Herschel releases new collection inspired by classic Star Wars villains

If you’ve ever been drawn to the creamy white stormtrooper armor, the pinstriping around Darth Vader’s chest plate and the rugged bounty hunter gear of Boba Fett, there’s a bag collection just for you. The new Star Wars X Herschel collection is available to buy now.

In an interview with StarWars.com, Jon Warren, vice president of product design with Herschel, said he incorporated his favorite design details from the three main villains in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. And it’s not just the armor and colors that make into the collection’s designs, but also subtle patterns, quotes and Easter eggs for die-hard Star Wars fans to find.

Warren explained to StarWars.com:

"We wanted to work with the dark side and The Empire Strikes Back right out of the gate — the villains are some of our favorite characters from the Star Wars galaxy. As designers, we see their uniforms as an extension of their story, so we decided to build designs off of what the characters wear and their equipment."

For the stormtrooper-inspired set, the bags are mostly a gleaming white just like their armor, but there’s also deep black sticking and other screen-printed nods to Imperial uniform designs. Warren said the interior blue lining pattern is “a nod to the blue air filtration vents found on the stormtrooper helmet.” And, the Stormtrooper Settlement Case is designed like a thermal detonator.

For Star Wars’ most iconic villain, the Herschel team went all out — pinstripe stitching like that around Darth Vader’s chest plate, red lightsaber-style stripes for the Sith lord and words written in Aurebesh. The inside of the bag features a Death Star red lights pattern along with hidden famous quotes from the film like “JOIN THE DARK SIDE” and “NO, I AM YOUR FATHER.”

Then there are the bags for Boba Fett, the most colorful of the new collection. The bags feature a custom camouflage print using the colors from the bounty hunter’s helmet. Another cool feature of the Boba Fett bags are the zipper pulls, which are braided in a nod to the braids the bounty hunter has on his shoulder in The Empire Strikes Back.

Inside the bags is a mustard yellow and brown pattern that’s a direct nod to Boba Fett’s helmet design along with the hidden quote, “AS YOU WISH.”

Warren added in the interview:

"Star Wars made a huge impact on me as a kid. I saw The Empire Strikes Back in the theater and I was instantly hooked. George Lucas and his team created an entire galaxy with rich storytelling, compelling characters, futuristic vehicles, uniforms, planets, environments, and epic space battles. Everything was original and set my mind wild. As designers, we get to create our own world as well — I try to channel that same type of creativity behind Star Wars into everything we do at Herschel."

The Star Wars X Herschel collection is available now. Shop the bags here.

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