John Mollo

Although he went to Art school, it’s his passion for history and military uniforms of all ages that brought John Mollo to work on films. He started out in the sixties as historical advisor, a credit that covered different responsabilities over the years, from advisor to actual costume designer.

Later, he worked with Stanley Kubrick on Napoleon and moved on to Barry Lyndon when the first project was cancelled. John Mollo obtained his first credit as costume designer on Star Wars. The makers of the movie made a brilliant choice. For isn’t a science-fiction film a period film after all? Early concept drawings take the place of historical reference and almost everything the actors wear has to be made.

George Lucas has been quoted as asking John Mollo to design costumes audiences wouldn’t notice. In the end, they did not attract attention to themselves but made a tremendous contribution by helping make the characters look real and believable.
After this unique experience, John Mollo went on to become one of the best specialists of both historical and science-fiction films, adding Alien, The Empire Strikes Back, Outland and Event Horizon to his credits. He always demonstrated his ability to combine originality and functionalism.

John Mollo, now retired, won two Academy Awards for his work (Star Wars in 1977 and Gandhi in 1982). He has also written and drawn the illustrations for several books about military uniforms.

ScienceFictionArchives.com is proud to own costumes from every science-fiction film John Mollo designed as well as numerous sketches by this great and discreet artist.

Writer: AG