There are very few franchises that are even half as big as Star Wars, and even fewer characters as iconic and memorable as Luke Skywalker himself. First created by George Lucas and appearing in the groundbreaking and world-altering A New Hope in 1977, Luke Skywalker first emerged on the silver screen in an all-white ensemble with the dreamy backdrop of Tatooine’s desert landscape and its iconic two suns in the distance.
Very few have made such an impactful entrance with such a lasting outfit, even if more of his costumes deserve the same kind of recognition. Much like his fashion icon mother Luke has a wide array of stylish fits, as well as some major flops. This list is here to rank his costumes from the very worst to the very best, designed from John Mollo to Michael Kaplan.
Farmboy Chic
As far as worst outfits go, this one is honestly not bad, and as previously mentioned this is definitely his most easily recognisable costume. The outfit was designed to better suit Luke’s environment and occupation as a moisture farmer, meaning that it’s not really supposed to be the uber-sleek and brand-new futuristic clothing that is usually found in science fiction and is instead more well-used, shabby, and reflective of Luke’s isolated world. The outfit was also influenced by Japanese fashion, with loose-fitting robes that can be found in the wardrobes of samurai and farmers alike.
Useful as the outfit may be, it’s still pretty ill-fitting and, just like its porridge color palette, there’s no real flavor here. Mark Hamill really manages to still sell it due to how cute he really is in the original trilogy (his iconic 70s fluffy blonde curls could even give Farrah Fawcett a run for her money) but the outfit itself really isn’t much to write home about. It’s memorable sure, but Luke has really rocked out better.
Survive a Plane Crash, But Make it Fashion
A vision in orange, Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing pilot uniform is a perfect addition to any rebel-fighter-in-space’s wardrobe and fits right into the iconic Star Wars spacey look without making it too distracting or otherworldly. His matching helmet with the light-orange, almost-yellow visor is equally fabulous and helps bring the whole ensemble together.
Luke doesn’t usually wear a lot of color in the films, as he usually sticks to the familiar colors of blacks, whites, and various dazzling neutrals that range from the exciting grey-beige to beige-eggshell, so seeing him in a color as bright as orange is always a nice surprise.
Ski-resort Ready
Finding an outfit to suit the hostile climate of Hoth and ensure you won’t freeze to death is hard enough work, but making sure that the said fit is cohesive and stylish? That’s an even bigger task. Luke luckily manages to succeed in both and rocks an outfit that he can wear hanging out at the slopes of a five-star ski resort, as well as inside the warm corpse of a tauntaun to help reduce the risk of hypothermia.
Snowbunny Luke may be used to the arid and dry planet of Tatooine, but sometimes an innate sense of style comes in handy for not only surviving different biomes and fighting the yeti-like Wampa, but also for making sure that your look is just as ice-cold as the air outside.
Silver Fox Jedi
Appearing for the first time in decades, Luke makes a dramatic return to the silver screen with 2015’s The Force Awakens in a much more refined and sophisticated version of his first outfit, matching the original’s color palette and style but having way more of a tailored fit that helps to further display Luke’s fully-formed Jedi identity and fashion sense.
Draped in a large cloak which he dramatically and elegantly lifts to reveal his flowing, silver locks with a smize that even Tyra Banks would find intimidating, Luke is the epitome of aging like fine wine and allowing your fashion to flourish alongside your maturity and skills. It’s simple but clean, with a silhouette that clearly defines Luke as a wise mentor figure for Rey in the sequel trilogy, as Obi-Wan once was in the film’s original trilogy (although he didn’t look nearly as good).
Red Carpet Glam
As previously mentioned, Luke doesn’t usually experiment with color, so seeing him in yellow is just as exciting the first time as it is the 500th. Worn at the end of the first film when he is awarded a medal by Princess Leia alongside Han Solo and Chewbacca, who don’t even try to wear a new outfit for such a special occasion. We can give Chewbacca a pass since he doesn’t even wear clothing, but Han really has no excuse – where is his style?
Luke looks so cute in his jacket and even wears knee-length black boots that manage to match Han’s (which is even cuter) and his medal really shines against his black shirt and complements the yellow nicely. I wish that Luke got to wear more color in the films, but the little splashes that we do get are always great to see.
Chanel Boots
The fit to end all fits, Luke’s all-black, all-matching, all-slay suit worn in the final film of the original trilogy, The Return of the Jedi is no doubt Luke’s best and is the perfect look for when you need to try and convince your evil dad to leave the dark side and stop terrorizing the galaxy, and he still manages to look good while doing it. The choice for Luke to wear black is a clear juxtaposition of his earlier all-white outfits, showing his growth as a person and Jedi and his reluctance to join his father’s footsteps and become seduced by the power of the dark side.
Luke is costumed to parallel Darth Vader’siconic black robes, with only a small addition of white on the inside of his shirt to highlight the remaining light and good that lives strongly within Luke, as well as his father. Luke understands very well that your words are only as good as your outfit, and you can’t even begin to overthrow an evil galactic empire without rocking some fresh kicks like knee-length riding boots from Chanel.
