Padmé Costume with BBC Wardrobe Tag – “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” or “French & Saunders”? (Rebelscum Story/Discussion)
February 27, 2011 by Jason DeBord
A few days ago, the popular Star Wars fan site Rebelscum published an “eBay Today Express” article about a costume attributed to use by Natalie Portman as Padmé in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999), and subsequently posted a retraction based on further research. Per the article, it appeared to match a costume worn on the BBC series, French & Saunders in a parody Christmas 1999 episode titled “The Phantom Millennium”.
The original Rebelscum story can be found at www.rebelscum.com (“Retraction eBay Today Express: Screen Used Padmé Costume”):
The eBay auction listing with an $8,750 “Buy It Now” price – which has since been ended early by the seller – claims the costume was sold in the last Profiles in History sale event (Hollywood Auction 43).
The eBay auction can be found via the link below (“Natalie Portman “Padme” costume Star Wars: Episode 1” | eBay Listing Archive):
The original marketing page on the Profiles in History website is still active, with a higher resolution photo and the catalog description at www.profilesinhistory.com (“Natalie Portman “Padme” costume from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” | Catalog Archive):
Per online auction service provider iCollector’s archives, the costume sold at auction for $2,500 (plus $450 buyer’s premium), which can be found at www.icollector.com (“Hollywood Auction 43 – Lot 644” | Archive):
The Profiles in History auction description states:
Natalie Portman “Padme” costume from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace Featured
Natalie Portman “Padme” costume from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace Lot #644 Estimated Value: $800 – $1,200
Natalie Portman “Padme” costume from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (TCF, 1999) Peasant costume worn by Natalie Portman as “Padme” including rough spun gray tunic with integral blue belt tie and red fabric emblem, blue top and numerous strips of gray cloth wraps. Tunic and top labeled inside “BBC Costume 0208 576 1735 LI1778/2GY/BL X LRG LTUN PADME (STAR WARS) TUNI,” one with “A” in ink.
Below is the Profiles in History catalog photo:
Below is an official publicity photo of Natalie Portman as Padmé from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace:
Below is a photo of one of the original Padmé costumes on exhibit, published on Flickr by user U2acro (Flickr Link):
Information about the BBC television series French & Saunders and the special episode, “Christmas 1999 The Phantom Millennium“, can be found at www.frenchandsuanders.com:
The full episode in question can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube (see “French & Saunders: Star Wars Spoof (Complete) [WS/HQ]“):
The scene featuring an actress wearing a Padmé costume can be viewed between 5:58 and 6:54. Below are example screencaptures:
Below is a comparison between the publicity photo of Natalie Portman wearing the Padmé wardrobe from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, the costume sold by Profiles in History and listed for sale this week on eBay, and screencaptures from the French & Saunders episode and their parody of the Star Wars film:
Also of note is that the Profiles in History auction description stated that the costume had a BBC wardrobe tag (including the size “X LRG”, which would be unusual for Natalie Portman at approximately 5’4″ and around 100 pounds), as the French and Saunders series was a BBC production that was originally broadcast from 1987 to 2007.
Discussion can be found on the Rebelscum forums, which includes additional information, photos, and insights:
Jason DeBord
Comments
One Response to “Padmé Costume with BBC Wardrobe Tag – “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” or “French & Saunders”? (Rebelscum Story/Discussion)”Trackbacks
Check out what others are saying about this post...[...] to input from readers and friends of the OPB, I have more information to share regarding the article published last night about the “Padmé” costume that appears to have been made for and used in the BBC [...]