established universe like this one. They asked if there’s a warehouse somewhere with costumes, especially ones that could be used for background actors, or if Wilkinson makes those, too.
“I think what really excited me about starting this project, was this sense of gaining or working with the incredible costume language of the Star Wars world,” Wilkinson explained. “There’s been a long line of amazing costume designers who have shared their vision of the Star Wars world since 1977. So it was thrilling to offer my own take on that whole world, of course. But yes, when you sign on as a costume designer, there is a back catalog of costumes from previous productions that are available to be viewed, and to be inspired by. It was a challenge because we wanted to show Tony’s [Gilroy] vision for this series [which] was very specific. He didn’t want it to feel like a space opera, over the top, very bold design choices. He wanted to be very subtle in nuances, and a more detailed, authentic approach to the story of the costumes.”
He added, “All of the principal costumes were made in our studio here in London. A lot of the background costumes were made in different workrooms around the UK and Europe. Then even the stuff that was made outside was brought back to the studio. Everything goes through a very elaborate process of aging and distressing. Nothing is worn just like straight off the workroom floor. It’s all given interesting patinas and age so it really has a lovely, authentic, worn quality to it. Then we shipped all of those costumes up to Scotland where we were filming, and we were working with lots of background performers that were local to Scotland. We had a team of people that were sent up there to fit and create all of these great background characters, the uniforms, the nomadic mountain culture of the Aldhani. We fitted a whole spectrum of characters for that sequence. But the principal characters were fitted and prepped in our London studios.”
Which Rogue One Characters Have Returned For Andor?
Andor takes place five years before the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, so there are some characters from the film who have already appeared in the series. In addition to Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), the show also follows Mon Motha (Genevieve O’Reilly), and the eighth episode saw the return of Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera as well as Duncan Pow as Melshi. Fans are hoping that the second season will see the return of Alan Tudyk as K-2SO.
Andor releases new episodes on Disney+ on Wednesdays.
