Carrie Fisher's 'Star Wars' Princess Leia Dress Fails To Sell At Auction

The late "Star Wars" actress Carrie Fisher might have finally gotten her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 4, but it appears it was not enough to sell off her classic Princess Leia dress.

Despite the enormous public interest, the iconic white dress failed to sell during an auction held late last month.

The Daily Mail reported that Princess Leia’s iconic white dress from the first “Star Wars” film failed to sell at an auction despite a bid of almost one million dollars. The dress had been discovered in an attic in London and had been stuffed into an attic where it spent almost forty years collecting dust.

The dress had been taken home by a crew member from the set and gave it to a friend, letting them wear it to a party, but was largely forgotten about until recently. The dress reportedly fetched a bid of £770,000 at the auction, even though wine and food had allegedly been spilled on it.

The white fabric was said to have undergone an eight-month professional cleaning and restoration project that cost thousands of dollars. Some of the repairs included attaching gauze to protect fragile areas of the dress, filling in holes, and stitching seams.

“There wasn't the same drive for preservation back then and lots of things were thrown away or burned after production. But some bits were taken by workers and the dress found its way into a crew member's attic,” said a source for Propstore.

Despite the hefty bid, the dress did not sell because it fell short of the seller’s minimum sale price; however, it is likely that the seller will reach out to the top bidder and try to negotiate a deal in private to hand over the dress.

A spokesperson for the auction released a statement, saying, “The dress failed to meet its reserve price and therefore remains unsold. Propstore is actively accepting post-auction offers on the piece. It may be sold after the auction in a private-treaty sale, or may be re-offered again in a future auction.” They added, “We appreciate all of the interest in the dress – it was our pleasure to present this historic piece.”

Props collector Stephen Lane had tracked down the dress after initially believing that it had been thrown out after production had finished filming. When I was first told about the dress, I simply couldn't believe it. Everyone had come to the conclusion that it didn't exist anymore. No one had found any Princess Leia costumes," he said. "But then I went to meet this former crew member and hanging on the back of a door was this ratty old plastic bag, and balled up in the bottom of the plastic bag was the dress."

"It was in a really poor condition but instantly recognizable. It came out grubby and torn," he added. Ultimately, a friend recommended professional restorers Janie Lightfoot, who was recommended by the Victoria and Albert Museum. "They had to analyze all the marks on the garment - and found food, wine, and even blood," he revealed. "We did all wonder 'What kind of party was this?'"

"The dress has a sort of cover that goes over the arms and is a little restrictive as it stops you from raising your arms over shoulder height. But whoever wore it at the party must have waved their arms around because that was all torn," he explained. Ultimately, Lane sold the dress to a private collection.

Brandon Alinger, the chief operating officer of Propstore, told the New York Times that it was "painstaking work" trying to repair the dress, which appeared in the final Throne Room Scene of 1977's "A New Hope." Alinger said, "Imagine someone bent over with a microscope or a magnifying lens, studying the little holes and trying to fill those holes with a similar material."

The dress was made by a leading costume house Bermans and Nathans in collaboration with a French dressmaker. The style of the outfit had been created by John Mollo, who went on to win an Oscar for Best Costume Design for the movie.