Star Wars: The Acolyte Costume Designer Talks Creating New Jedi Robes, Addresses Yord's Steamer
We talked to Jennifer Bryan about the appeal of the new Jedi robes in The Acolyte.
The first two episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte debuted on Disney+ earlier this week, and the series is set in the High Republic era about 100 years before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Since the show goes back further than anything fans have ever seen in live-action, there are plenty of little differences to catch along the way. One big change that has many fans excited is the new look of the Jedi robes. ComicBook recently had the chance to chat with costume designer Jennifer Bryan, and she detailed creating the robes and also addressed the Internet's obsession with Yord (Charlie Barnett) and the fan-favorite scene that shows him streaming his robes.
"What happened was, when I had my first presentation with Kathleen Kennedy when she came over and we'd had a conversation, of course, obviously earlier with [creator Leslye Headlan] and having some kind of concept laid down as to what her and I, and especially me, make my first initial presentation to her," Bryan shared.
"So I had done some illustrations for the Jedi, and I've been looking back at the High Republic and even further backward, future backward, and I just thought that the colors were a little bit quiet and restrained and thinking back in our new storyline of a hundred years prior to that, it was a time of peace," she explained. "And so why not just have their colors be a little bit more inclusive and not so restricted to the traditional military colors? And she was really open to the idea."
Never have I ever wanted to cosplay a Jedi more. Their robes are just so cool. pic.twitter.com/PqzHDYNvm2
— mae(rie) (@MarieEliz9) June 6, 2024
"And also we realized that for merchandising and things like that, that go beyond a series that would really pop and would have a fresh appeal to younger viewers who want to buy the action figures and all of that," Bryan added.
"And I had to think of ancient colors," she continued. "I obviously couldn't come up with Barbie pink or anything crazy and neon and modern ... I did a lot of museum looking around and looking at dyes and colors that existed in our world, but going back to ancient cultures. And I just came up with this kind of mustard turmeric tone and did the tabards and tunics and that. And then for the mission outfits, when they would go out on missions, I did keep the chocolate brown rose because that is so canon and iconic."
Jennifer Bryan Addresses Yord Steaming His Robes:
We asked Bryan if she had any say in how Yord steamed his Jedi robes in The Acolyte.
"I told Leslye a little bit about how it should be done, but it was written in the script," Bryan explained. "So when I got it, I just fell over. 'Oh my God, you're going to steam clothes.?' But for me, what it informed me when I first read it is how fastidious his character was going to be. And it helped me in designing his Jedi ... It's perfectly draped, just so ...There's not a stick out of place. And we made sure on set that everything was just so, and he loved it, actually."
"That's a little bit of you. That's not that much acting," she joked about Barnett.
Stay tuned for more from our interview with Jennifer Bryan.
