The greatest space Fantasy of all Time

Darth Vader

The uniforms and weapons, as we will see, were often based on those from some past era. For example, when John Mollo needed to create a mock-up for Darth Vader from the costume stock held at costume warehouse in England, he grabbed a Roman helmet from the "military room", a plague mask from the "medieval room", and a monks's robes from the "religious room".

George Lucas told Star Wars concept artist Ralph Mc Quarrie that he wanted Darth Vader to look like "a dark lord riding in the wind" with black flowing robes, a large helmet like that of the Japanese Samurai, and a silk mask covering his face. Mc Quarrie came up with a breath mask, since the dark lord was, after all, living in space, and Lucas accepted this modification.

Darth Vader's grim black attire is a life-support system, his labored mechanical breathing the sound of a walkink iron lung. Critically injured in a lightsaber battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi years ago, Vader became "more machine than man", kept alive only by the devices build into his suit. The fearsome visage of his breath mask reflects the dark identity that he assumed after his fall from the light side of the force.