The Event: Let me start off by saying that I didn’t intend on going to this event. It was a pretty spur of the moment thing after coming from MoCCA. I just so happen to be on the way to the train station and not having anyone with me was a really big blessing. I took a side trip and stumbled upon Discovery’s Star Wars – The Power of Costume, purely by accident.
I’ve always wanted to go to this exhibit, so it was great to experience it without the having anyone tugging along with me. The exhibit isn’t that big, but it does expand to show the costumes of the great universe that George Lucas has created. Throughout the exhibit, you’re introduce to costume that you know so well, ones that you’ll remember and ones that you won’t forget if you’ve never met them before.
Getting Tickets: The tickets are a bit pricey by NY standards. It’s a museum with different exhibits so if you want to visit all three they have at the time (Bodies, Vikings and Star Wars were there at the time) it might cost you around $90. If you only want to go to Star Wars, it’ll cost around $30, but it’s well worth it I promise you.
Highlights of the Trip: The absolute best part about this exhibit was seeing all the amazing costumes and their backstory. I’m a sucker for clothes in Star Wars. They’re so detailed and precise that you can’t help but love them. They also tell a story themselves about the world they come from. In each room there’s a different set of costumes from Episode One: The Phantom Menace all the way to Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Here are some amazing highlights of the costumes that were super cool.
There was a TON of Padmé Amidala costumes. A ton. Seriously, once you step in you see her iconic one and then you get a line of it later, but it’s one of the best parts of the trip. Another great highlight was seeing ALL of the weapons from the films except for the TFA films. They had Luke and Obi-Wan’s lightsabers, Boba and Janjo Fett’s armor and so much more. It so badass to see.
The scariest parts of the exhibit involved stepping into a room of glass mirrors all around, a coffin in the middle and tranquil lights floating around you. It was a very intense moment to witness Padmé Amidala in her coffin. I literally couldn’t help immediately passing by that room and getting a laugh out. Another terrifying moment was the Stormtropper room. The helmet’s of the Stormtroppers basically hovered over in formation and it almost scares the shit out of you to even step in.
Travel Tips: Wear comfortable shoes. Like any museum (or at least some) you’re going to be traveling for awhile and standing for the same amount of time. There’s no eating / drinking in the exhibit because if you mess up these costumes, you’re absolutely fucked.
Cool Things in the area not related to the event: It’s New York, man. Go absolutely nuts here! Around this area however, is Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Madame Tussauds (pretty pricey) and a lot of food places. If you can catch an off-broadway show, go for it! I’m not a very good tour guide at all when it comes to Times Square (mostly because I tend to avoid it). I’d also suggest traveling to some outside of this area for more awesome museums like MoMa, Met, Brooklyn Museum and some small museums too for film and television like The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. Right by here, they actually have Kaufman Studios where some of Orange is the New Black was filmed.
All in all. Star Wars and the Power of Costume was probably one of the most coolest experiences I’ve had at an exhibit this year. If you get to catch it in NY or when it comes to your area, make sure you buy a ticket and experience this. It’s not to be missed.
