Q&A: Fashion Designer Mara Hoffman Talk Star Wars & Her Luke Skywalker Inspired Collection

Star Wars is undeniably one of the greatest sci-fi films ever to be released. For children, adults and teens everywhere the film became a major inspiration. To date, the film continues to inspire creatives in every industry, and designer Mara Hoffman is no different. In honor of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which made an international debut of $279 million, Hoffman created a fall/winter 2015 collection.

Expanding on last season’s softer color palette, the fall 2015 collection combines a strong neutral story, consisting of camel, cream, black and white, with streams of color through the brand’s signature prints. Hoffman takes style cues from Luke Skywalker and the landscapes of his planet, Tatooine, in the form of metallic geometric embellishments, black crepe fabrics, and chiffon tufting appliqués. The collection is texturally balanced with the use of fringe and luxe wool-coating throughout a wide range of coats and sweaters. Telling the story of other-world landscapes and the costumes and rituals of the wildermann, the fall 2015 collection is about fighting the good fight and embracing the spirit that never breaks.

Haute Living had the chance to speak with the designer about her collection and what Star Wars mean to her.

HL: What inspired this collection?
Hoffman: The collection was inspired by Luke Skywalker’s wardrobe in the first 1970s edition of Star Wars and his home planet of Tatooine definitely set off the color palette.

HL: What is the connection between the collection and the movie?
Hoffman: I wanted to modernize the 1977 film. We took style cues from Luke and Tatooine and feminized them with wrap-around jumpsuits, gold embellished gowns and an array of coats and sweaters.

HL: What did the Star Wars movie mean to you as a kid?
Hoffman: It was a super exciting movie; I loved Princess Leia. I had a crush on Chewbacca and was always terrified/thrilled with the scene of the snake in the garbage compactor—I had to watch it over and over again.

HL: How has it inspired you as a designer and an overall creative?
Hoffman: I’ve always been such a fan of space and interplanetary travel. It was the first movie that spoke to the spiritual aspect of ch’i, a universal force that can be channeled and used within both the light and the dark.

HL: Who are/were your favorite characters and why?
Hoffman: Yoda, the O.G. guru. He spoke to a very altruistic spirituality but under a disguise.

HL: What are your favorite pieces from this collection and why?
Hoffman: I love the jumpsuit that opened the show. It was a textured off-white Luke Skywalker jumpsuit that definitely resonated the most with the movie. It has such a modern feminist twist to Luke’s wardrobe.

HL: What was the creative process like?
Hoffman: It was a lot of fun because I could channel an unexpected inspiration for the story.

HL: How did you decide on what fabrics to use, colors, etc.?
Hoffman: I looked for things that resonated with the other-worldly desert landscape of Tatooine. The prints had a feeling of sci-fi and the gold beadwork looked almost galactic to me.

HL: What should we all wear when seeing the film?
Hoffman: Maybe the star poncho? It’s like bringing a huge comfy blanket with you to the theater.

Checkout pieces of the collection below.