John Mollo, the prolific cinematic costume designer who won an Oscar—one of an eventual two he’d earn over the course of his career—for his work on Star Wars, has died. Mollo was 86.
Working from notes from George Lucas, and concept art from artist Ralph McQuarrie, Mollo managed to create some of the most iconic costumes in all of Western movie history, on a relatively shoestring budget. “As you see, the costumes from Star Wars are really not so much costumes as a bit of plumbing and general automobile engineering,” he joked during his Oscars acceptance speech, which he gave flanked by models in the outfits worn by Darth Vader, the Imperial Stormtroopers, and Princess Leia. Mollo drew from his experience as a military historian for many of the film’s designs; Lucas asked him to give the film’s villains a “fascist” look, and so he dug into the styles of Nazi commanders and German WWI trench armor to create the Vader suit and helmet, solidifying the character as one of the most enduring cinematic villains of all time.