With the new Star Wars film generating huge amounts of interest, swathes of companies are doing all they can to associate themselves with the franchise. In the world of fashion, this has led to some colourful designs hitting both the high-street and the catwalk.

So just who is collaborating with the franchise? And should fashion really follow the money like this?

Everyone from Uniqlo to Diane von Furstenberg have collaborated with the Star Wars franchise. And it is no surprise: Star Wars merchandise is expected to generate $5 billion in the next year alone.

However, what these collaborations entail varies dramatically from brand to brand. 

Some designers (generally those producing clothes for the high-street) are content to simply place an image or design from the film on a regular t-shirt, hoodie, or dress. TopShop, H&M, and ASOS all have a range featuring Star Wars images printed on to clothes.

But some designers are using the costumes from the film as a more direct influence on their own designs. HOTTOPIC, for example, have created a girls’ Darth Vader inspired faux leather jacket, and Burberry Prorsum featured a Chewbacca inspired coat in this season’s runway.

For me, it feels as though those designers who are using Star Wars’ aesthetic to influence their own designs are doing something above and beyond capitalising on the franchise’s popularity. These designers are taking an important contemporary cultural phenomenon and incorporating it into their art. Such a process has always been critical in fashion, since the assimilation of striking visual ideas from outside of the world of fashion is a necessary aspect of its development.  

And such designers may not have only developed an interest in Star Wars in the run up to the latest theatrical release. As JW Anderson, the 31-year-old Northern Irish designer who won the Designer of the Year award for both menswear and women’s wear, recently said:

"if we ever go futuristic in a collection, there is always a Star Wars reference" 

Of course, it’s no surprise that many brands are attempting to cash in on the Star Wars in the easiest way possible. But those designs which attempt to develop or play on the film’s aesthetic are, for me, by far the most interesting.

What do you think about Star Wars’ recent influence on fashion?

Is there a difference between merely cashing in on the latest film and using it as a genuine influence?

Email us your thoughts.