Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi Costume Designer Reveals Hidden Original Trilogy Easter Eggs

Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi made its debut last summer, illuminating a previously-unseen chapter of the Star Wars legacy. The biggest surprise of the series might’ve been the arrival of a young Leia Organa (Vivien Lyra Blair), who becomes Obi-Wan Kenobi’s (Ewan McGregor) companion on their journey across the galaxy. Young Leia’s inclusion in the show was filled with a lot of sentimental elements for fans of the original trilogy of Star Wars films, and a crew member on the show is sharing more that were hiding in plain sight. In a recent interview with Variety, Obi-Wan Kenobi costume designer Suttirat Larlarb revealed how she mixed both new elements and visual callbacks in Leia’s new costumes.

“Queen Breha’s introduction also serves as a visual counterpoint to how we introduce young Leia (Vivian Lyra Blair) in the same episode,” Larlarb revealed. “The scene where the queen stops everything to retrieve her disobedient, playsuit-clad daughter while she is dressed very formally needed to express the distance Leia still has to traverse to become the icon in that white gown we eventually know. I wanted to make sure the references to the future, iconic Princess Leia we meet in A New Hope were clear.”

Even Leia’s adopted mother, Queen Breha (Simone Kessel), was clad in an ivory and blue outfit that bares a resemblance to Leia’s A New Hope gown. It also contains “struggling pearl blossoms”, which were confirmed to be an Alderaanian flower in one of Star Wars’ manga adaptations.

“I asked Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo if there were certain flowers associated with Alderaan, as I wanted to employ this notion that [family] symbols on royal clothing throughout history are often derived from the flora and fauna of the royal realm, and that the queens often express a connection to their homeland by wearing clothes whose textiles incorporate the use of those symbols through embellishment.”

For Leia’s main outfit throughout the remainder of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Larlarb also tried to call back to the original trilogy, arguing, “She would rather be in these comfortable play clothes and avoid the pomp and circumstance and the attire of her royal office she’s supposed to be dressed in — the magenta tunic set. When Leia rips it off as soon as she can, what’s left is the cream under-tunic and pants for the beginning of her adventure, which become the base of the other layers she dons throughout the season. But it also recalls the main color of the silhouette of the Princess Leia audiences already know from later in the timeline.”

Will Obi-Wan Kenobi Get a Season 2?

While a second season of Obi-Wan Kenobi has yet to be confirmed, the show’s critical and awards success has made some wonder if more episodes are in the cards.

“This was conceived as a limited series; it is closed,” director Deborah Chow shared in an interview earlier this year. “There’s 10 more years before New Hope, so never say never.”

What do you think of the details behind Obi-Wan Kenobi’s costume designs? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!