Star Wars: Lucas' Inspiration For Leia's Hairstyle Makes Her Even Better
George Lucas' inspiration for Princess Leia Organa's hair in Star Wars makes her even better, as it's also tied to real history. Leia's story in the franchise has put her among the ranks of sci-fi’s finest diplomats and revolutionaries, taking on numerous titles from Senator Leia to General Leia. Equally as famous as her skills in espionage and warfare are her distinct designs and braided hairstyles, which cemented Carrie Fisher as both a hero of the genre and the fashion industry. Though the original and definitive «cinnamon bun» hairstyle from 1977's A New Hope evolves throughout the saga, its influence is still clearly there right through to Carrie Fisher's posthumous appearance in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
The origin of Leia’s look is contested. George Lucas has said (via TIME) that when developing the Princess’ look, he was “working very hard to create something different that wasn't a fashion, so [he]went with a kind of Southwestern Pancho Villa woman revolutionary look.” An image of a Mexican revolutionary who fought as a «soldadera» and guerrilla in the early twentieth century, Clara de La Rocha, matches Leia’s hair and has featured in a 2016 Star Wars exhibition at Denver Art Museum. However, historians such as Tabea Linhard (via BBC) dispute that it was a common revolutionary-era hairstyle, suggesting this image is the outlier rather than the trend. The “squash blossom" style of the Arizona Hopi people has been suggested by scholars as another influence, which is styled as two loops of hair.
Related: Star Wars Made Leia & Padmé's Relationship Even More Tragic
Regardless of where exactly the inspiration came from, it doesn’t contradict George Lucas’ intent in giving her this hairstyle, namely, that
Read more on screenrant.com
