It's possible that no single person is going to exert more influence over fashion trends in the coming year than Michael Kaplan, costume designer for the upcoming Star Wars sequel, The Force Awakens. Kaplan, who began his career as an assistant on The Sonny & Cher Show and went on to dress Bette Midler during her Roxy theatre days, is no stranger to iconic films. During his long and storied career he has been responsible for the costume designs for Blade Runner, Flashdance, Fight Club, and Miami Vice. More recently, The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams brought him on to re-envision the Star Trek reboot. Now he's responsible for reinterpreting arguably the most iconic film of the last half century for a new generation of fans, as well as a ferocious generation of diehards.

I spoke with Kaplan on the phone from England, where he is currently at work on the next Star Wars installment, and asked him what it was like to shoulder the expectations of a generation of now-adults who spent their childhood flashing light sabers and artfully placing earmuffs on their heads. During our conversation, Kaplan divulged a few previously unknown facts about Daisy Ridley's costumes, as well as what it was like to dress Han, Luke, and Leia 30 years ago. (One of those three tried to bribe him to spill the beans about the Force Awakens storyline ...) And finally, he admits that we have him to thank for one of the most iconic and imitated looks of the '80s.

This is second time you've taken on an iconic franchise—before taking on 'Star Wars', you worked on the 'Star Trek' reboot with J.J. Abrams, which also has a huge and devoted fan base. What key elements do you look for to ensure you are updating and differentiating costumes, while still not alienating fans?

Well in truth, I'm really afraid of alienating fans, and I was with Star Trek as well. When J.J. [Abrams] initially called me to design the costumes for Star Trek, I told him that I wasn't the right person for the job and that it was probably a job for somebody who was more in tune with what had previously been done on Star Trek. But he insisted on meeting, and as it turned out, he was very persuasive. We formed a great relationship and I'm glad that he talked me into it. When he asked me to work on Star Wars, I didn't argue, even though I found the enormity of the franchise quite intimidating, even more so than Star Trek.

Were you a fan of Star Wars when it came out?

I was, but it wasn't a film I saw multiple times, as so many people did. I saw it and I loved it. I saw the next one and I loved it...I wasn't one of those people where it became a religion for me.

Did Abrams have any sort of things he wanted, key ideas he wanted you to hew to, or did he leave it entirely up to you?

He's always had very strong opinion, but when it came to Star Wars, I was suddenly dealing with a totally different person. I mean, he would ask me where I was putting the seams. I mean, nothing, nothing got past him without notice. It was remarkable how everything on this movie became important. I could see what effect the movie had on him as a child and how he carried that into his film-making. I was thrilled to support him and go through all the steps that would make him happy.

"I could see what effect the movie had on [JJ Abrams] as a child and how he carried that into his film-making."

It was really important, for me and for J.J., that we stayed within the same world of the characters, that they were in the initial three films. Many of the characters were inhabited by the same actors, and I wanted it to feel familiar, as thought the same characters were still making the choices they made 30 years ago in what they were wearing...Things needed updating, but not recreating.

Lucas Films/Disney

When it came to updating the Storm Troopers, it was necessary to show the passage of time without losing their iconic look. That required work. We worked very, very closely and we've had a number of meetings every week. He would come to the costume department and see our progress and look at sketches and hear ideas and we'd go back and forth. It was a long process that I really enjoyed.

'Star Wars' has some of the most iconic costumes in the history of movies. What was it like dressing Han, Leia, and Luke, for example?

They're the same people, so dressing them was about doing things that were appropriate for them...For example, I still have the same taste I had when I was in art school. I just don't wear the same things because they're not appropriate. It's a different time, and one wants to look fashionable within the world in which we're living...It was those kinds of choices.

