When “Return of the Jedi” hit the cinemas as the sixth episode of the Star Wars saga, US actress Carrie Fisher caused a stir. Not least because of her bikini. The original can now be seen in Bad Rappenau.
The Star Wars community has a reason to make a pilgrimage to Baden-Württemberg: The BikiniARTmuseum in Bad-Rappenau has acquired the gold-colored bikini that US actress Carrie Fisher wore as Princess Leia in the film “Return of the Jedi” for 175,000 dollars (161,700 euros), the museum announced on Friday.
In Dallas, Texas, more than 500 rarities from legendary Hollywood productions such as “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” went under the hammer. A total of almost six million US dollars (around 5.5 million euros) were sold.
“A real bidding rally” broke out for Princess Leia’s original bikini. The Rappenauer Bikini Museum won the bid for 140,000 US dollars. “With additional costs, the total price comes to 175,000 US dollars,” it was said.
Alexander Ruscheinsky, founder of the museum, which opened four years ago and is said to be the world’s first museum for swimwear, said: “The history of swimwear is becoming increasingly important. Our museum not only has a complete historical collection, but also the original showpieces from the world of cinema and TV.”
Princess Leia’s bikini is in good company in Bad Rappenau alongside originals from Marilyn Monroe, Esther Williams, Elizabeth Taylor and Amy Winehouse. The famous two-piece worn by Carrie Fisher is “probably the second most valuable film bikini in the world” alongside Ursula Andress’ ivory bikini from “James Bond – 007 jagt Dr. No”, it was said. The Anress bikini was auctioned off by an unknown person in 2022 for around $240,000. The Bikini Museum had bid for a long time at the time, but ultimately came away empty-handed.
Since July 5, however, the museum has been showing “David Hasselhoff’s red, hand-signed original swimming trunks” and Pamela Anderson’s red swimsuit from the TV series “Baywatch” in an exhibition. The museum bought Hasselhoff’s swimming trunks for $3,000, while Anderson’s swimsuit was significantly more expensive: $27,500.
