costumekullan: Rest in peace Carrie Fisher

I just got out of the cinema where I had watched the simple, but cute and enjoyable Sing when I got the news that Carrie Fisher had passed away. The net is flooding with obituaries right now, and if you want to read an official one here is the BBC news.

Personally I was surprised of my own reaction. I do not mourn people I don't know personally, but I felt truly sad about it. I had hoped that no news about her condition since her cardiac arrest meant good news in the long run. Still it's also very much a community thing, and Star Wars fans the world over are sharing their stories about her, and what she has meant to them. Princess Leia is someone who binds us fans together, and we are now grieving together.

Carrie Fisher was also a remarkable person, always frank about her mental illness and weight issues. I never met her, I didn't think it was worth the money to just have a quick hello with her, but I'm happy that I got the chance to listen to her on stage at Celebration Europe in Essen. Even if you recognized her stories from the countless interviews and stage shows she has made, she was still a true professional and made it sound all new again. If you have the chance you should go and watch her "Wishful drinking" right now. The last time I had HBO it was available there, otherwise you can probably find it somewhere else.

As a costumer Princess Leia has been important for me. I've loved making her costumes, even if I haven't always felt comfortable being quite as spunky and feisty as the original. People usually ask me how many women SW fans there are out there, and I've always been in circles where there are a lot of them. The Rebel Legion has always been the home of Leias and I think any organisations always get stronger when there is a gender balance. I'm sure that Leia will remain the uncontested queen of sci-fi.