May the 4th Be With You
A uniform can sometimes reveal a lot about who you are as a company, and what you stand for. Is your look polished and clean with polos and khakis? Or, does your business character show a more laid-back, get the job done in a t-shirt message? Today, May 4th is the unofficial Star Wars Holiday, and as we take a little time to practice our lightsaber moves, we also take a look at a few of the uniforms in the movies and how they symbolize the light side and the dark side of the Force. May the 4th be with you!
The uniforms throughout the Star Wars series say a lot about what side of the Force each character is on. From military uniforms, to rebel uniforms, to a lack of uniforms on some characters, the light side is characterized by white, gray and sometimes brightly colored uniforms, while characters on the dark side wear black or very dark colors.
Luke Skywalker, the main character of the original three movies, or Episodes 4-6, undergoes major character growth as he transforms from a farmer boy into the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy. As Luke undergoes this transformation, his uniform follows suit. When we first meet Luke on Tattooine in Episode 4, the first film ever released, he doesn’t even know about the Jedi Knights. His costume is a white tunic, with white pants, and a cumbersome utility belt. Here, white symbolizes Luke’s naivety, and his purity, letting the audience know he’s a good guy.
As Luke progresses through Episodes 5 and 6, his uniforms gets noticeably darker. In Episode 5, he heads to the Dagobah system to train as a Jedi with Master Yoda, wearing a sand-colored uniform. Only a slight color variation from the previous film, Luke has fought the Galactic Empire, and watched his mentor, Obi Wan Kenobi die. Luke’s darker shade of white shows the view that he has undergone transformation, but that he is still aligned with the light side of the Force.
By Episode 6, Luke has been told that the most evil man in the galaxy, Darth Vader, is his father which makes him believe Obi Wan lied this him about his heritage, he’s fought Darth Vader and lost an arm, and he’s lost his best friend Han Solo to Jabba The Hutt. These events lead Luke through a serious amount of inner-turmoil which is depicted in his uniform in Episode 6, a black tunic with black pants. Is he on the dark side now? It would seem so if the viewer relied solely on the first scenes of Episode 6, where Luke is talking low and controlling the minds of almost everyone he meets on his way into Jabba the Hutt’s lair.
In this third film, Luke walks a razor-sharp edge and could turn to the dark side at any moment to join his father. In the last scenes of the film, after Luke fights the evil Emperor and almost dies, his father, Darth Vader throws the Emperor into a deep pit, saves Luke, and ends up getting severely injured in the process. It is only when Darth Vader makes the ultimate sacrifice for his son, that Luke makes his final decision to stay in the light, which is depicted by a flap of his black tunic falling open to reveal the color white.
Image from www.inafarawaygalaxy.com
The little we see of Luke Skywalker in Episode 7, he wears a gray tunic and large gray cloak, and even his hair is white, symbolizing his alliance with the light side of the Force.
As you can see, uniforms can really tell a story about who you are. When designing your custom uniform, whether that includes embroidery stitching or a customized image stamped on using heat sublimation, think about what you’d like to portray to the world about your business. Are you on the light or dark side of the force?
