| Luke Skywalker Unproduced Fatigue Outfit | |
| Acquired from the original fashion designer at Kenner, this outfit is one of several additional fashions for Luke and Leia that were proposed by Kenner but which never made it into production. The examples of the Fatigue Suit shown here include the original "Photo Sample" prototype and the outfit, patterns, and paperwork which makes up a Kenner "Quote Sample". This Quote Sample was stored for over 20 years in the envelope which can be partially seen below. In addition to bearing the Kenner name, the envelope was labled "Luke & Leia Fashions, Fatigue Suit" in ink by the seamstress from the sewing department.
Much effort was made to show the detail of the designs and Kenner took the time to create a stunning photograph of this outfit in a realistic setting. The image shown above of the actual 8x10 glossy photo included with this set. Click on it to see the full-size image.
The outfit shown above was the very one used in the photograph. Unfortunately all of the accessories have since been lost. The goggles are green versions of ones found in the Six Million Dollar Man accessory set Test Flight at 70,000 Feet, the binoculars are from the Steve Scout line, the belt is a painted version of the original 12 inch Luke Skywalker belt, and the boots are painted versions of the ones found on the International Velvet doll. It was pretty common for Kenner to reuse products from their other lines as accessories for new toys or for mock-ups such as this photo shoot.
The outfit shown above is part of the "Quote Sample" that Kenner would give to send out to vendors for quotes on producing it. It was outside vendors, not Kenner, who would manufacture the item. This piece was a sample handmade at Kenner and was sent along with pattens and paperwork which included fabric swatches and pertinent outfit information. Notice how the outfit is much shinier than the one from the photograph. The designer liked the color of the outfit from the photograph, but the material was not correct and this fact is noted in many places on the Quote Sample. You can see the small swatch of the correct material color stapled to the leg of the sample outfit.
Shown above is the tag which was attached to the sample outfit. This ensured that the outfit could always be identified if it was separated from its accompanying paperwork. This tag contains the Kenner project number and part numbers for each piece of the outfit. The discrepancy of the flight suit material is noted on the tag as well as on the accompanying paperwork.
Shown above is an overview of all the pattern pieces. Each one was drawn and cut out by the designer. Every component piece which makes up the doll's outfit is described by a pattern.
Seen in the close-up above, the patterns are labeled as to what figure they are for and what part of the outfit it refers to. These patterns are all dated 1978 in the designers own handwriting. The seams and cut marks are all noted on these patterns as well. These are the patterns for the three parts which make up the vest.
A major component of the Quote Sample is the paperwork shown above as thumbnail images. Click on them to see the full-size scans. This paperwork goes into detail about things such as the type of fabric to use, the manufacturer of each fabric, and what the clothing yield is per square yard of fabric. Each different type of fabric used on the figure is included as a small swatch stapled to its appropriate sheet. There is one sheet per item of clothing and some of the information noted is if the material has been used and approved for previous Kenner toys.
The story behind this outfit and its counterparts (which also can be found on the Archive) is fascinating. Apparently, Kenner was planning on releasing mid-priced outfit/accessory packs for their line of Star Wars 12" dolls, much as they had for their extremely popular Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman lines. To present this concept to Lucasfilm for approval, several conceptual outfits were created. They can be seen in the photo above. Disco was popular at the time, and the oufits reflected its glittery aesthetic. Lucasfilm, however, had different ideas of what these outfits should look like. They asked that the colors be toned down and the metallic fabrics be eliminated. Also, that goofy "disco ghost" outfit on the far right was nixed entirely. But the rest went through some modifications and were eventually ok'd for release. You can see the concept prototype for this Luke outfit towards the left of the photo. As you can see, Kenner originally proposed a metallic purple and silver outfit, which was really quite garish. This look was changed to a much more conservative combination at Lucasfilm's request. Many thanks go out to an anonymous collector and Gus Lopez for finding these and other fashion prototypes for the Large Action Figure line of Star Wars toys. It is through the tireless efforts and dedication of collectors that we are able to discover pieces of toy history like this. To see the design of the blister card that would have been used to package this outfit, click here. |
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| Description by: | Chris Georgoulias |
| Photo: | Chris Georgoulias |
| From the collection of: | Chris Georgoulias |
| Country: | United States |
| Film: | A New Hope |
| Licensee: | Kenner |
| Year: | 1980 |
| Category: | Toys / Action Figure Related / Large Size Action Figures |