Princess Leia has been unique in the superhero fandom for having a lot of costumes that weren't overly sexualized. The character Rey, that Daisy Ridley plays, seems to be carrying on that sense of empowered dressing that isn't focused too much on breasts, nudity, and revealing outfits. How did you approach dressing her character? Was it with that in mind or was it a continuation of the idea behind Princess Leia's fashion?

I didn't think of Princess Leia when I was creating costumes for Daisy's character. Whenever I start a movie, I take all my cues from the script. Those cues might be the climate, the economic background of the character, the type of work or action they'll be doing. All those things are built into the costume, whether it's a contemporary film or a period film or futuristic film or fantasy film. It's a long process of addition and subtraction until the character is discovered and all the interested parties are satisfied—those parties, being myself and the director.

During this process, I'm aided by an extraordinary team of concept artists and costume makers. Ideas and sketches and rough facsimiles are presented to J.J. or whoever the director is. This was no different with Star Wars and with Daisy's character. Rey is written as a very strong character and it took all the elements that I mentioned earlier, the fact that she's working, doing very hard work in a very hot and dusty climate that might get cold at night. Everything that she's wearing and everything that she's carrying has a reason for being there.

Daisy Ridley as Rey in Lucas Films/Disney

Something I've never said to anybody about the costume is that she wears a head wrap. It's almost like a turban that she has on her head. It's actually a long-sleeve t-shirt that she put over her head and then took the sleeves and wrapped them around. That's the garment that she would carry with her if it got cold at night. Yet, she doesn't want to have to deal with her hair getting all full of sand and dust, so she tied it around her head during the daytime. Everything is dealt with like that.

Any other examples?

If you look at the goggles that she wears closely, you can see that the lenses are actually old Storm Trooper eyes; maybe she found them in one of the old starships that she's been scavenging from. Then she's made them into goggles so she doesn't get dust in eyes. Coming up with that just adds ingenuity to her character...plus it's a bit of an inside joke. If somebody notices them―and I'm sure they will―they'll know what they are and what it means and where she got them. I love doing things like this that enriches the character and make you realize how clever they are, but in a very quiet way. People might not notice it at all and that's fine too. They just see her wearing goggles.

I have a five-year-old niece and I foresee these costumes entering her Halloween wardrobe in future years.

Well, my assistant and I went fabric shopping in Italy. We were in a city in Italy and we went into the Disney Store because we were passing it. We wondered what all the excitement was about. It was mind blowing to see all the things that we had been conceiving and thinking about and sketching a year ago suddenly on the shelves as characters, as Halloween costumes, as helmets, as toys. It was mind boggling, that kind of ... I think it's "pinch me" moment since I've been working on this film.

Did you have a favorite Star Wars costume from the original films?

In the entire franchise, it was C-3PO. In The Force Awakens, it was Captain Phasma.

Captain Phasma in Lucas Films/Disney

'The Force Awakens' is arguably the most anticipated film in history. Has anyone tried to bribe you to get the full story?

Yes, Carrie Fisher. At our first meeting, she hadn't yet read the script and she knew that I had. She told me if I revealed Leia's actions in Force Awakens, she would show me the famous Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz, which her mom, Debbie Reynolds, owned.

Was she incredible to work with?

She's amazing. I love her. She's the funniest person in the world and she's adorable, and warm, and generous. I can't wait to have her show up here again, to dress her again.

One final question: Do we have you to thank for the one shoulder sweatshirt 'Flashdance' look?

Yeah, that would be me. Once again, I took elements that were in the screenplay. She was a welder. She wasn't going to show up for work wearing anything fashionable. A sweatshirt seemed appropriate for a welder. She was also somebody who read Italian fashion magazines during her lunch break, getting ideas for her flash-dancing. She made it much more fashionable. It was something that ballet dancers would often do. They would cut a part of their dance wear in order to make it more comfortable. It was totally integral within the realm of who she was playing and the script dictates.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Glynnis MacNicol Glynnis MacNicol is a Brooklyn-based writer, and the author of the memoir No One Tells You This.

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