“She was always really good about bringing together people who shared her same passions,” says Elissa Alcala of the late “Ahsoka” costume designer Shawna Trpcic who passed away in 2023. Alcala served as assistant costume designer on the Disney+ series, and joined costume supervisor Devon Patterson to discuss their latest Emmy nomination and the lasting impact of their late collaborator. Watch the exclusive video interview above.
“Ahsoka” continues the adventures of the titular Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) in live action after the animated series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars: Rebels” charted her earlier exploits. Trpcic, Alcala, and Patterson earned an Emmy nomination for the series finale, “Chapter 8: The Jedi, The Witch, and the Warlord.” For this action-packed installment, the designers created looks for three creepy witches, an army of undead stormtroopers, and evolved the look of a fan favorite hero from the animated series.
The costume team often worked off of sketches from series creator Dave Filoni, who would quickly sketch out an idea for a character. Alcala notes that Trpcic always “knew immediately” how to bring Filoni’s idea to life, quickly springing her team into action to create detailed illustrations and corral the right fabrics. In the case of the three witches of Dathomir, the women are wrapped in a striking crimson fabric that suggests an ancient and otherworldly quality. “They needed to just be able to flow and move,” explains Alcala, “So it was really important that we found fabric that could do that easily, so it looked like they were gliding.”
The team is also responsible for creating an entirely new look for Ezra Brridger (Eman Esfandi), the Jedi hero who had been stranded in another galaxy since “Rebels.” Patterson points out that the elements of the strange planet where Ezra had been exiled served as important inspiration for his costume. “He’s been there for so long, his original clothes at this point are probably disintegrated or gone in some shape or form. So what does this planet have to offer him to be able to use,” she asks. Trpcic incorporated elements of the native terrain, alien cultures, and animal hides into the design to craft a realistic look of a homemade outfit.
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The trio is nominated for the Best Fantasy/Sci-fi Costumes category at the Emmys, and these designers are quick to point out the joys of working within such a flexible genre. “You can do almost anything,” reveals Patterson, “your imagination is limitless because you aren’t constrained by anything. You can literally pull from 18th century, 17th century, 15th century to now and mash it all up and it works.” That sense of freedom within the design process is something that Trpcic “ran with” according to Alcala. “Shawna was our dreamer on the show,” she reveals, noting that the designer didn’t like to hear the answer ‘no’ when floating wild ideas. “The answer should be like, okay, let’s go. Let’s do it. We can do it,” remembers Alcala, “And that was always Shawna’s mindset, and that’s always something I really admired about her.”
This is Alcala’s third Emmy nomination after previous bids for “The Book of Boba Fett” and “The Mandalorian.” She shared those nominations with Trpcic. Patterson is a five-time Emmy nominee, having previously earned a pair of nominations each for “Black-ish” and “Euphoria.”
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