The popular brands continue their fruitful Star Wars collaborations.
Fans of Star Wars and stock car racing are going to want to tune into the NASCAR Cup Series Championship two weekends from now to get a peek at the new Darth Vader-inspired designs created by Lucasfilm’s Doug Chiang. These were revealed with the help of Anakin Skywalker himself, Hayden Christensen, and award-winning NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace yesterday via Lucasfilm and Columbia Sportswear’s social media feeds.
What’s happening:
- Actor Hayden Christensen– who portrayed Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka– has reteamed with Lucasfilm’s executive design director Doug Chiang to promote Columbia Sportswear’s new Vader Collection.
- The two Star Wars icons joined NASCAR’s Bubba Wallace at the Phoenix Raceway for the unveiling of Chiang’s designs for a new car paint scheme, helmet, and racing suit to be worn by Wallace at the NASCAR on Sunday, November 10th in Phoenix.
- Columbia will also be revealing its new seasonal Darth Vader apparel collection on Tuesday, November 19th.
What they’re saying:
- StarWars.com: “After designing countless Star Wars vehicles over the last two decades for films and series (including the N-1 starfighter a young Anakin Skywalker piloted during the Battle of Naboo), award-winning designer Doug Chiang knows a thing or two about starfighters and speed. In a follow-up to the Luke Skywalker X-wing-inspired car-wrap designed for a 2023 NASCAR race, Lucasfilm’s SVP and and executive design director collaborated with Columbia to design a paint scheme, helmet, and racing suit (also referred to as a fire suit) inspired by the one and only Darth Vader. To quote his alter-ego Anakin, ‘This is where the fun begins!’”
- Columbia Sportswear director of brand management Chris Araujo: “Last year’s collection was so iconic, it felt very natural to continue onto Vader after Luke and his iconic orange flight suit from the original trilogy.”
- Doug Chiang: ““It’s interesting, because past car designs don’t apply, as each project is very new. Each one has its own challenges, and they’re always unique. It’s the same thing that we do with our Star Wars vehicles. You’ll think we’ve done so many spaceships now that it’d be very easy, but each one has a very specific demand, and each one is really, really challenging, because at the end, you’re dealing with an inanimate object that you’re trying to infuse with a lot of personality, and the personality is key. And so our goal was to make sure that it worked on a car, but then aesthetically, it had to marry the Vader aesthetic from the film to the car.”
Be sure to check the official Columbia website for additional information beginning November 19th. To read more about the collaboration between NASCAR and Lucasfilm, be sure to visit StarWars.com.
