Decades after Princess Leia’s “A New Hope” look cemented its place in Hollywood history, George Lucas told Time in 2002 how he came to give the character her famous hairdo. “In the 1977 film, I was working very hard to create something different that wasn’t fashion, so I went with a kind of Southwestern Pancho Villa woman revolutionary look, which is what that is. The buns are basically from the turn-of-the-century Mexico. Then it took such hits and became such a thing,” he said, revealing the role women like Clara de la Rocha played in Leia’s hairstyling.
Ultimately, Leia doesn’t go back to her “A New Hope” look in her original and sequel “Star Wars” trilogy appearances. However, that’s not to say that the revolutionary look doesn’t appear elsewhere in the Skywalker saga. In the prequel trilogy, Leia’s mother, Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), also dons some pretty unique hairstyles. Among them is a style from “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” that very much evokes Leia’s “A New Hope” look, albeit with the buns raised above the ears in a more Hopi-esque fashion, as seen above.
