Columbia’s new Star Wars sportswear collection is all about Darth Vader and we got a peek behind the curtain

Just like you can count on two suns rising on Tatooine or lava flowing on Mustafar, Columbia Sportswear just dropped its annual Star Wars collaboration. And while last year was all about Luke Skywalker and his iconic orange flight suit, this time Columbia’s turning to the dark side.

The aptly-named Vader Collection is the largest yet from Columbia’s partnership with Star Wars. It impressively blends Vader’s iconic look across jackets and sweatshirts with hats, a water bottle, t-shirts, and blankets. Much like the previous annual drops, Columbia’s design team worked hand in hand with the teams at Lucas Film to ensure accuracy and hide Easter eggs throughout the collection.

You’ll find Vader’s iconic chest plate – from Episode 5 and Episode 6 – on several pieces, as well as the location of the planet Mustafar, imperial logos, and maybe most importantly, Vader spelled in Aurebesh, among other messages. While debuting now, the entire collection will go up for order on December 5, 2024, at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET, but Columbia Greater Rewards members – a free program – can shop 30 minutes before.

To unpack some of the highlights of The Vader Collection, TechRadar had the chance to chat exclusively with Becca Johnson, Director of Special Projects & Collaborations at Columbia, and someone who worked closely on creating this year’s Columbia x Star Wars collection.

“It’s always an exciting challenge to see where we could go next,” said Johnson, who recalled 2023’s Luke Skywalker collection and then said, “we knew we wanted to go opposite.” Darth Vader is just that, and Johnson shared it was really exciting to create this collection, but it also posed some challenges.

Vader is known for his iconic cape, dark layers, and classic red lightsaber. Johnson recalled, also sharing that “we were able to get access with the Lucas team to go behind the scenes to the archive to unlock all the specific details of his costume, accessories and universe that surrounds him.”

Columbia is known for its ‘Omni-Heat’ technology, which typically presents itself as a pattern of metallic gold dots inside the jacket that reflect body heat back within. It’s even been used in space, but it’s getting a new paint job for the first time. What color? Well, red, of course, is perfectly on theme with Vader’s lightsaber.

“That was our idea with the red Omni-Heat; when you open it, it almost glows like Vader’s lightsaber,” explained Johnson. “We’ve never done a color, only the silver and gold Omni-Heat,” she continued but also noted it doesn’t change the tech at all – just a delightful touch that Star Wars fans will appreciate both for the design and being on theme, but also for the fact that the tech can keep your very warm.

Red also appears elsewhere across the collection, mainly on the zippers, sweatshirts, and jackets, including the Vader Parka and Vader 3L Interchange Jacket. The drawstring is red, but the handles are Vader’s lightsaber. “We actually took the schematic of Vader's actual lightsaber provided by Lucasfilm, shrunk them down, and created it into these little zipper pulls that are light saber little zipper pull,” explained Johnson, further underscoring the collaboration between the two brands.

Building on Vader’s actual quilting on his suit, Johnson and her team “took a little ruler into the archives and measured exactly the same as the costume and pulled that one-inch quilting,” which is found on many of the pieces. Regarding accuracy, you’ll find that, much like Vader’s iconic look, the fabric here varies from matte to shiny.

The helmet, along with the iconic deep breathing, is emulated with the bucket hat – probably the coolest bucket hat around – sweatshirts and jackets with a hood. It is designed to look like his helmet, but Aurebash also comes down, spelling Vader’s name. Instead of typical drawstrings on the outerwear to make it tighter, Columbia custom-designed nodules that “show up on Vader's helmet and are connected to drawstrings.”

It’s all down to the details, but the coolest part might be for the Columbia’s Vader 3L Interchange Jacket ($600). I’d say it’s the piece that looks the most like Vader’s full suit, but Columbia didn’t spare any details here.

“We did not want to create a cape in this collection, but we knew that our interchange jacket was the perfect solution to help give a cape-like jacket,” explained Johnson. The 3L Interchange has a shorter down jacket underneath and a long – quite long – outer waterproof layer. “It also has these long zippers up the side that go to the hand pocket. So you could wear the whole jacket and zip up those hand zippers and make it even look more like a cape, if you wanted to, too, but also to have that ventilation.”

It has reflective details throughout, which give it a unique effect. It also has Aurebash markings with a red imperial logo and epic zippers that end with Vader’s lightsabers. You’ll also find Vader’s iconic chestpiece on the inside jacket of the 3L Interchange, as well as the Vader Parka and Vader Convertible Jacket.

It’s safe to say that Becca Johnson and her team, as well as Columbia wide and Lucas Film, are stoked. Who knew that going to the dark side could look so sleek? The collection could be worn at a Disney theme park to visit Battu, but it also feels more urban and street-style.

The shades of black – matte and shiny – mixed with reflective materials, Omni-Heat red on the inside, and all the extra details come together for a fantastic collaboration that, similar to years past, will likely result in the collection selling out pretty quickly.

We’ll list out the full 15 pieces of The Vader Collection below but know that it’ll be up for order on December 5th at 9AM PT/ 12PM ET for non-members, and members get access to it 30 minutes early … and you can sign-up for free. It is a global collection, and once we can confirm pricing for the UK and Australia, we'll update the list below.

• Vader Ballcap - $40
• Vader Sock 2-Pack - $40
• Vader Water Bottle - $40
• Vader Bucket Hat - $40
• Vader Belt - $50
• Vader Crossbody Bag - $60
• Vader Short Sleeve Shirt 3 - $60
• Vader Long Sleeve Shirt - $70
• Vader Tech Half Zip Long Sleeve - $80
• Vader Packable Quilted Blanket - $85
• Vader Hoodie - $120
• Vader Boot - $200
• Vader Convertible Jacket - $225
• Vader Parka - $350
• Vader 3L Interchange Jacket - $600

Alongside the full collection, a limited number of the Vader 3L Interchange Jacket signed by Hayden Christensen will be available for $2,000 in the United States. All the proceeds will go to the Make-A-Wish foundation. The jacket will ship in a custom, themed box and come with a certificate of authenticity.

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