Terribly sad news arrives from the Costume Designers Guild regarding the sudden passing of The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka costume designer Shawna Trpcic. Staring her career illustrating on the Oscar winning Bugsy, she soon entered the world of blockbuster Hollywood movies with Toys, The Cabin in the Woods and into television where she made her mark with Firefly.
She worked for Jill Ohanneson as the assistant costume designer on the pilot of Firefly and eventually took over the show. A Firefly fan who worked at Skywalker Ranch asked her if she would like a tour, and there she met George Lucas. Fifteen years later, she received the call to design The Mandalorian, fulfilling a lifelong dream to design for Star Wars.
Of course, Shawna was most known for her enormous contributions to Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni’s shows in the Star Wars Universe. She designed multiple seasons of The Mandalorian, as well as The Book of Boba Fett and most recently Ahsoka, which earned her the best notices of her career. She loved collaborating with Jon and Dave, who were the dream team for her, along with working with the actors and with her huge costume design team. To house all of her creations, Lucasfilm established a warehouse in Manhattan Beach that held thousands of her costumes from all the shows. For her work, Shawna received multiple Emmy nominations and is nominated for Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes for The Mandalorian Season 3 at the upcoming Emmys, her third nomination. She won the Costume Designers Guild Award for Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Television for The Book of Boba Fett. A staple at every Star Wars Celebration, Shawna loved interacting with the fans and would often judge the cosplay competitions.
Shawna was a staunch advocate for pay equity for costume designers and was an active member of the Costume Designers Guild, regularly attending events and fighting for equal pay.
Our condolences to Shawna’s mother Rana, her children Joseph and Sarah, her family, friends, colleagues and fans around the world.
